Awards and decorations of the Vietnam War

With the fall of South Vietnam, that country's official records of who received which awards disappeared.

The Commendation Medal was another decoration of the Vietnam War, issued frequently in various versions by the different branches of the US armed forces.

Australia and New Zealand awarded British and Commonwealth orders and decorations to their servicemen in Vietnam, including the Distinguished Service Order and the Military Cross Australia and New Zealand jointly developed and instituted the Vietnam Medal (though separate Royal Warrants were issued).

The obverse of the medal displays an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, the reverse shows a man standing between two spheres, a symbolic representation of the ideological struggle.

The qualifying criteria for the Medal are service of one day or more as a member or crew of a ship or aircraft operating in the prescribed area of operations of Vietnam in support of Australian forces, or service of one day or more within the prescribed area of operations of Vietnam while attached to a unit or organisation in support of Australian forces.