(This is a draft page still under preparation - please let me know any corrections or additional information/examples.)
| C-01 | DIPLOMA OF MERIT (Certificate of Commendation) | ||
| Bằng Khen | |||
The Diploma of Merit (Bằng Khen) is an award given as a recognition of individual or orgazational efforts by the military and many various administrative authorities. It was sometimes also known as the Certificate or Letter of Commendation. It is a higher level than the Certificate of Merit (Giấy Khen).
This diploma or certificate has been used since the beginnings of the DRV (presumably since late 1940s however we have only seen examples from mid-1950's) thru its consolidation with South Vietnam in 1976 (and a little later presumably using up "old" certificates - we have seen latest as 1979), by the NLF/VC from their foundations in the 1960's thru dissolution in 1976, and with the SRV starting in 1976 thru to the present. They have also been used by private enterprises throughout these periods. Of course thru there have been innumerable variations by all these different organizations !
As with all things, Caveat emptor, there exist copies of some of these documents also. (If anyone has any known examples, or any other information on this aspect, please let me know at rdavemail-medals@yahoo.com).
They can be organized in these periods :
| 1 | 1945-1979 | Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) / North Vietnam | Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa (VNDCCH) |
| 2 | 1960-1976? | National Liberation Front (NLF) / VietCong (VC) / etc | Mặt trận Dân tộc Giải phóng miền Nam Việt Nam |
| 3a | 1976-1989 ? | Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) - early period |
Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam - giai đoạn đầu |
3b | 1990-present | Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) - later period / government organizations |
Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam - giai đoạn sau / tổ chức chính phủ |
3c | 1990-present | Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) - later period / private enterprises |
Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam - giai đoạn sau / doanh nghiệp tư nhân |
The specific format of the certificate is based on the issuing authority, with some variations over the time they have been used. However, generally the certificate fields and their arrangements are similar for each type.
Typical fields :
| 1 | Issuing Authority Emblem / Flag | |
| 2 | Heading / Motto | - DRV or SRV or NLF or Rep SVN etc / (Independence - Liberty - Happiness) |
| 3 | Title | - Bằng Khen (Diploma of Merit) |
| 4 | Name of Recipient | |
| 5 | Rank of Recipient | |
| 6 | Position of Recipient | |
| 7 | Unit of Recipient | |
| 8 | Native Place of Recipient | |
| 9 | Summary of Achievement (with date) | |
| 10 | Issuing Date | |
| 11 | Issuing Authority | |
| 12 | Signature of Issuing Authority | |
| 13 | Name of Issuing Authority | |
| 14 | Seal of Issuing Authority | |
| 15 | Reference Document | - (Record Book No) |
References (Please let me know others at rdavemail-medals@yahoo.com) :
| 1 | NVA & VC Wartime Documents, Gary D. Murtha, 1995. | ||
| 2 | MACV J2 Study of the Exploitation of Captured Enemy Documents in SVN July 1968, by the U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam, 1968. | ||
| 3 | Intellegence and Collection Guide, Identification of Viet-Cong and North Vietnam Army Documents, CDEC, 1966 (reprinted 19967). | ||
| 4 | Viet Cong Terminology , by the U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam, 1965 (revised 19xx). | ||
Any DRV/SRV references ? or regulations or ??? Should be others ...