North Africa Security and Order Operations Commemorative Medal

Award

North Africa Security and Order Operations Commemorative Medal
North Africa Security and Order Operations Commemorative Medal with clasps "ALGÉRIE" and "MAURITANIE"
Type	Commemorative Medal
Awarded for	Military service in North Africa between 1952 and 1964
Presented by	France
Eligibility	French citizens and foreign nationals serving in the ranks of the French Foreign Legion
Status	No longer awarded
Established	11 January 1958

Ribbon of the North Africa Security and Order Operations Commemorative Medal

Precedence
Next (higher)	Indochina Campaign commemorative medal
Next (lower)	Middle East operations commemorative medal

The Commemorative Medal for Security Operations and the Maintenance of Order (French: "Médaille Commémorative des Opérations de Sécurité et de Maintien de l'Ordre en Afrique du Nord") is a French commemorative medal established in the late 1950s for award to members of the French armed forces and French civil servants under military authority for service in French North Africa during the hectic years that would become the end of French colonialism in the region.

Award history

The war in Algeria was and remains a sensitive subject for France, the events were only first openly officially identified as a war in 1999. The Médaille Coloniale ("Colonial Medal") or Médaille d'Outre-Mer ("Overseas Medal") were for service overseas and the Croix de Guerre ("War Cross") was for service in wartime against an exterior enemy. There was no award at the time to recognize and reward combat service on what was essentially French soil. A medal was initially created by decree 56-1032 of 12 October 1956 and called the Médaille Commémorative des Opérations de Sécurité et de Maintien de l'Ordre en Afrique du Nord (English: "Commemorative Medal for Security Operations and Maintenance of Order in North Africa"). It was designed to fill this void and recognize their service in what was officially called a "police action" to quell disorder, rather than a military campaign against an armed and organized enemy. Decree 58-24 of 11 January 1958 modified the design and renamed the award to "Médaille Commémorative des Opérations de Sécurité et de Maintien de l'Ordre" (English: "Security and Order Operations Commemorative Medal").

Under pressure for years by veterans' organizations and from the personnel who served during the handovers in Tunisia and Morocco to get commemorative medals of their own, the French government finally ceded by a decree dated 26 July 2004 with an amendment to the 1958 decree governing the award. Rather than design a new medal for each operation in North Africa, the government decided to extend the eligibility, the existing medal could then be awarded to anyone who had served in North Africa during the 1950s and 1960s.

Award statute

The North Africa Security and Order Operations Commemorative Medal was awarded to:

members of the French armed forces for 90 days or more service in security and order operations in regular or reserve formations. The time factor is waived for those cited with the Cross for Military Valour or wounded as a result of these operations;
governmental civil servants and of police services as well as those personnel placed under the authority of the military authority, or that participated in the operations proper as a result of their responsibilities or specialty, that met the aforementioned military prerequisites;
sailors of the French navy placed under the orders of the IV region's naval prefect for missions of at least 90 days in a 24-month period (added by a decree of 17 October 1960).

Five different gilt clasps could be earned and worn simultaneously when awarded.

ALGÉRIE (English: Algeria) for 90 days service between 31 October 1954 and 1 July 1964
TUNISIE (English: Tunisia) for 90 days service between 1 January 1952 and 2 July 1962
MAROC (English: Morocco) for 90 days service between 1 June 1953 and 2 July 1962
SAHARA (English: Sahara) for 90 days service between 31 October 1954 and 27 June 1961
MAURITANIE (English: Mauritania) for 90 days service between 10 January 1957 and 1 January 1960

Award description

North Africa Security and Order Operations Commemorative Medal is a 30mm in diameter circular medal struck from bronze and gilded. The obverse, engraved by Georges Lemaire, bore an allegorical image of the warrior French Republic wearing a helmet adorned with and oak leaf wreath and surrounded by the relief inscription along the medal circumference "RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE" (English: "FRENCH REPUBLIC"). On the reverse, the relief inscription on five lines "MÉDAILLE" "COMMÉMORATIVE" "OPÉRATIONS SÉCURITÉ" "ET MAINTIEN" "DE L'ORDRE" (English: "MEDAL" "COMMEMORATIVE" "SECURITY OPERATIONS" "AND MAINTAINING" "ORDER") surrounded by a wreath of oak and olive leaves along the medal circumference. The pre January 1958 variant had the reverse inscription on four lines "MÉDAILLE" "COMMÉMORATIVE" "D'AFRIQUE" "DU NORD" (English: "NORTH" "AFRICA" "COMMEMORATIVE" "MEDAL").

The medal hung from a ribbon passing through a wreath shaped ring through the medal's suspension loop. The red silk moiré ribbon was 36mm wide with a 14mm central light blue stripe and two 5mm wide white stripes each 1mm from the edge.

Noteworthy recipients (partial list)

General Raoul Salan
General Pierre Langlois
General Paul Lardry
General Maurice Henry
General Jean Simon
General Maurice Schmitt
General Henri Amiel
General Paul Arnault
General Renaud de Corta
General Gérard Lecointe
General Bernard Janvier
General Marcel Bigeard
General Michel de Courrèges
Colonel Fred Moore
Colonel Antoine Battesti
Colonel Roger Faulques
Colonel André Salvat
Lieutenant colonel Pierre Clostermann
Lieutenant colonel Léo Vidou
Lieutenant colonel Albert Fossey-François
Lieutenant colonel Marius Guyot
Major Bernard Cabiro
Captain Hubert Clément
Chief warrant officer Jo Sohet
Master sergeant Marc Flament
François d'Orléans son of Henri d'Orléans

References

^ Battini, Jean; Zaniewicki, Witold (2003). Guide pratique des décorations françaises actuelles. Paris: LAVAUZELLE. pp. 213–216. ISBN 2-7025-1030-2.
^ "France Phaléristique web site" (in French). Marc Champenois. 2004-01-01. Retrieved 2013-10-05.

External links

Museum of the Legion of Honour (in French)

Orders, decorations, and medals of France

Orders

National	Order of the Legion of Honour Order of Liberation Order of Merit
Ministerial	Order of Academic Palms Order of Agricultural Merit Order of Maritime Merit Order of Arts and Letters
Territorial	Order of Tahiti Nui

Decorations and medals

Civilian

Military

Commemorative medals

1852 – 1871: Second Empire	Saint Helena Medal Commemorative medal of the 1859 Italian Campaign Commemorative medal of the 1860 China Expedition Commemorative medal of the Mexico Expedition
1871–1914: Belle Époque	Commemorative medal of the 1870–1871 War Tonkin Expedition commemorative medal (1885) Dahomey Expedition commemorative medal (1892) Madagascar Expeditions commemorative medal Colonial Medal China Expedition commemorative medal (1901) Morocco commemorative medal (1909)
1914–1918: World War I	1914–1918 Inter-Allied Victory medal Dardanelles campaign medal Orient campaign medal Commemorative medal of the 1914–1918 War Medal of French Gratitude Medal for Victims of the Invasion Medal for civilian prisoners, deportees and hostages of the 1914-1918 Great War
1918–1939: Interwar	Syria-Cilicia commemorative medal
1939–1945: World War II	Commemorative medal for voluntary service in Free France Italian Campaign medal Medal for deportation and internment for acts of resistance Political deportation and internment medal Commemorative medal of the 1939–1945 War Medal of a liberated France Recusant's insignia
1945–1964: Decolonisation	United Nations operations in Korea commemorative medal Indochina Campaign commemorative medal Middle East operations commemorative medal North Africa Security and Order Operations Commemorative Medal
Since 1964	Medal of the Nation's Gratitude North Africa medal United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon medal French commemorative medal Medal for the Military Protection of the Territory

Defunct orders

Royal & Imperial	Order of Saint Michael Order of the Holy Spirit Order of Saint Louis Order of Military Merit Order of the Iron Crown Order of the Three-Golden Fleeces Order of the Reunion Decoration of The Lily Decoration of the Bordeaux Armband Decoration of the Fidelity Medal of the wounded Order of the Cross of July
Ministerial	Order of Merit for Veterans Order of Military Merit Order of Civil Merit Order of Social Merit Order of Labour Merit Order of Touristic Merit Order of the National Economy Order of Commercial and Industrial Merit Order of Artisan Merit Order of Public Health Order of Postal Merit Order of Sport Merit
Colonial	Order of Indochinese Merit Order of Saharan Merit Order of the Black Star Order of the Star of Anjouan Order of Nichan el Anouar Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam Royal Order of Cambodia Order of Merit of Madagascar and dependencies Order of Merit of Cameroon