Summary

Medal set containing medal, miniature and ribbon bar, in case. This medal was awarded to Melbourne entertainer Ron Blaskett in 1996, for his tours in Vietnam in 1968 and 1970 to entertain Australian and American troops. The medal, introduced in 1993 for support personnel, was based on the Vietnam Medal (awarded for military service during the Vietnam War) designed by Andor Mészáros, although the ribbon and medal support designs are different.

This medal recognises those Australian men and women who played a vital role in supporting the Vietnam campaign in difficult or potentially dangerous situations, but who did not qualify for the Vietnam Medal. These included defence personnel, journalists, civilian surgical and medical teams, Qantas aircrew, embassy couriers and entertainers. The award was created, almost twenty years after the end of Australia's involvement, following the persistence of a number of veterans' groups including from the HMAS Sydney and Vietnam Logistic Support Veterans' Association. By 2006, 10,500 medals had been awarded.

Ron Blaskett, who received this medal, performed on radio, television and onstage in Melbourne for over 50 years. His television work, which covered the first ten years of the industry, is represented in Museum Victoria's L J Sterne and Laurie Richards collections. His Vietnam performances represent his first tentative moves away from being a children's entertainer, necessary due to the scaling back of live television production in the mid-1960s, to an adult entertainer in the traditions of vaudeville and the Tivoli circuit.

The medal set was purchased by the donor from an online auction held on behalf of Ron Blaskett.

Physical Description

Set of medals, consisting of two cupro-nickel medals with striped yellow, red, blue and black woven ribbons. The smaller medal is a miniature copy of the larger one. On both The Vietnam Logistic and Support Medal is a circular medal made of nickel-silver. The obverse bears the crowned effigy of The Queen with the inscription 'Elizabeth II Dei Gratia Regina F.D. The reverse of the medal has the word ' Vietnam' at the top centre above a depiction of a man standing between two symbolic spheres. Both medals have metal pins on the back of the ribbon. The set also includes a similarly striped ribbon bar, with two brass pins at the back. The set is contained in a black case with a hinged lid, and a velvet coated insert to hold the medals and bar. The lid has a cream coloured cloth insert with ROYAL AUSTRALIAN MINT printed in gold. On the outside of the lid `VIETNAM/ LOGISTIC & SUPPORT/ MEDAL' is printed in gold. The case comes with a white card protective slip case with VIETNAM LOGISTIC & SUPPORT MEDAL stamped in black ink along one side, and `CIV10203 R BLASKETT/ VISM 56/96' stamped on a sticker adhered to the top.

Obverse Description

Crowned bust of Elizabeth right; around, ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA F.D.

Reverse Description

Naked ANZAC holding two worlds (totalitarian and democratic) apart; around above VIETNAM.

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