Belgium Décoration militaire

[TacHel]

Quick question here...

The "Décoration militaire pour service exceptionnel ou acte de courage ou de dévouement" and the "Décoration militaire" (for service), are they 100% identical except for the different ribbons?

[Vatjan]

Yes they are.

Jan

[TacHel]

Thank you!

Now for question #2: does the unilingual French inscription identify this one as a pre-1952 piece like other Belgium awards?

[Tim B]

Hi Frank,

Yes, pretty much. The centers do change depending on the period of manufacture. Here's a link to Guy's site and it's still the most informative site on these particular medals. http://users.telenet.be/deploige/OMD-DM/index.html

TIm

[TacHel]

Thanks for the info and the link to that awesome site!! :cheers:

[TacHel]

One more question but this time dealing with the palm on the war time issue decoration...

I recently purchased this one (Leopold III 1934 - 1952) but the palm doesn't have the proper royal cypher. Is this a variant or is this palm completely wrong for this cross?

Edited September 23, 2011 by TacHel

[TacHel]

Never mind... I found my answer... DUH! :blush:

[Tim B]

Frank,

There are a few old threads here you can search for more information/examples. Here's one you may find informative: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/6650-decoration-militaire-belgium/

Tim

[IrishGunner]

Well, I think I have a bit of a mixed soup here...

Ribbon for "Décoration Militaire pour Acte de Courage et de Dévouement"

A 2. Class pendant

And a 1. Class box...

So, what do I really have here? Is this a mixture or is this the right combination?

[Hendrik]

Sorry mate, the box is for the Industrial Decoration 1st class (Décoration Industrielle / Nijverheids-Ereteken).

Regards,

Hendrik

Edited February 3, 2014 by Hendrik

[IrishGunner]

Sorry mate, the box is for the Industrial Decoration 1st class (Décoration Industrielle / Nijverheids-Ereteken).

Regards,

Hendrik

Yea, I knew it was not the correct box. Thanks for the identification.

Do the medal and ribbon go together? I think, yes; I've looked at the reference web pages (but don't read French).

Edited February 3, 2014 by Hendrik

[Hendrik]

Do the medal and ribbon go together? I think, yes; I've looked at the reference web pages (but don't read French).

Yes, they go together very well

The Military Decoration and The Military Decoration (Article 4)

Awarded to Belgian's armed forces noncoms or other ranks for either long service or for acts of bravery or distinguished service (Article 4).

The Military Decoration was instituted on 22 December 1873 and early in the 20th century, a division into two classes was decreed. The 2nd Class decoration is awarded after 10 years of service, a further 5 years entitles the recipient to wear a gilt chevron on the ribbon, indicating a 1st Class award. If awarded for bravery or distinguished service (Article 4 of the decoration's statutes), the long service ribbon is changed to a red one bordered by the national Belgian colours. In case of an award for war-time related acts, a silver palm with the royal monogram is affixed on the ribbon.