Did you know that you can get one free set of your earned military medals and ribbons?  While it does take a little time and patience, the U.S. government through the National Archives branch in St. Louis will get you what you earned. Similar to requesting records, you need to read the information below which is directly from the Archives website.  You will need to click on the correct branch of service link below, then follow the directions. 

***Do you already have your records and just want to purchase your medals or ribbons?  My favorite source for these is Medals of America.  They have a fabulous selection and nice quality that will not break the bank.

How Do I Request Military Awards and Decorations?

For the Veteran: in general, the military services will work replacement medal requests for the veteran at no cost.  This includes family members with the signed authorization of the veteran.

For the Next-of-Kin: the process (and cost) for replacement medals requests differs among the service branches and is dependent upon who is requesting the medal, particularly if the request involves an archival record.  Click here for details.

For the General Public: if the service member separated from military service before 1950, the public may purchase a copy of the veteran's Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) to determine the awards due and obtain the medals from a commercial source.  If the service member separated after 1949, the public may request such information from the OMPF via the Freedom of Information Act (see Access to OMPFs by the General Public).

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Important Information for the Next-of-Kin (NOK):

Who is the Next-of-Kin (NOK)?

• For the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps & Coast Guard, the NOK is defined as: the un-remarried widow or widower, son, daughter, father, mother, brother or sister
  
  
• For the Army, the NOK is defined as: the surviving spouse, eldest child, father or mother, eldest sibling or eldest grandchild

If you do not meet the definition of NOK, you are considered a member of the general public.

How the type of record (archival or non-archival) affects NOK requests for medals:

The Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) is used to verify awards to which a veteran may be entitled.  OMPFs are accessioned into the National Archives, and become archival, 62 years after the service member's separation from the military.  This is a rolling date; hence, the current year, 2011, minus 62 years is 1949.  Records with a discharge date of 1949 or prior are archival and are open to the public.  Records with a discharge date of 1949 or after are non-archival and are maintained under the Federal Records Center program.  Non-archival records are subject to access restrictions.  As such, the veteran's date of separation (separation is defined as discharge, retirement or death in service) will affect how the request is processed.  See below: