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The United Nations operations in Korea commemorative medal ((フランス語:Médaille commémorative des opérations de l'ONU en Corée)) was a French commemorative war medal established on 8 January 1952 by decree 52-34 for award to members of the French armed forces who fought in the Korean war. On 25 June 1950, North Korean forces invaded South Korea in an effort to unify both countries under the northern communist government. A United Nations military force composed of seventeen nations under the command of American general Douglas MacArthur, soon began to arrive in theatre. France joined the U.N. forces in a 23 August decision, this force, composed of a battalion of 1,051 volunteers, both reservists and members of the regular force from the three services, set sail from Marseille on 25 October 1950. This battalion was under the command of general Raoul Magrin-Vernerey, who accepted a temporary demotion to lieutenant-colonel for the chance and honour to command this unit in Korea.〔 The French were thrown into the fight immediately upon arrival in theatre and particularly distinguished themselves at the battles of Wonju, Chipyong-ni and Heartbreak Ridge.〔 Out of a total of 3,421 Frenchmen who fought in Korea, 262 were killed, 1008 were wounded and 7 remain unaccounted for.〔 Even with its relatively small contribution in manpower due to the ongoing campaign in Indochina, the French government felt this small force had brilliantly served French interests in the eyes of the World and in the words of a press release "had resurrected the glory of Verdun and of the Marne".〔 ==Award statute== The United Nations operations in Korea commemorative medal was awarded to soldiers of the French United Nations detachment in Korea and to naval personnel for a minimum of two months in theatre.〔 The two month in theatre minimum time period could be waived for members cited to the War Cross for foreign operational theaters ((フランス語:Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures)) or for those evacuated due to wounds received during operations in theatre.〔 The medal could also be awarded to foreign nationals who served under French command. In this case, permission to award the medal was required from the soldier's country of origin through normal diplomatic channels.〔 Quite exceptionally, in line with the instructions contained in paragraph IV of the decree of 12 February 1952, this medal was bestowed freely with its accompanying certificate, at no cost to the recipients.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「United Nations operations in Korea commemorative medal」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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