The Vietnam Air Gallantry Cross was a military decoration of South Vietnam which was issued during the years of the Vietnam War. The Air Gallantry Cross was awarded for meritorious or heroic conduct while engaged in aerial combat. The decoration was comparable to the United States decoration of the Air Medal.
The Air Gallantry Cross was occasionally awarded to members of foreign militaries, but only if an air combat action was performed which directly benefitted Vietnamese war efforts. Pilots of the United States Air Force were often awarded the Air Gallantry Cross.
Separate decorations, known as the Vietnam Gallantry Cross and Vietnam Navy Gallantry Cross, were also issued for general service and naval achievement. These were separate awards from the Vietnam Air Gallantry Cross.
The reverse of the cross is inscribed with the date of the act of bravery for which the award is being given.
On the back side of the cross is engraved the date of the act which earned the Cross, and upon the back of the mounting bar is engraved the rank, name, and regiment of the person it was awarded to.
In the years before this happened, 8 men forfeited their Victoria Crosses, after being convicted of a number of offenses ranging from the theft of a pair of sacks of oats, or a cow, to bigamy, to desertion and evading court martial, to theft of a comrade's medals.
The GallantryCross 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").
Known as the "Vietnam GallantryCross Unit Citation with Palm," the unit citation award was created in 1968 and was issued as the GallantryCross ribbon, with a metal palm device, enclosed within a gold frame.
The Vietnam GallantryCross Unit Citation with Palm was issued to every Allied nation which provided military support to Vietnam between 1 March 1961 and the fall of Saigon in April 1975.
Feeds |
Contact