Question for nthe Vietnam Vets

Basil Faulty · Guru

Question for nthe Vietnam Vets

Vic41 · Senior Member

Basil, I am not a Vietnam Vet so cannot answer your query, however there is a free Tri Service Site forum where you could post your query;

http://www.tri-service.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=1

A medal mounter in your area would know also. I know one in Qld so will send him an email and ask him.

Vic

-- Edited by Vic41 on Saturday 13th of June 2009 12:00:55 AM

Vic41 · Senior Member

Hi Basil,

See answer below from Qld Medal Mounter, hope this helps;

Gday Vic,

To answer the question, going off what I have read simple answer is no!

If he qualified for the Vietnam Star then depending on when he was awarded it he would have been awarded one in country and made by the SVN Govt or afterwards on RTA, there are indeed three distinct genuine makes of this star, the original made in SVN of poor quality and later ones were produced by the Australian Govt and are of a much higher quality metal and enameling than the SVN issued ones, the third made in the USA has the suspension ring fixed as part of the medal.

The ones made by SVN and issued by that Govt were unnamed. All others made in Aust or USA always bear the recipients name.

The reason they were produced here is not because of quantity but quality. If he has the old one then he should hang onto it, there arent many of them.

If you can find out where he was awarded the star itd certainly make authenticity easier to verify.

Criteria

Republic of Viet Nam Campaign Medal. Sometimes called the "Vietnamese Star" or the "Viet Nam Star." The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal is awarded to personnel who meet one of the following requirements:

a. Served in the Republic of Vietnam for six months during the period of 1 March 1961 and 28 March 1973.

b. Served outside the geographical limits of the Republic of Vietnam and contributed direct combat support to the Republic of Vietnam and Armed Forces for six months. Such individuals must meet the criteria established for the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (for Vietnam) or the Vietnam Service Medal, to qualify for the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

c. Six months service is not required for individuals who were wounded by hostile forces; killed in action or otherwise in line of duty; or captured by hostile forces. The medal is a gold six pointed star with rays, 32cm in diameter, superimposed by a White enamelled star, 42cm in diameter, overall in centre a Green disc, 18cm in diameter, with the outline of the Vietnamese Country with a Red flame of three rays between North and South Vietnam.

On the reverse of the medal is a circle with a designation band containing the word "CHIEN-DICH" (Campaign) at the top and "BOI-TINH" (Medal) at the bottom. Across the centre of the circle is the word "VIET-NAM". The riband is 1 3/8 inches wide and consists of the following stripes: 1/16 inch Green 67183; 3/16 inch White 67101; 5/16 inch Green; 1/4 inch White; 5/16 inch Green; 3/16 inch White; and 1/16 inch Green.

See also : http://www.defence.gov.au/medals/ for qualifying period and pics.

Cheers,

Terry O'Morda
Medal Mounting & Military Patches
PO Box 92, Ashgrove, Qld, 4060
M. 0406 180 951
E. terryc_73@westnet.com.au

-- Edited by Vic41 on Friday 12th of June 2009 05:15:15 PM

Wombat 280 · Guru

How come you got yours presented by a bloke in an ornate uniform and a band , all of mine came through the mail in a brown cardboard box a little larger than a match box and I had to put the ribbons on myself . If they didn't have my name on the back I would have sent them back . In 30 odd years service I now have 9 plus three citations and they all came the same way, via the post in a plain wrapper, just like sex toys do so I'm told . Would be worth the effort it they added $5.00 for each to my pension each fortnight

Basil Faulty · Guru

RE: Question for the Vietnam Vets

tonyd · Guru

RE: Question for nthe Vietnam Vets

Vic41 · Senior Member

Tony,

I saw a letter that Normie Rowe had written to the Minister for the Army about DVA and it said more or less what you had said, especially about the attitude of the pencil pushers there both male and female, it was a classic and really socked it to them. I think VVAA are handling other DVA matters on behalf of ex Service Personnnel now as well as V Vets, I did read something about it, I think the governement might have given them some financial assistance to do so.

Basil,

I meant to tell you that the medal mounter Terry O'Morda (Ex Service) said that anyone was welcome to contact him if they had any medal queries on the contact details on the post (which he was happy to provide publicly on a post), he is also a military history buff. Email terryc_73@westnet.com.au Mob: 0406 180 951

The Tri Service website I provided on the previous post also has Advocates as members for any queries on entitlements/claims, repeating the site;

http://www.tri-service.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=1

Another Ex Service site that also has advocates as members is Australian Diggers;

http://www.diggerz.org/

Vic
(Ex ARA & RAAF 20 years)
PNG & Maylaysia

-- Edited by Vic41 on Saturday 13th of June 2009 11:24:05 AM