RIGGS IN THE ARMED FORCES
			INTRODUCTION AND  NOTABLE INDIVIDUALS  BRAVERY AND  DISTINGUISHED SERVICE    see  below    DEATHS,  CASUALTIES  & PRISONERS OF WAR    SOME OF THOSE  WHO ENLISTED

BRAVERY AND DISTINGUISHED SERVICE:
INTRODUCTION

AWARDS: BRITISH	AWARDS: AUSTRALIANS	AWARDS: AMERICANS
INFORMATION ON  MEDALS: BRITISH &  COMMONWEALTH	INFORMATION ON  FOREIGN  MEDALS  & OTHER AWARDS	INFORMATION ON  AMERICAN  MEDALS  & UNIT CITATIONS

CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE

		SCOPE OF THIS SECTION
		RIBANDS, RIBBONS, BARS & CLASPS, ETC
		DISPLAYING DECORATIONS & AWARDS
		SOURCES AND FURTHER READING

SCOPE OF THIS SECTION

This section identifies decorations for gallantry and other distinguished, meritorious or special service awards recorded for individuals with the surname RIGGS. They are so numerous that recipients are listed on separate pages for America, Australia and the British Isles, and there are links to these pages from the above buttons. None have so far been identified in Canada, New Zealand, Newfoundland or South Africa, but there were far fewer RIGGS in those countries.

Pages have also been compiled to provide brief information on the gallantry and special service medals referred to. The award system of medals for American Forces is separate from those for Britain and the Commonwealth, and the latter countries have also recently introduced their own systems; for example, the Canadian Honours System was established following the creation of the Order of Canada in 1967. Awards have sometimes been made by governments of foreign countries to members of the American forces as well as to those from Britain and the Commonwealth, and these are therefore listed separately.

Other awards may be referred to that were made for specific wars or campaigns, for particular periods of active or general service, or for long service or good conduct. And yet others were awarded to recognise specific events or occurrences - members of the American forces are decorated for being killed or wounded, or taken prisoner of war. Brief information on such medals that might have been issued to individuals with the surname RIGGS are included in the section on Some of those who enlisted.

RIBANDS, RIBBONS, BARS & CLASPS, ETC

A riband is the distinctively coloured vertical material below which the medal is suspended, whilst a ribbon is the correspondingly coloured horizontal strip of material worn on day-to-day uniform. They are displayed in the order of precedence and generally above the left breast pocket. Unit citation ribbons for US Forces are generally worn above the right breast pocket.
The riband can be made of ribbed material or of silk, whilst the ribbon is usually made of ribbed material. With silk, there is often a moiré effect in the image, as on the left, However, because the images of the ribands that appear on the information pages are small, no attempt has been made to reproduce any moiré or ribbing effect.

For British and Commonwealth Forces awards, a bar on the riband of a gallantry or distinguished service cross or medal represents a separate and subsequent award of the same cross or medal. On the corresponding ribbon, this is denoted by a small version of the cross or, in the case of medals, a small rosette.

For US forces, a separate and subsequent award of the same medal is denoted by the addition of a bronze oak leaf: if more than 5 oak leaves are accumulated, a silver oak leaf replaces each multiple of 5 bronze. The exception is the Air Medal where the numbers of additional awards became so great that the oak leaves did not fit on the ribbon: as a result, the policy was changed in September 1968 to require the use of numerals. When oak leaves (or palms or similar emblems) are worn on the ribands of medals, a smaller sized device is worn on the ribbon but may be differently positioned. For certain US Army medals which can be awarded for heroism, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service, a bronze V device is worn to denote valor/heroism in combat.

A clasp is a metal bar (and is sometimes referred to as a bar in the case of British and Commonwealth Forces awards) across the riband of a war medal which bears a date or name of a campaign, or across the riband of a campaign medal to recognise participation in a particular battle. In some cases, it is used on long service medals to indicate further service after the original qualifying period. As with a bar on a gallantry or distinguished service medal, this can be denoted by a corresponding emblem on the ribbon.

DISPLAYING DECORATIONS & AWARDS

The letter abbreviations that follow the name of a recipient of an honour in Britain and the Commonwealth, sometimes referred to as post-nominals, are a visible indication of the granting of an award and considered, with the insignia, as an integral part of the award. They are always used in the official order of precedence, capitalized and written without full stops between the letters, e.g., 'VC', not 'V.C.'. Commas are used between separate awards, such as 'GC, DSC, GM' and those awarded a bar or bars to an award are entitled to use 'and Bar' (or 'and Bars') after the post-nominals, for example, 'MM and Bar'.

Unlike a Grant of Arms, war medals and service decorations may be worn only by the person on whom they were conferred, and the right to wear them does not pass to a widow or any relative after the recipient's death. The only permitted exceptions are in the case of Remembrance Day (and Anzac Day) ceremonies, when relatives may claim the distinction of wearing the decorations and medals of deceased relatives, but on the right breast. The protocols of displaying the awards are laid down by the countries concerned and are outside the scope of this web-site.

SOURCES AND FURTHER READING

For more comprehensive information on medals for bravery and distinguished service, as well as on campaign medals, see the following web-sites:
  ANZAC forces: Medals section of "Digger History"
  Australian Forces: Australian Government: It's an Honour
  Australian Forces: Defence Honours & Awards
   British Armed Services: Campaign Medals, and other Service Medals Military Records Information 76 on The National Archives web site
  British Armed Forces: Medals section (WW2 onwards) on the UK Ministry of Defence web site
  British & Commonwealth Forces medals: British Military Medals [site unavailable as at June 2008]
  British & Commonwealth Forces medals: UK Medals section of "British Military & Criminal History in the
  period 1900 to 1999".
  British & Commonwealth Forces Campaign medals: Regiments.Org [site unavailable as at June 2008]
  British & Commonwealth Forces WW1 medals: Encyclopaedia section of "Firstworldwar.Com"
  Canadian forces: Canadian Forces Honours and Awards Chart on the Directory of History and Heritage
  section of the Department of National Defence web site
  Canadian forces: Canadian Orders, Medals and Decorations on the Veterans Affairs Canada web site
  New Zealand forces: Medals Awarded to New Zealand Military Personnel section of the New Zealand
  Defence Force web site
  US Forces: United States Military Medals Official Dept of Defense Service Medals and Ribbons for the
  U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard
  US Forces: US Army Awards, Decorations, Campaign & Service Medals section of "About"
  US Forces: "American Decorations & Insignia of Honor & Service" Robert E. Wyllie, National Geographic
  Magazine Dec. 1919, Vol.XXXVI, No.6 pp502-526
  US Forces: US Combat Medals of WWII section of "American Aces of WWII"
  General: Heritage Medals
  General: Hendrik's Medal Corner
  General: Medals of the World
  General: Ribbons of Orders and Decorations of the World
  General: WW2 Awards.Com