Medals awarded while in active service are issued by the individual military services if requested by Veterans or their next of kin. Requests for replacement medals, decorations, and awards should be directed to the branch of the military in which the Veteran served. However, for Air Force (including Army Air Corps) and Army Veterans, the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) verifies awards and forwards requests and verification to appropriate services.
Requests for replacement medals should be submitted on Standard Form 180, "Request Pertaining to Military Records," which may be obtained at VA offices or the Internet at VA.gov. Forms, addresses, and other information on requesting medals can be found on the Military Personnel Records section of NPRC's website at Archives.gov. For questions, call Military Personnel Records at (314) 801-0800 or email your questions to: MPR.center@nara.gov.
When requesting medals, type or clearly print the Veteran's full name, include the Veteran's branch of service, service number or Social Security number and provide the Veteran's exact or approximate dates of military service. The request must contain the signature of the Veteran or next of kin if the Veteran is deceased. If available, include a copy of the discharge or separation document, WDAGO Form 53-55 or DD Form 214.
In order to have corrections made to your military records, you must apply to the review board of your respective service branch for corrections or changes. The form needing to be submitted is a DD Form 149, Application for Correction of Military Records. More information concerning correcting military records and downloadable versions of the forms are available at www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/correct-service-records.html.
Each of the military services maintains a discharge review board with authority to change, correct or modify discharges or dismissals not issued by a sentence of a general court-martial. The board has no authority to address medical discharges.
A DD Form 293, Application for the Review of Discharge or Dismissal from the Armed Forces of the United States, must be submitted to the relevant service branch. More information concerning Review of Discharge and downloadable versions of the forms are available at www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/correct-service-records.html.
Page last updated: December 29, 2023
