ATTENTION ... SPECIAL NOTICE ... HEADS UP

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If you served in Operation Frequent Wind and earned the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM), it can be converted.

A provision in the 2003 Defense Authorization Act allows veterans of Operation Frequent Wind to swap their Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) for a Vietnam Service Medal if so desired.

U.S. active-duty troops who participated in the April 29-30, 1975, operation to evacuate the South Vietnamese capitol of Saigon originally earned the AFEM. Sec. 542 of the 2003 Act (Public Law 107-314) authorizes the conversion.

Some 840 Marines comprising Battalion Landing Teams from 4th and 9th Marines and 4,000 person­nel from Task Force 76, 7th Fleet helped evacuate nearly 7,000 people, including 1,373 Americans.

Although the article above was printed in the VFW Magazine issue of May 2003, it does NOT say how or where you go to make the official conversion.  I would suggest you contact your local County Service Officer or a local Veterans Association for further instructions.  If they (instructions) become available, they will be published on this page also.

  LINK Op Frequent Wind Website that discusses this change in detail. LINK