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There have been many inquiries
about the service medals a veteran can or should display. As most
veterans have been out of the service for many years, this information
can be hard to find. It is easy to find information on the Internet
regarding the subject, but any of this information can be incorrect. If
any, the information found at genuine U.S. Government military web sites
would tend to be the most believable.
Types of medals can be broken
down into a few categories:
1.) "Personal/Individual"
awards/medals awarded you are usually found listed in box # 24 on your
DD-214 discharge form. Unit Commanders recommend awards, award clerks
add DD-214 information. Items may include "badges" for various
qualifications such as sharp-shooter, mechanic, various driver,
airborne, infantry, etc. Other medals/awards could include various
individual types such as Purple Heart, Silver/Bronze Stars, Army
Commendation, Air Medal, overseas bars ( one each six months ), years of
service hash-marks ( one = three years, not listed on DD-214 ), etc.
Vietnam Medals "should" be at least National Defense Service, Vietnam
Service, Vietnam Campaign, and Good Conduct Medal.
2.) "Unit Citations" awarded
to the unit you were in during the prescribed periods designated. They
would include RVN Gallantry Cross w/Palm. This type is awarded by
government decree, as the RVN awarded to US units in Vietnam.
Information on these types of awards normally have documentation that
can be very hard to find.
3.) "Commemorative Medals"
struck ( issued ) to honor various wars, time periods, and honorable
military services. These include Republic of Vietnam Defense 1960-1975,
Army Commemorative 1775-2000, Cold War Victory Commemorative 2 Sep.1945
- 26 Dec. 1991 ( you can apply for a certificate ).
4.) "Others Medals" can
include various foreign country medals awarded to individuals or units
while serving in those countries. Information on these are also hard to
find to confirm correct protocol.
Some information can be found
in catalogs and on web sites, but is not clear. While medal companies
claim that you can display some of these, they do not appear to offer
documentation of awarding those from foreign governments. Be sure to see
the D.O.D. webpage titled "Manual of Military Decorations and Awards"
at:
http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/
(requires Acrobat Reader to view)
5.) "Devices" are medal or
medal ribbon attachments. These include very small stars, leafs,
letters, knots, or palms. Three Bronze Stars on the Vietnam Service
medal indicates three campaigns, more if you served longer. One Silver
Star equals five Bronze Stars. Stars are also used to indicate multiple
awards. Knots on Good Conduct medals indicate one for each three years
service: bronze 2nd-5th, silver 6th-10th, gold 11th-15th awards. The
Good Conduct Medal can be issued after completion of first enlistment,
draftees after two years.
All medals listed on your
DD-214 form should have been issued to you. If not, you can order them
from the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri:
National
Personnel Records Center
Medals Section (NRPMA-M)
9700 Page Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63132
Send in your DD-214, your completed
DA Form 180 (download from The National Archives:
http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/standard-form-180.html ) and you will receive them free in about 9
to 12
months from the supply center in Philadelphia. All medals will
"normally" have your name inscribed on the back.
All foreign and commemorative
medals, devices, service bars and hashes must be purchased from medals
companies at your own cost. Most medals are about $20 - 30 for full
size, ribbons $1.00 - $2.50., some include the ribbons. Miniature medals
and hat pins are available also, some sell tie tacks.
Companies that sell medals,
awards, devices, collar insignia, some patches, and display cases are
Medals of America, Call to Colors, H. J. Saunders, R.W. Fuller, and
other smaller companies. H.J. Saunders appears to have the largest
assortment of Unit Crests for sale.
Danang Enterprises sells
various small hat pin type items in the form of unit patches, awards,
military equipment, location script, POW/MIA, flags, and humorous. These
range in price from $4.00 - $5.00. In addition, they offer many other
memorabilia items. These types of items can also be found at flea
markets.
A few other companies offering
items are: Graco Industries, Vets Supply Line, Quartermaster, 12 O’Clock
High, National Capitol Historic Sales, and Overload Military Collection.
More:
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This article is from the U.S.
Department of Veteran’s Affairs web site at:
http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Benefits/Herbicide/AOno1.htm
Vietnam Veterans Benefit From
Agent Orange
Rules, Compensation and Pension Service
They are society's leaders. They run
businesses; direct organizations; hold political office. In
their mid-50s, they are at the height of their social and
economic power, earning more than others in their age group.
Yet, with their success, they can't escape the inevitable
health concerns of a graying population.
They are Vietnam veterans, and the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) is concerned they may regard diseases
associated with aging, such as prostate cancer, as just
another illness rather than as the result of their military
service in Southeast Asia.
VA wants these Vietnam veterans to know that they may be
eligible for compensation and health care for certain
diseases associated with Agent Orange, the defoliant sprayed
to unmask enemy hiding places in the jungles throughout
Vietnam.
Special health care and compensation benefits are available
to the 2.6 million men and women who served in Vietnam
between 1962 and 1975, only 3,300 of whom remain in uniform
today. Those discharged during that period are the largest
group of veterans receiving VA health care and monthly
compensation.
Yet a small percentage of their disability claims are for
illnesses scientists have listed as being associated with
Agent Orange. VA presumes that all military personnel who
served in Vietnam were exposed to Agent Orange, and federal
law presumes that certain illnesses are a result of that
exposure. This so-called "presumptive policy" simplifies the
process of receiving compensation for these diseases since
VA foregoes the normal requirements of proving that an
illness began or was worsened during military service.
Based on clinical research, the following diseases are on
VA's Agent Orange list of presumptive disabilities:
chloracne, Hodgkin's disease, multiple myeloma,
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, porphyria cutanea tarda, respiratory
cancers (lung, bronchus, larynx and trachea), soft-tissue
sarcoma, acute and subacute peripheral neuropathy and
prostate cancer. A regulation is being developed to add
diabetes mellitus.
In addition, monetary benefits, health care and vocational
rehabilitation services are provided to Vietnam veterans'
offspring with spina bifida, a congenital birth defect of
the spine. A new law authorizes health care and monetary
benefits to children of female veterans who served in
Vietnam for certain additional birth defects. Those
additional benefits under the new law will not be payable to
the beneficiaries until Dec. 1, 2001.
Veterans who served in Vietnam during the war also are
eligible for a complete physical examination. If a VA
physician suspects a disease might be related to Agent
Orange, VA will provide free medical care. Those who
participate in the examination program become part of an
Agent Orange Registry and receive periodic mailings from VA
about the latest Agent Orange studies and new diseases being
covered under VA policies.
Vietnam veterans and their families can contact VA for more
information about these benefits. For the Agent Orange
Registry physical examination, call a local VA hospital or
clinic listed in the government pages of your phone book. To
file a compensation claim for a current disability related
to Agent Orange, veterans can call 1-800-827-1000 for an
application form or visit VA's Web site at:
http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov
_______________________________________________
Also:
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Korea DMZ Vets and
Agent Orange |
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Source:
January 2004 VFW Magazine
Compiled by Ted Sypko
The Pentagon has confirmed that Agent Orange was
used from April 1968 through July 1969 to defoliate the
fields of fire between the front line defensive positions
and the south barrier fence. The size of the treated area
was a strip of land 151 miles long and up to 350 yards wide,
from the fence to north of the civilian control line. There
is no indication that herbicides were sprayed inside the DMZ
itself. |
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Who and What is Eligible |
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Mandatory
requirements
- Service in country between April 1968 and July 1969.
- Assignment to a specified unit in Korea between April
1968 and July 1969.
- Medical evidence of presumptive condition under
38 C.F.R. 3.309
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Military Units
Eligible (April 1968 to July 1969) Elements of four combat brigades of the
2nd Infantry Division:
- 72nd Armor - 1st & 2nd Battalions
- 7th Cavalry - 4th Battalion
- 9th Infantry - 1st & 2nd Battalions
- 23rd Infantry - 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions
- 38th Infantry - 1st & 2nd Battalions
3rd Brigade, 7th Infantry Division:
- 73rd Armor - 1st Battalion
- 10th Cavalry - 2nd Battalion
- 17th Infantry - 1st & 2nd Battalions
- 32nd Infantry - 3rd Battalion
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Herbicide-Associated Health Conditions
Presumptively Recognized
- Chloracne (must occur within one year of exposure
to Agent Orange).
- Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
- Soft tissue sarcoma (other than osteosarcoma,
chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, or mesthelioma).
- Hodgkin's disease.
- Porphyria cutanea tarda (must occur within one
year of exposure).
- Multiple myeloma.
- Respiratory cancers, including cancers of the lung,
larynx, trachea, and bronchus.
- Prostate cancer.
- Acute and subacute transient peripheral neuropathy
(must occur within one year of exposure and resolve
within two years of date of onset).
- Type 2 diabetes.
- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
- Spina bifida (except spina bifida occulta) is a condition
recognized in children of some Korea DMZ vets. |
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