Medal Info

"Freedom has a taste, and for those that have fought for it, the taste is so sweet the protected will never know..."

General George Patton

Free Medal Replacement

Unfortunately, over the years many veterans have lost, misplaced, or discarded the medals and ribbons they earned while in the Military. Sometimes, the servicemember never received the medal or award for some reason, even though the citation was written and the award approved.

Many pawn shops, military surplus stores and vendors sell military medals, ribbons, and awards, but there is also a way to obtain replacements (sometimes for free) from the Government.

Requests for the issuance or replacement of military service medals, decorations, and awards should be directed to the specific branch of the military in which the veteran served. However, for Air Force (including Army Air Corps) and Army personnel, the National Personnel Records Center will verify the awards to which a veteran is entitled and forward the request with the verification to the appropriate service department for issuance of the medals.

Generally, there is no charge for medal or award replacements, if requested by the Veteran. Only one replacement is allowed per medal or decoration.

There may be a small fee charged for replacements requested by family members of deceased servicemembers. The length of time to receive a response or your medals and awards varies depending upon the branch of service sending the medals, but the process can take several months (up to one year) due to manning and funding shortfalls at the National Military Personnel Records Center.

The Standard Form (SF) 180, Request Pertaining to Military Records, is recommended for requesting medals and awards. Provide as much information as possible, make sure you specifically request medal/decoration replacement in the remarks, and send the form to the appropriate address from the following table:

Service Branch	Where to write	Mailed from
Army	National Personnel Records Center Medals Section (NRPMA-M) 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis, MO 63132-5100	U.S. Army Soldier & Biological Chemical Command, IMMC Soldier Systems Directorate 700 Robbins Avenue P.O. Box 57997 Philadelphia, PA 19111-7997
Air Force (including Army Air Corps & Army Air Forces)	National Personnel Records Center Air Force Reference Branch (NRPMF) 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis, MO 63132-5100	Headquarters Air Force Personnel Ctr AFPC/DPPPR 550 C Street West, Suite 12 Randolph AFB, TX 78150-4714
Navy	Bureau of Naval Personnel Liaison Office Room 5409 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis, MO 63132-5100	Bureau of Naval Personnel Liaison Office Room 5409 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis, MO 63132-5100
Marine Corps	Bureau of Naval Personnel Liaison Office Room 5409 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis, MO 63132-5100	Bureau of Naval Personnel Liaison Office Room 5409 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis, MO 63132-5100
Coast Guard	Bureau of Naval Personnel Liaison Office Room 5409 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis, MO 63132-5100	Bureau of Naval Personnel Liaison Office Room 5409 9700 Page Avenue St. Louis, MO 63132-5100