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Veterans of any U.S. military service may request replacement of medals which have been lost, stolen, destroyed or rendered unfit through no fault of the recipient. Request may also be filled for awards that were earned but, for some reason, were never issued to the service member. The next-of-kin of deceased veterans may also make the same request.
AIR FORCE
- The Air Force processes requests for medals through the National Personnel Records Center, which determines eligibility through the information in the veteran's records. Once verified, a notification of entitlement is forwarded to Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, from which the medals are mailed to the requestor. To request medals earned while in the Air Force or its predecessor, the Army Air Corps, veterans or their next-of-kin should write to:
It is requested thatrequestors use Standard Form 180, Request Pertaining to Military Records when aplying. Forms are available from VA Offices of the Department of veterans affairs (VA) or a Photocopy of the example on the link. If the SF180 is not used, a letter may be sent, but it must include: The veteren's full name used while in service, the brance of service, approximate dates of service and service number. The letter should indicate if the request is for a specific medal(s) or for all medals earned. The letter must be signed by the veteran or his next-of-kin, indicating the relationship to the deceased.
It is also helpful to include copies of any military service documents that indicate eligibility for medals, such as military orders or the report of seperation (DD Form 214 or its early equivalent). This is especially important if the request pertains to one of the millons of veterans whose original records were lost in a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973. The distroyed records involved all veterans who were discharged from the Army or Army Air Corps befor 1960, or from the Air Force befor 1964 and those whose last names fall alphabetically between Hubbard (James E.) and Z. Although the requested medals can often be issued on the basis of alternate records, the documents sent in with the request are sometimes the only means of determining proper eligibility.
Finally, requestor should exercise extreme patience. It may take serveral months or, in some cases, a year to determine eligibility and dispach the appropriate medals.
I have used this service to claim my Father-In-Laws medals fromhis service in the Army Air Corps during WWII and they gladly sent me the medals in the boxes that they are issued in at this time. There was also on his DD 214 he received a Discharge Lapel pin. I was thinking that there is no way they would still have this pin laying around but low and behold in the mail with all the medals was the lapel pin and all the stars required for the medals. I can say the service works and it is well worth your tax dollars to claim what you have earned as a veteran of the U.S. Military.
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