Original Items. One-of-a-Kind Group. This is a scarce and historically significant State of Vietnam Gallantry Cross medal and original 1953 citation certificate, named to Private Nguyen Van Hao and identifying him with the 1st Vietnamese Parachute Battalion during the First Indochina War. The certificate documents gallant conduct during fighting at Ban Na Ten in the Dien Bien Phu region on December 13, 1953, only weeks after French Union airborne forces had established the fortified position at Dien Bien Phu during Operation Castor.

The translated citation reads:

"The militia's self-defense force received special attention for its courage and composure in the battle at Ban Na Ten (Dien Bien Phu) on December 13, 1953. Despite the intense artillery fire from the enemy, including automatic and mortar rounds, it performed its mission perfectly."

The 1st Vietnamese Parachute Battalion was one of the airborne formations raised as part of the developing Vietnamese National Army during the First Indochina War. Formed in the early 1950s from Vietnamese parachute companies and volunteers, the battalion served within the French Union airborne establishment and participated in numerous operations before the end of the conflict.

The certificate measures 8 x 10 ½” and is in great shape with the back having a printed list of seven locations or other information. The medal itself retains both butterfly pinbacks and is in great shape.

French Union forces had only recently occupied the Dien Bien Phu valley during Operation Castor, beginning on November 20, 1953. During the following weeks, airborne and infantry formations conducted reconnaissance and security operations around the valley while Viet Minh forces increasingly concentrated in the surrounding region.

Ban Na Ten lay north of Dien Bien Phu and appears repeatedly in contemporary operational accounts during this formative period. French records describe activity around Ban Na Ten in November and December 1953 as units established defensive positions and encountered Viet Minh forces in the approaches to the valley.

The State of Vietnam itself had been established within the French Union during the final phase of the First Indochina War, with Bảo Đại serving as Chief of State. Its armed forces expanded rapidly during the early 1950s as France sought to transfer greater responsibility for combat operations to Vietnamese units.

Airborne troops occupied an especially important place within that developing military establishment. Vietnamese parachute battalions fought alongside French metropolitan, colonial, Foreign Legion, North African, and other French Union formations in some of the conflict's most demanding mobile operations.

This medal and citation therefore document more than an individual award. They represent the often-overlooked role of Vietnamese National Army soldiers fighting against the Viet Minh during the First Indochina War, before the later Republic of Vietnam military system generally associated with the Vietnam War.

With its named 1953 citation, Private Nguyen Van Hao attribution, 1st Vietnamese Parachute Battalion identification, December 13, 1953 Ban Na Ten combat citation, and accompanying State of Vietnam Gallantry Cross, this is an unusually strong First Indochina War award grouping tied to a Vietnamese paratrooper and to the formative period of operations around Dien Bien Phu.