November 04, 2021
Top secret trove ends medal quest
Veterans who served in Malaysia and Singapore but did not deploy into combat areas such as Borneo or Vietnam will now be eligible for the New Zealand Operational Service Medal.
The change will affect around 4,500 veterans who served in South East Asia from February 1959 to January 1974.
Defence Minister Peeni Henare says the change was rejected by then-defence minister Wayne Mapp when it was considered in 2014, but new information has emerged.
“Top secret documents have been released by Malaysia, Singapore and others. We want to make sure we recognise those people who did that time over there. New Zealand Defence Force led a process to once again reconsider that. Me and the Prime Minister met and agreed this was the right thing to do,” he says.
Peeni Henare says families will be able to apply for the award to be granted posthumously.
Campaign medals have already been awarded for related operational service including the Malayan Emergency, Thai-Malay border, Confrontation with Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.