How to Retrieve Your Military Medals

You can get replacement medals that you received while serving your country if they where lost or stolen or thrown away and know you want them back. Spouses or children of deceased fathers and husbands may also get a replacement medals of their loved one. The main item you need his your DD214...

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Patience
• Forms

1. 
    
   Replacement medal

   The first step is to locate your DD214. This is every discharged veterans paper work which has the dates you served, the branch of the military, your (MOS)occupation, how long you served and under what conditions. If you have it fantastic, it will make the process much easier.
   If you don't proceed to step 2.

2. Step 2: You need to contact the National Archives at web site www.archives.gov
   First you need to get the DD214 form. How you do that is to download a form SF-180 and mail or fax in the form. In the web site they will give you the address. Or you can email them through there web site at evetrecs system to create your request.

3. Know you have your DD214 your next step is to send form SF180 or complete the same form from the web site evetrecs and send it in.
   All the medals are free for the first request after that you are charged a small fee.

Tips & Warnings

• As with all things with the government it will take around two months to receive your medals.
• Thanks for serving or having a loved one who served.

[plumberi]

on 9/10/2009 I'm not an expert medal expert, but if you recieve a medal normally it comes with a large medal and a ribbon that goes on your uniform. The small medals as far as I know you are not given any. If you want the smaller ones you can purhase them on base. When you get out of the military you can buy rippons etc. all over the place.
I'm sure there may be an article that some one knows every little detail about medals. If you have more questions about the anodized medal etc. you will have to ask someone else, I don't know.
As far as your father is concerned if you follow my instructions on retrieving his medals the branch of service should be able to get your father the right medals.
As normal the military messes up and even if he served somehwere or did something right the military may have messed up his records. On the DD214 form all your medals are on that form and that is what the mi...

[RouletteC]

on 9/10/2009 What is the distinction between a regular sized medal, a miniature medal, a ribbon, or an anodized medal? Also, is there any difference in what an officer wears vs. an enlisted man? I just discovered my father qualified for the Navy Occupation Service Medal and since he was leaving the military he didn't get it. I'd like to get him one but I don't know which one to ask for. Thanks!