French Liberation Medal?

Hello all,

I've been reading on another thread about the award of the French Liberation Medal to Normandy veterans. Is this something that is still available to claim does anyone know?

My grandfather went ashore on Sword Beach and was wounded in action at Chateau De La Londe. I'm currently trying to put together a medal collection for him and hadn't come across this one as I've been concentrating on the British campaign medals.

Cheers,

Matt

 

wich one do you mean?

-the French Resistance Medal was last awarded in 1947 and is no longer available to claim.

-The Order of liberation was last awarded in 1946. There were only 2 exceptions :Churchill in 1958 and George VI , posthumously in 1960

- However I believe the Commemorative Medal is still available for WWII Veterans who fough tthe Axis

 

Hi Skipper, I presume it'd be the latter one the Commemorative Medal?

 

Applications can be sent to the Ministry of Defence. Here are the conditions (in French):

fncv federation nationale combattants volontaires france association

 

That's brilliant, many thanks

 

Hi Spook, welcome to the forum. The French Liberation Medal I told Sandy about in the other thread was issued to American troops who served in France during the liberation. It was not issued as a commemorative, but as an actual foreign award that could be worn on the uniform. For some reason it was awarded exclusively to Americans. Seems odd since other countries participated just as well as the Americans in liberating France. I'm thinking they gave the other countries a different medal, like the one Skipper has displayed. Another odd thing is they turned this medal into a commemorative in the 50's, and is now sold as a commemorative. I located a picture of one on ebay. I never seen a British display, would love to have you post a picture when you finish.


RARE WW2 FREE FRENCH FORCES MEDAL OF LIBERATED FRANCE - eBay Other 1939 - 1945, 1939 - 1945 WWII, Militaria, Collectables. (end time 15-Nov-09 16:44:07 AEDST)

 

the one you mention is the WWII Victory Medal, they have similar ribbons for all allied countries and were inspired by the WWI Victory Medal

 

French Liberation Medal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Think we're talking about the same medal, the ribbon's colors are the same, but placed opposite, the U.S. WWI Victory Medal . I've always known it as the French Liberation Medal--guess the actual translation is "Liberated France Medal". This article dosen't show the actual medal but the Ebay picture does. What is the name of the medal that you posted? Nice looking medal.

 

the one I posted is called the Commemorative Medal (Medaille Commémorative)

 

I realize this is an old post, but I stumbled onto it while looking for something else, and I joined the Forums because of it, so I'm going to post a reply! ;-)

The Medal for the Liberation of France is a medal awarded by the government of France to French military and civilians who participated in the liberation of France from German occupation between 1940 and 10 May 1945. It was instituted on 12 September 1947. Allied soldiers that fought on French soil were also authorized to receive the award. This was one of the most commonly earned foreign awards for American GIs. Recipients that were members of the U.S. military were authorized to wear it on their uniform. I don't know about the regulations of any other nation's military regarding its wear.

The World War II Victory Medal is an official U.S. military decoration that is completely separate from the above award, and was also worn on the uniform. I don't know what other nations, if any, have this same award.

The commemorative medal is an unofficial, commercial award that is not authorized to be worn on a U.S. military uniform.

 

Perhaps you mean the Normandy veterans medal given to veterans in 2004 for the 60th anniversary, like the one awarded to my late Father and many other allied veterans.

 

This very same medal ( French Liberation Medal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ) was issued as an official medal that the soldiers could wear on the uniform during the war but later turned into a commemorative after the war. The commemorative was issued on the 50th anniversary of D-Day and called the "Golden Jubilee of Liberty) http://www.docstoc.com/docs/116784560/JUBILEE-OF-LIBERTY-MEDAL

The breast badge posted by sonofacameron was issued on the 65th anniversary and was given to veterans who helped liberate France but they had to go to France to receive it. By then, not many were given.

The thing about the original French Liberation Medal was not many were actually presented during the war because brass was needed for the war effort and France really wasn't in the position to manufacture many medals. After the war there was a window for the entitled soldiers to ask for the medal but not many were interested or didn't know about it. I tried to get one from France for my brother but missed the window and finally bought one on ebay for his display.
Why this medal was issued as a foreign award and then turned into a commemorative by our War Dept is unclear.

ETO buff is correct about the WWII Victory Medal. It was issued by the U.S. and is an official medal. The drape ribbon) looks similar to the French Liberalton Medal but the colors are actually reversed.