Montana Award of Valorous Service

[JPL]

Just came across this news article:

State has own medal of valor; Montana one of only four states with honor for fallen veterans

Montana will honor its veterans who died or are missing in action with an official state medal of valor. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock signed a law during a ceremony making official the Montana Award of Valorous Service.

The medal will be given to the families of about 1,500 Montana servicemen and women who have died or are missing in action since 1941. State personnel will spend the next year trying to identify the families who qualify for the medal and begin distributing them by 2015. The bill gives the Department of Military Affairs the ability to accept and spend private donations to fund the medal. It will cost about $7,000 to produce 100 medals.

The medal features a silver cross with a circular medallion in the middle. The medallion has a gold star for the families of fallen troops, depictions of mountains, blue sky and grasslands. It has an eagle feather for Montana Native Americans and a pick ax to represent the state’s mining culture. The medal also includes a plate with “4-41” to represent Montana as the fourth largest state and the 41st state to enter the Union.

Read the complete article: http://mtstandard.com/news/local/state-has-own-medal-of-valor-montana-one-of-only/article_f25488dc-cd88-11e2-8d11-001a4bcf887a.html

Here is a PDF version of the legislation: http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2013/sb0299/SB0242_x.pdf

Jean-Paul

[Ulsterman]

Cool. looks like it was patterned after the Maine Gold Star medal, which many GMIC members here helped fund initially. At $70 a medal, I hope it is a nice, well made one.