| Vietnamese Gallantry Cross | |
|---|---|
Gallantry Cross Medal in gold |
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| Awarded by South Vietnam | |
| Type | Four-degree military award. The four degrees are: Gallantry Cross with Palm Gallantry Cross with Gold Star Gallantry Cross with Silver Star Gallantry Cross with Bronze Star |
| Eligibility | Awarded to military individuals, corps, divisions, regiments, and brigades |
| Awarded for | accomplishing deeds of valor or displayed heroic conduct while fighting an enemy force. |
| Status | No longer awarded |
| Statistics | |
| Established | August 1950 |
| Related | Modelled after Croix de guerre |
with Bronze Palm with Gold Star with Silver Star with Bronze Star
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The Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross is a military decoration of the former Government of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). The medal was established in August 1950 and May 1952. The Vietnamese Gallantry Cross (Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry) was awarded to military personnel who have accomplished deeds of valor or displayed heroic conduct while fighting the enemy and have been cited individually before a regiment, brigade, division, corps, or armed forces level. The Gallantry Cross was modeled after the French Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) medal.
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The Vietnam Gallantry Cross was awarded in four degrees, with a basic medal followed by higher degrees which were 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:
The 'Gallantry Cross with Palm was awarded in three degrees: golden palm, silver palm and bronze palm (see for example photos of Hal Moore (two golden and one silver palm), Robert H. Barrow (two silver palms), Patrick Henry Brady (one golden palm and one bronze star), H. Norman Schwarzkopf (two bronze palms and one bronze star) or William J. Crowe.
The devices to the Gallantry Cross are not worn simultaneously but instead are upgradeable to the next higher device which would replace the previous device for wear on the decoration.
For U.S. Navy personnel, uniform regulations state the recipient should wear only one Gallantry Cross award (medal or ribbon bar) regardless of the number received. For multiple awards, wear as many authorized devices as will fit on one medal or ribbon bar. Wear the devices for subsequent awards in order of seniority from the wearer's right.
The Gallantry Cross was also awarded in three versions, the first of which was the standard Gallantry Cross which was awarded to members of all military branches, as well as service members of foreign and allied militaries.
The other two versions of the Gallantry Cross were the Air Gallantry Cross and Navy Gallantry Cross. These decorations were awarded under a different authority than the standard Gallantry Cross and were considered separate decorations.
U.S. Army
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation:
The unit citation of the Gallantry Cross is awarded by the Vietnamese government for valorous combat achievement.
It is awarded in four degrees as follows:
a. With Palm--To a unit cited before the Armed Forces
b. With Gold Star--To a unit which is cited before a corps
c. With Silver Star--To a unit which is cited before a division
d. With Bronze Star--To a unit which is cited before a regiment or brigade
U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) and its subordinate units (8 Feb 1962 to 28 Mar 1973)
U.S. Army Vietnam and its subordinate units (20 July 1965 to 28 Mar 1973)
This permits all personnel who served in Vietnam to wear the RVN Gallantry Cross unit citation.
U.S. Navy and Marine Corps
Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation:
Awarded by the Chief of the Joint General Staff, Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces in the two colors:
Gallantry Cross Medal Color with Palm (8 Feb 1962 to 28 Mar 1973)
Civil Actions Medal, First Class Color with Palm (1 Jan 1965 to 28 Mar 1973)
The ribbon bar with frame and palm are authorized for wear.<br>In addition to specific ships/units cited (in Southeast Asia) and authorized by the Secretary of the Navy, all Navy and Marine Corps personnel who served "in country" Vietnam during the eligibilty periods are eligible for both awards. Apply for both awards as:
Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Gallantry Cross)
Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Civil Actions Medal)
The Vietnam Gallantry Cross was also awarded as a unit award. Known as the "Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm", the unit citation of the Gallantry Cross was created in 1968 and was issued with the Gallantry Cross ribbon bar with gold frame and bronze palm. The former Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) Armed Forces awarded the Gallantry Cross individually to certain military units that distinguished themselves to the same level as would be required for the individual award. Regulations for the issuance of the Vietnam Gallantry Cross permit the wearing of both the individual and unit award simultaneously since both are considered separate awards. The Vietnamese Fourragere represented additional unit awards of the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) Gallantry Cross. It was a brilliant golden-yellow, with red intermixed. Department of the Army message 111030Z from April 1974, established the policy that only one emblem for a unit award was authorized to be worn at a time. This change resulted in the fourragere being no longer authorized for wear, as it was representative of multiple awards.[1] The Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm was awarded to every Allied nation which provided military support to South Vietnam. The unit decoration thus became the most commonly awarded Vietnamese decoration to foreigners, second only to the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.
The United States military began authorizing the Vietnam Gallantry Cross in March 1968 with retroactive presentation of the decoration to 1961. In 1974, Army General Order Number 8 confirmed eligibility for the Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation to every military unit of the United States Army which had served under the Military Assistance Command from 1961 to 1974, however, orders, specific as to dates and units, do exist for specific Army commands as well as for members of other services not affected by the Army General Order. There is no documentaion to be found supporting the claim that this award is awarded to service members who participated in the evacuation of Saigon during April 1975. This is an unsupported claim.
The National Personnel Records Center is the agency which responds to retroactive award requests, from U.S. Army veterans, updating military records to show the Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation, either per Army General Order 8 or per unit specific awards. The decoration itself, both full medal and unit citation, are considered foreign military decorations and are not provided to Vietnam veterans by any of the United States military services. The decoration is available for purchase at most Military Installations military clothing sales. But if they are unable to access a military installation, private military insignia dealers have them on hand. The decoration may also be found for sale on the Internet.