Military awards and decorations in the context of "Medallion"

The orders, decorations, and medals of Canada comprise a complex system by which Canadians are honoured by the country's sovereign for actions or deeds that benefit their community or the country at large. Modelled on its British predecessor, the structure originated in the 1930s, but began to come to full fruition at the time of Canada's centennial in 1967, with the establishment of the Order of Canada, and has since grown in both size and scope to include dynastic and national orders, state, civil, and military decorations; and various campaign medals. The monarch in right of each Canadian province also issues distinct orders and medals to honour residents for work performed in just their province. The provincial honours, as with some of their national counterparts, grant the use of post-nominal letters and or supporters and other devices to be used on personal coats of arms.

The monarch is regarded as the fount of all honours—as the monarch is the only person who may create new national honours—and acts as the Sovereign of all of Canada's orders; he, or other members of the royal family, will conduct inductions or present medals. In Canada, the monarch is represented by the governor general, who also carries out investitures and distributes awards in the sovereign's name. As such, administration of the honours system is the responsibility of the Chancellery of Honours at Rideau Hall, which is a part of the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General of Canada. The governor general also sets out, via order-in-council, the order of precedence for the wearing of insignia, decorations, and medals. Provincial and territorial honours are similarly awarded by their respective lieutenant governors or commissioners.

The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful command and leadership during active operations, typically in actual combat.

Equal in British precedence of military decorations to the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross and Royal Red Cross, since 1993 the DSO is eligible to all ranks awarded specifically for "highly successful command and leadership during active operations".

In ancient Egypt, it was standard for pharaohs to be worshipped posthumously as transfigured beings amongst the royal ancestors. This was generally performed in the form of a mortuary cult. During the pharaoh's lifetime, they were generally recognized as having divine properties, in accordance with imperial cult government. However, it was exceedingly rare for a pharaoh to have a cultic devotion of worshippers during the pharaoh's lifetime. Such followers regarded the pharaoh’s divine status as equivalent to that of a true deity. Amongst the indigenous ancient egyptian dynasties, this was usually resultant of a successful self-deification attempt substantiated by military accomplishment. Pharaoh Amenhotep III is the exception to this military substantiation custom, as his deification was substantiated via political leadership.

A state decoration is an object, such as a medal or the insignia of an order, that is awarded by a sovereign state to honor the recipient.

The term includes civil awards and decorations, as well as military awards and decorations.

Laureate (/ˈlɔɹ.i.ət/), meaning "crowned with laurel", signifies eminence or association with literary awards or military decoration. The term is used for recipients of the Nobel Prize, the Gandhi Peace Award, the Student Peace Prize, distinguished poets, and for former music directors of orchestras who retain some level of involvement.

The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: "For Military Virtue", Polish: Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II Augustus and is the oldest military decoration in the world still in use.

It is awarded in five classes either for personal heroism or, to commanders, for leadership. Some of the heroic actions recognized by an award of the Virtuti Militari are equivalent to those meriting the British Victoria Cross and the American Medal of Honor.

The fourragère (French: [fuʁaʒɛʁ], from fourrage, "fodder") is a military award, distinguishing military units as a whole, in the form of a braided cord. The award was first adopted by France, followed by other nations such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, and Luxembourg. Fourragères have been awarded to units of both national and foreign militaries, except for that of Luxembourg, which has not been awarded to any foreign units.

The origin of the award is not entirely certain, but at least two conjectural stories have been posited. The first involves Flemish soldiers serving under the Duke of Alva who were reported as having been cowardly in battle. The Duke threatened them all with hanging if they did not perform better in future engagements, and the soldiers, so insulted by the insinuation, took to wearing cords tied to large nails around their shoulders, as if to say, "Hang me by this cord and nail if you see me run from battle." Following this, the unit's members performed so well that the rope and nail became a badge of honor.