Argentina Falklands War Medals - Awarded by the Argentine Navy (A.R.A)

[Rocket]

Here are more pics from my collection featuring Argentine Falklands War period medals for the Argentine Navy. The A.R.A. (Armada de la Republica Argentina) includes both the Navy and Marines. The medals are:

 

Navy Heroically Killed in Combat Medal (Medalla al Murio Heroicamente en Combate La Armada)

Navy Killed in Combat Medal (Medalla al Murio en Combate La Armada)

Navy Wounded in Combat Medal (Medalla al Herido en Combate La Armada)

Navy Heroically Killed in Combat Medal (Medalla al Murio Heroicamente en Combate La Armada)  Note: This is a rare prototype with silver medal and black vertical stripe on ribbon.

Navy Heroic Valor in Combat Medal (Medalla al Heroica Valor en Combate La Armada)

Navy Medal of Honor for Valor in Combat (Medalla al Honor al Valor en Combate La Armada)

Navy Medal of Honor for Valor in Combat (Medalla al Honor al Valor en Combate La Armada)  Note: This larger version is awarded to units.

Navy Medal for International Operations (Medalla Operaciones Internacionales La Armada)  Note: Awarded for service in the 1990-1991 Gulf War.

Navy Medal for Combat Operations (Medalla Operaciones en Combate La Armada)  Note: This larger version is awarded to units.

Navy Medal for Combat Operations (Medalla Operaciones en Combate La Armada)  Note: "Malvinas" bar denotes service service during the Falklands War.

Navy Effort and Abnegation Medal (Medalla al Esfuerzo y Abnegacion La Armada)

 

John

 

 

 

 

 

[Gordon Craig]

John,

 

Thanks for posting these medals.  First time I have seen them.  I have some of the campaign medals for the Falklands war but the Malvinas Bar is new to me.  Great reference for Argentine medals.

 

Regards,

 

Gordon

 

[Rocket]

Here is an example of the Navy International Operations Medal with a different color ribbon. My understanding is that this is the correct style ribbon for this medal. Unfortunately, this example is not part of my collection. One of my contacts in Argentina shared this image to show examples of some of the different bars that go with this medal.

 

John

 

 

29 minutes ago, Gordon Craig said:

John,

 

Thanks for posting these medals.  First time I have seen them.  I have some of the campaign medals for the Falklands war but the Malvinas Bar is new to me.  Great reference for Argentine medals.

 

Regards,

 

Gordon

 

Gordon,

 

Probably the best reference for Argentine military medals is a book titled "Premios Militares" by Jose Felix Martinez Lamela. The book was written in 1995 and contains several color plates with examples of different medals. Unfortunately, it is written in Spanish and can be difficult to find. One of my fellow collector friends located in Argentina managed to find a copy for me.

 

John

 

 

[jimn]

I agree ..thanks for posting pictures of these medals I have always been interested in them.

Is it true that the various provinces and cities etc issue medals for the War as well?  I assume unofficial . As most pictures (of discharged soldiers)   of Argentine veterans they seem to be wearing many other awards not depicted here. Is there any information available on these unofficial awards?

Thanks 

Jim

[Rocket]

8 hours ago, jimn said:

I agree ..thanks for posting pictures of these medals I have always been interested in them.

Is it true that the various provinces and cities etc issue medals for the War as well?  I assume unofficial . As most pictures (of discharged soldiers)   of Argentine veterans they seem to be wearing many other awards not depicted here. Is there any information available on these unofficial awards?

Thanks 

Jim

Hi Jim,

 

You are correct...many of the Argentine provinces and cities issued unofficial commemorative medals to veterans. Unfortunately, I don't know of any informational source that documents these different awards. 

 

According to one of my fellow collector friends in Argentina there is only one "official" commemorative medal which is shown below on the left. The medal on the right is the official Malvinas War Combatants Medal issued by the Argentine Nation. It was instituted in 1984 with re-issues of the medal being made in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993 to award veterans of units not originally included in the award list such as Police, Coast Guard, etc.

 

John

 

 

[Megan]

Beautiful... and information that's hard to find!

 

Rocket - is there any chance you'd be kind enough to permit the use of your images on my website? (Full acknowledgement given, of course)?

 

Must see if I can track down that book.

[Rocket]

14 minutes ago, Megan said:

Beautiful... and information that's hard to find!

 

Rocket - is there any chance you'd be kind enough to permit the use of your images on my website? (Full acknowledgement given, of course)?

 

Must see if I can track down that book.

By all means...feel free to use the images as you see fit! 

 

[Megan]

Thank you most kindly!

 

May I ask your real name for the acknowledgements (by DM if you prefer)?

[Gordon Craig]

On 29/12/2021 at 08:22, Rocket said:

Hi Jim,

 

You are correct...many of the Argentine provinces and cities issued unofficial commemorative medals to veterans. Unfortunately, I don't know of any informational source that documents these different awards. 

 

According to one of my fellow collector friends in Argentina there is only one "official" commemorative medal which is shown below on the left. The medal on the right is the official Malvinas War Combatants Medal issued by the Argentine Nation. It was instituted in 1984 with re-issues of the medal being made in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993 to award veterans of units not originally included in the award list such as Police, Coast Guard, etc.

 

John

 

 

Rocket,

 

Your thread prompted me to dig out my binder on Argentine awards.  Your pictured medals, and comments, helped resolve some questions that I had and raised others.  Despite what I said above about the Malvinas bar I had recorded it in my binder but had forgotten about it.  Your comment about the "official" medal on the left is interesting.  This is the first time that I have heard of a "commemorative" medal for the Malvinas war.  Who would have received it?  Your comment about the Combatants medal being reissued in 1990, 91,92, 93 was also of interest.  I have seen these Combatants medals with different years at the bottom.  Mine, like the one you pictured here, is dated 1993.  I have a question about the Gold Malvinas Combatants medal in my collection.  You can find it on ebay where vendors list it as an officers medal, which it is not.  I have found published info on line saying that the government of Argentina was considering producing a gold Malvinas combatants commemorative for the 30th anniversary of the war but I have not been able to confirm that.  Perhaps you, or one of your Argentine contacts could shed some light on this gold medal?  I've posted the medals in my collection below.

 

Regards,

 

Gordon  

[Rocket]

Hi Gordon,

 

Here is a photo of the reverse of the official commemorative medal. It reads: "Recognition of War Veterans Republic of Argentina" with a date of 09-07-1998. I don't know why they used that particular date since it doesn't correspond with the anniversary of the Falklands War. I'm assuming it's simply the date that they issued the medals.

 

As for who would've received this official commemorative medal...that I don't know for sure. The recipient of this medal served with the Argentine Navy and has his name engraved on the reverse. I can't say for sure but I'm guessing this official commemorative medal was issued to all Malvinas War Veterans.

 

If you're not already aware...there is an excellent website that lists nearly all Argentine medals with photos. The website is: https://www.wawards.org/en/argentina.html

 

The silver and gold commemorative medals shown in your photo I also have in my collection. I acquired them early on thinking they were legit commemorative veterans medals. I specifically asked one of my contacts in Argentina about these 2 medals since I can't find any information anywhere about them. He informed me that they were "fake" commemorative medals and that the only "official" commemorative medal was the one shown below. I still have not been able to find any information on any of these commemorative medals so I'll just have to take him at his word.

 

I'll try to contact him and see if he can shed some light and provide more details on whether or not the Argentine government issued further commemorative medals for the 30th anniversary and possibly even the 40th anniversary which is coming up soon.

 

John 

 

 

[Rocket]

Gordon,

 

On the topic of Malvinas War Veterans...here are a couple of items in my collection.

 

The ribbon at the bottom is called..."Barreta otorgada por la Armada Argentina" which translates to "Barreta (Ribbon) granted by the Argentine Navy". Unfortunately, I don't know much more about the ribbon bar (there's conflicting info in Jose Felix Martinez Lamela's book regarding the ribbon).

 

The two anchor pins (large pin and smaller lapel pin) are rare. They are..."La conduccion del Buque la Guerra" which translates to "Leading the Ship in War Badge". These pins were awarded to captains of the Argentine merchant ships during the Malvinas War. These were for captains of civilian cargo vessels used by the armed forces to carry cargo to the islands.

 

John

 

 

[Bayern]

I  must congratulate and Thanks all of you dear Fellows for your posts about Argentine medals awarded during the War in the Southern Atlantic Operations Theater . nice collections 

[Gordon Craig]

Rocket,

 

Interesting comments on these Argentine medals.  What does Premios Militares have to say about the Malvinas War medals?  There are so many medals supposedly for this war with different dates and different designs it is hard to know what to believe.  Thanks for the link to Argentine medals.  I was never able to establish any contact with Argentine collectors so other then what I have collected off the net i haven't been able find any other Argentine medals.  I'll attach some other pictures from my Argentine file just for interest.

 

Regards,

 

Gordon

[Rocket]

Hi Gordon,

 

I did a little online searching and was able to find some additional info on the Malvinas War Combatants Medals. Much of it was written in Spanish so I had to translate the websites. The Wikipedia website is listed below. I found it interesting that it mentions the 30th anniversary gold medal.  On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War , there is a bill in the national congress in order to award a gold medal and a diploma, on whose front the silhouette of the Islands will be engraved. Malvinas, and on the reverse the inscription "The Argentine People in Gratitude to the Heroes of Malvinas." 

I also found it interesting that the Wikipedia website says the medal was last awarded in 1994 (I was under the impression 1993 was the last year the medal was awarded).

 

https://es-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/Medalla_a_los_Combatientes?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc

 

Below are links to 2 websites which have searchable databases of all Malvinas War Veterans. I noticed the one medal you posted was engraved on the back with the vets name. Not sure if that is part of your collection or just a picture you found online. According to the website the vet (Carlos Encina) was a Navy conscript who served aboard the aircraft carrier A.R.A. 25 DE MAYO. I found that quite interesting since the 3 medals I have engraved in my collection belonged to a medical warrant officer who also served aboard the A.R.A 25 DE MAYO.

 

http://www.veteranos.mindef.gov.ar/index.php

 

http://laperlaaustral.com.ar/laperlaaustral/laperlaaustrallist.php?cmd=search&t=laperlaaustral&z_fuerza=%3D&x_fuerza=&z_unidad=%3D&x_unidad=&z_Compania=%3D&x_Compania=&z_seccion=%3D&x_seccion=&z_componente=%3D&x_componente=&z_subcomponente=%3D&x_subcomponente=&z_emplazamiento=%3D&x_emplazamiento=&z_caido=%3D&x_caido=&z_referencia4=%3D&x_referencia4=&z_comentarios=LIKE&x_comentarios=&psearch=encina&psearchtype=

 

John

 

 

[Gordon Craig]

John,

 

Very interesting sites you have provided.  Searching in Spanish always had the best results for me.  The piece that you post re the gold medal is the one I had referred to earlier but I wasn't able to find any other reference to this gold 30 year medal.  The named medal was just a picture.  I've never been able to acquire a named one.

 

Regards,

 

Gordon 

[heusy68]

Hello John,

 

Hello Gentlemen,

 

It is indeed a fascinating topic that the modern Argentina Medals are. Outside of Argentina, there seems to be a lack of enthusiasm, maybe driven by the fact, that you mostly need to go to Argentina to get them. Eventho, they are NEVER available, or when one is available, you always need to negociate.

 

One fact is not well known, is that for an action you may got 2 medals, like here the 2 Medals issued to Claudio Scaglione, for Dead in Combat ( Muerto en Combate ). On the left, the Medal of the Nation, that I have got with its small black leather pillow ( on reverse of that one : CONSCRIP C/62 -- CLAUDIO ESCAGLIONE -- 2 IV 83 ), and the Medal da Armada Murio Heroicamente en Combate ( Navy Medal , on reverse of that one : CC62 CLAUDIO SCAGLIONE ). The 2 Medals were likely put on his coffin.

 

Both Medals are hallmarked. The Medal of the Nation is in Silver, 100 % sure, the Medal of the Navy, it is a manufacturer hallmark.

 

Very emotive tho to get the leather black pillow.

 

Regards to all.

 

      Emmanuel

Edited January 3, 2022 by heusy68

[heusy68]

This is the Argentina Navy - Armada de Argentina Medal for Operaciones de Combate, issued for Malvinas ( Falklands ). To : SSAE J.AGUILAR 1982. This medal is hallmarked on reverse.

 

Regards to all.

 

Emmanuel

Edited January 3, 2022 by heusy68

[heusy68]

This is the Argentina Navy Medal Operaciones Internacionales, with clasp HAITI. This medal issued to AI SSAM JUAN CARLOS ESPINDOLA. The medal is also hallmarked on its reverse.

 

The way I got this medal, I was in Vietnam, there was a seller in Argentina, on a well known online auction site, and he was selling that medal. We were in 2006, I won the auction, after I had to send to the seller 50 $ for the gasoline to drive to Buenos Aires Airport Pistarini to ship by Fedex. And I got it. I did 3 more trip to Argentina in 2016 to 2018, but I was never shown this medal for sale there. 

 

If ever someone, got a similar medal, for sale, for Golfo Persico, or any other pasador, I would be very inetersted.

 

Regards to all.

 

    Emmanuel

Edited January 3, 2022 by heusy68

[heusy68]

Here are the 2 Commemorative Medals : El Congresso de la Nacion a los Combatante en Malvinas.

 

One is in silver, and named on reverse to : Carlos Correa

 

Regards to all.

 

    Emmanuel

[Rocket]

Emmanuel,

 

All I can say is...WOW!!!!!  

 

Thank you so much for sharing pictures of these medals in your collection. The fact that two of them are engraved with the name of a fallen service member makes them all the more special!!

 

John

4 hours ago, heusy68 said:

Hello John,

 

Hello Gentlemen,

 

It is indeed a fascinating topic that the modern Argentina Medals are. Outside of Argentina, there seems to be a lack of enthusiasm, maybe driven by the fact, that you mostly need to go to Argentina to get them. Eventho, they are NEVER available, or when one is available, you always need to negociate.

 

One fact is not well known, is that for an action you may got 2 medals, like here the 2 Medals issued to Claudio Scaglione, for Dead in Combat ( Muerto en Combate ). On the left, the Medal of the Nation, that I have got with its small black leather pillow ( on reverse of that one : CONSCRIP C/62 -- CLAUDIO ESCAGLIONE -- 2 IV 83 ), and the Medal da Armada Murio Heroicamente en Combate ( Navy Medal , on reverse of that one : CC62 CLAUDIO SCAGLIONE ). The 2 Medals were likely put on his coffin.

 

Both Medals are hallmarked. The Medal of the Nation is in Silver, 100 % sure, the Medal of the Navy, it is a manufacturer hallmark.

 

Very emotive tho to get the leather black pillow.

 

Regards to all.

 

      Emmanuel

It appears Claudio Scaglione died in the fight for Mount Longdon!

 

 

[heusy68]

Hello John,

 

Hello Gentlemen,

 

Here is a scan with all the Medal of the Argentina Navy in my collection, those are all non awarded. All seems in silver-gilt. I know some have been also striken in gold, and a year later another dealer contacted me, with a lot of un-attributed medal ( Argentina Army Navy & Air Force ), in gold, for sale ( he sowed me photo, I went to Buenos Aires, but price was really really high, and he wanted to sell them all...., one of his medal was in Silver, I objected that, and asked if that one (which I had not previously), he would agree to sell, reluctantly he agreed, so at least I had one more.

 

A bit of stress when I existed Buenos Aires Airport, but it seems they did not looked up at all.

 

Regards to all.

 

    Emmanuel

[Rocket]

Beautiful collection Emmanuel...thank you for sharing!!!

 

John

[Gordon Craig]

Emmanuel,

 

Thanks for sharing pictures of the medals in your collection with us.  Also the interesting stories about how you acquired them.  Sometimes almost as interesting as the medals themselves.

 

Regards,

 

Gordon

 

[jimn]

Hello again

This is an interesting topic. 

I always like to understand a countries medals and how they are awarded. Since we have mainly naval information,  what official campaign medals, not valour or wounded   would a sailor on the Belgrano or a Marine on Mt Tumbledown have?

From the above useful information

I guess

Malvines War Combatants Medal (awarded by the Argentine nation the half blue/white ribbon)

Naval Medal for Combat Operations clasp "Malvinas"

Naval Medal for International Operations clasp "Malvinas"

Barreta awarded by Argentine Navy (the one with the star)

 

And a question on the naming...is it official and for awards to living recipients as well to the deceased ?

Thanks 

Jim

[Rocket]

8 hours ago, jimn said:

Hello again

This is an interesting topic. 

I always like to understand a countries medals and how they are awarded. Since we have mainly naval information,  what official campaign medals, not valour or wounded   would a sailor on the Belgrano or a Marine on Mt Tumbledown have?

From the above useful information

I guess

Malvines War Combatants Medal (awarded by the Argentine nation the half blue/white ribbon)

Naval Medal for Combat Operations clasp "Malvinas"

Naval Medal for International Operations clasp "Malvinas"

Barreta awarded by Argentine Navy (the one with the star)

 

And a question on the naming...is it official and for awards to living recipients as well to the deceased ?

Thanks 

Jim

Hi Jim,

 

A sailor on the Belgrano or a Marine on Mt. Tumbledown would have been awarded all the medals you mentioned. The only one I'm not sure of is the Naval Medal for International Operations. I can't say for sure, but I suspect that particular medal was implemented at a later date. I can't find any information on it in Jose Felix Lamela's book and from what little information I have found it appears it was first awarded to sailor's who participated in the 1990-91 Gulf War. Who knows...they might've authorized the Malvinas bar retroactively for those sailors who participated in both the Malvinas and Gulf War. Of course...this is just all speculation.

 

John

 

 

I was going through Jose Felix Martinez Lamela's book and found some interesting information. I was surprised at how few of the Argentine Nation's highest decorations were awarded for the Falklands War. According to the book...

 

* Cross to the Heroic Valor in Combat (nation's highest award)

   Total = 19  (7 Army, 5 Marines, 7 Air Force)

* Medal of Valor in Combat

   Total = 133  (57 Army, 5 Marines, 71 Air Force)

* Wounded in Combat Medal

   Total = 119  (57 Army, 32 Marines, 30 Air Force)

* Killed in Combat Medal

   Total = 611  (165 Army, 391 Marines, 55 Air Force)

 

John