Vietnam Medal
Encyclopedia
The Vietnam Medal was a joint Australia
n and New Zealand
campaign medal
awarded for service in the Vietnam War
.
The medal was jointly developed by Australia and New Zealand, although there were separate Royal authorisation warrants for each country.
between 29 May 1964 and 27 January 1973.
Service terminated by death or wounds, or the award of a decoration for gallantry led to the immediate award of the medal, regardless of whether the qualification period had been fulfilled.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
campaign medal
Campaign medal
A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of the military who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater...
awarded for service in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
The medal was jointly developed by Australia and New Zealand, although there were separate Royal authorisation warrants for each country.
Australia
Qualifying service for the Vietnam Medal includes:- 28 days in ships or craft on inland waters or off the coast of Vietnam.
- One or more days on the posted strength of a unit or formation on land.
- One operational sortie over Vietnam or Vietnamese water by aircrew on the posted strength of a unit.
- Official visits either continuous or aggregate of 30 days.
- One day or more by members of accredited philanthropic organisations attached to Australian forces in an official capacity for full-time duty.
between 29 May 1964 and 27 January 1973.
New Zealand
The medal was awarded to all members of the New Zealand armed forces who, between 29 May 1964 and 27 January 1973, either:- served for 28 days, continuous or aggregated, in ships or craft employed in operations on inland waters or off the coast of Vietnam;
- served for one day or more on the posted strength of a unit or formation on land in Vietnam;
- conducted one operational sortie over Vietnam or Vietnamese waters by aircrew on the posted strength of a unit allocated for direct support of operations in Vietnam;
- served for 30 days or more, continuous or aggregated, on official visits, inspections or other occurrences of a temporary nature on duty in Vietnam, or in ships or craft engaged in operations off the Vietnamese coast.
Service terminated by death or wounds, or the award of a decoration for gallantry led to the immediate award of the medal, regardless of whether the qualification period had been fulfilled.
Description
- The Vietnam Medal is a circular medal made of nickel-silver. The obverse bears the crowned effigy of Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
with the inscription 'ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F.D.'. - The reverse of the medal has the word 'VIETNAM' at the top centre above a depiction of a man standing between two symbolic spheres, "in representation of the ideological war in Vietnam".
- The medal ribbon contains a broad central stripe of bright yellow surmounted by three thin red stripes (representing the Republic of VietnamSouth VietnamSouth Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
). The ribbon also has a blue stripe to represent the Navy, two red stripes for the Army and a light blue stripe for the Air Force. - The recipient's name, rank and serial number are engraved on the edge of the medal.