Above is the first photograph that we came across showing Fruend wearing ribbon bars that represent that he has been awarded:

 

1         Australian Active Service Medal

2         Vietnam Medal

3         Australian Service Medal

4         National Service Commemorative Medal

5         Vietnam Campaign Medal.

 

Fruend is not entitled to wear the Vietnam Campaign Medal. We asked Fruend about this and he replied as follows:

 

 

Fruend’s naivety is feigned because he says he does not have a proper medal rack, and low and behold a photo appears of him wearing a full rack of medals including the VCM.

 

 

Fruend was a National Serviceman who served in Singapore and Malaysia with the 8^th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (8RAR) from 16 October 1968 to 25 April 1969. He then accompanied 8RAR to South Vietnam from 17 November 1969 to 11 February 1970.

 

To qualify for the VCM the following conditions had to be met as described in this web site reference shown below:

  

The Australian Defence Force web site details the following eligibility for the VCM.

Eligibility

The Australian government maintained the basic qualifying criteria specified by the Republic of Vietnam for allied troops. To be eligible for the medal a person must have completed a minimum period of 181 days, either continuous or aggregated, unless:

• killed on active service (KIA);

• wounded in action i.e. classified as a Battle Casualty and evacuated as a result of those wounds; or

• captured and later released or escaped.

Note that medical evacuation from the area of operations for any reasons other than wounds received in action does not constitute an exemption from meeting the minimum qualifying period.

Here is the web site reference:   http://www.defence.gov.au/medals/content/+040%20campaign%20medals/+050%201945-1975/+081%20vietnam%20campaign%20medal/

Fruend was in Vietnam for around 86 days, well short of the required 181 days.  He was not a Battle Casualty and was never captured or released.

 

He returned to Australia on 11 February 1970 after being accidentally burnt by a perimeter trip flare that ignited whilst he was handling it.  Here is a copy of the notification of the injury, clearly classified as "Non Battle Casualty, Accidental Injury."

 

 

Below is an extract from Fruend's Record of Service that shows he embarked from Sydney on 17 November 1969 and arrived back in Sydney on the 11 February 1970.

 

 

 

On the scale of wannabe offences Fruend’s medal cheating is on the lower scale, however we are seeing more and more Veterans falsely wearing the VCM. Other recent examples are Carl Boye` (ex RAAF) who is an executive in the Queensland Branch of the Vietnam Veterans Association and Trevor Fenton (ex RAN) the President of an RSL

 

All of those reported to us will continue to be named and shamed on this web site.

 

Oh, and by the way, there are more examples of this offence being processed. If you are a cheat watch out – It could be you.