Friendship Decoration.

[Rick Research]

Here as an illustration is the TYPE of Friendship Decoration awarded between 1960 and 1977.

Edward J. Emering estimates in his "Orders, Decorations and Badges of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam" (1997) that about 20,000 were bestowed. This is number 9568:

Unfortunately, the medal which matches both of the documents below was accidentally separated out from them-- it is--or was--somewhere here in the United States.

But in many many years of watching, not only have I never seen IT turn up---

I have NEVER seen ANY other award documentation for this award!

Comrade Viktor Mikhailovich Kasperov received Friendship Decoration serial number 1,400 at Hanoi, 1 November 1966:

Not ONLY did Comr. Kasperov recieve the North Vietnamese award document-- on rather heavier paper than their norm, though as shoddily printed, and with watermarks a scan cannot show-- but he ALSO got a matching Russian translation certificate.

The Soviet version once bore a red printed version of the medal and ribbon in the center which has sweated away to a faintly seen reddish blur, now:

If anybody has ever seen any other award documents for this award I'd like to know what the serial numbers and dates are...

because out of that estimated 20,000 awarded, my "data base" for matching a serial number with an award date is


this ONE.