| Republic of Vietnam decorations earned by WO1 Lewis A. Walton | ||
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The Vietnam Military Merit Medal
was the highest military decoration of South Vietnam during the years of
the Vietnam War. Created August 15, 1950, the Military Merit Medal was
modeled after the French Médaille militaire, and was the Vietnamese
equivalent to the United States Medal of Honor and was authorized
to those soldiers who had performed extreme acts of bravery or had given
their lives in armed combat with enemy forces of Vietnam.The
Medal was established on August 15, 1950 and awarded the military for
heroism and bravery on the battlefield, the successful management of
troops and other troops exceptional merit. Analogous to the French
military medal. There are three types obverse.
The United States military authorized the Vietnam Military Merit Medal as a foreign decoration and permitted the medal to be worn on U.S. uniforms. A high number of bestowals, however, were made posthumously as the medal was most often awarded to United States enlisted personnel who had been killed in action fighting the forces of North Vietnam or the guerrilla forces of the Viet Cong. The Vietnam Military Merit Medal was last issued to U.S. personnel in 1973 and was discontinued after the fall of South Vietnam in 1975.
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The Vietnam Gallantry Cross
is a military decoration of South Vietnam which was established in
August 1950. Also known as the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, the
Gallantry Cross is awarded to any military personnel who have
accomplished deeds of valor or displayed heroic conduct while fighting
an enemy force. It was modeled after the French Croix de guerre. The Gallantry Cross is issued in four degrees, with a basic medal followed by higher degrees which are the equivalent of personal citations on an organizational level (also known as having been "mentioned in dispatches"). The degrees of the Gallantry Cross are as follows:
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The Vietnam Campaign Medal is a military
recognition awarded by the Republic of Vietnam to any member of the
United States, Australian, New Zealand and allied military forces, who
completed at least six months of duty in South Vietnam between the dates
of 1 March 1961 and 28 March 1973. Established in 1966, the decoration
is a service medal of the Vietnam War and was the most commonly bestowed
foreign military award to United States military personnel prior to the
Gulf War. The decoration may also be awarded to any service member who, while serving outside the geographical limits of the Republic of Vietnam, provided direct combat support to the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces for a period exceeding six months. This stipulation most often applies to members who performed Vietnam War support from Thailand and Japan. In such cases, a US service member must have been awarded either the Vietnam Service Medal or the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (for service in a Vietnam campaign) to be eligible for the Vietnam Campaign Medal. For those members who were wounded by an enemy force, captured by the enemy in the line of duty, or killed in action, the Vietnam Campaign Medal is automatically awarded regardless of total time served in Vietnam. The Vietnam Campaign Medal is issued with a device known as the “1960 Bar”. The bar displays the date of 1960 followed by a dash and a blank space. The unusual appearance was caused by the government of the Republic of Vietnam stating that the 1960 bar would show the dates of the Vietnam War from start to finish, with the ending date placed on the 1960 bar after the South Vietnamese had triumphed over North Vietnam (the Democratic Republic of Vietnam). Since South Vietnam fell, and the government ceased to exist, an ending date for the 1960 Bar was never established.
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