BRITISH EMPIRE ME~)AL (BEM) 19188369 TSG D. G. lllerick 15374802 TSG C. T. Capin 33633805 CPL J. L. Taylor MENTION IN DESPATCHES (MID) 0-1100380 CPT J. J. Wallner 20253240 TSG P. J. Luisi 0-304920 LTC A. W. Ind 0-1574556 MAJ C. S. Wilcox BG Johns COL J. M. Blank COL F. N. Burns COL J. J. Carew COL G. DeGraaf COL C. J. Haro!d COL C. S. Myers MAJ W. C. Bailey MAJ C. S. Macintyre 0-413486 CPT R. L. Perry, USAAF 0-4334?4 CPT F. C. Church 0-424606 ILT V. H. Yuska 0-662199 ILT W. B. Thompson 20901113 SSG J. J. Gerity 15012625 SGT D. T. Lsrimore 17001547 TSG W. C. llse 18041291 PVT R. E. White 0-247121 COL J. B. Fraser

It is not known if U. S. personnel wore the emblem of the MID, and if so, on what ribbon. The author would be interested to hear from any reader who has service details and a list of awards to American recipients of the DSO, MC, and MM, for a future article.

EDITOR’S NOTEs The author of this article, Major Rex Clark, of Army, is a long-time OMSA member, and a distinguished soldier in his own rigt. He has been awarded the U. S. Soldier’s Medal, Bronze Star with "V" and two oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with "V", Joint Services Com- mendation Medal. In addition, he holds the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Gold Star, Life Saving Medal, Armed Forces Honor Medal ist Class, Staff Service Medal, Training Ser- vice Medal, and Campaign Star with bar "60". He also has the Campaign Service Medal (1962) with Clasps South Viet- nam, Northern Ireland, and Dhofar [the only person to have this combination of clasps~. Furthermore, he is a member of the Order of Saint John and has received the Iranian Gold Medal for Valor, the Omani Bravery Medal, and the Omani Dhofar Campaign Medal with Clasp. Unfortunately, the Aus- tralian government has not permitted him to wear most of these awards~ received fighting in South Viet Nam, Oman, and Northern Ireland. It is to be hoped that the Australian Government will revise its policies in this regard for our brave fellow member. [My thanks to Secretary John Lelle for this information and for a clipping from the TIMES (May 4, 1976)~. FIGURE 8 Major Rex Clark #901 receiving the Iranian Gold Medal for Va!or from the Iranian Ambassador

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK~ In the preceding article, Major Clark asked if, and how, U. S. personnel wore the MID oak leaf. A partial answer would appear to be that if they received no British Mar Medal~ the emblem would be worn as in the British services~ that is, by itself, following all other medals or ribbons. Whether such was the case is not known. Perhaps, a member could enlighten us on the subject.

ViET CONG "HERO NH0 RISES TO VICTORY" MEDAL~ THIRD CLASS By F. C. Brown #20?3

The Viet Cong "Hero Who Rises to Victory" Medal, 3rd Class, was awarded to soldiers of the South Vietnamese National Liberation Front who were recommended by compnay-level cadre for exemplary performance of duty--not necessarily in combat, but rather in overall behavior.

The medal~ constructed of brass and colored with baked enamel, consists of a bar and pendant disc, and is attached to the uniform by a pin on the back of the bar. The bar itself is 2.? cm long and 0.? cm wide~ and is similar in design to the flag of the National Liberation Front, except that the lower half is colored green.

The disc is designed as a gold, five-pointed star, with stylized rays emanating between the points. The center of the disc portrays two armed Viet Cong soldiers. Surrounding this is an inscription stating the type and class of the medal. The phrase, "Dung Si Quyet Thang, " translates as,

-20- "Hero Who Rises to Victory"; the words "Cap III," translate as, "Third Class."

Questionss i) Was an award certificate issued with the medal? z) Were North Vietnamese troops serving as "fil- lers" in Viet Cong units also eligible for the award?

REFERENCEs DOA, Change No. 2, Annex Fs Awards and Decorations. NOTEs The author would like to thank Dave White, of Torrance~ California, for his assistance in the preparation of this article. The particular specimen illustrated here was picked up inside Cambodia ~uring the 1970 incursion and comes from theDave White Collection, Torrance, California.

2T MI~

REEN

RED ~ SKY BLUE ~ GOLD

FIGURE 9 -SKETCH i HERO WHO RISES TO HERO WHO RISES TO VICTORY, 3rd CLASS VICTORY, 3rd CLASS

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