Very nice and honest ''Ereteken Orde and Vrede'' medal as awarded to KNIL soldiers for their duties in 1945-1951! The medal has a great patina and is a nice old period example, not a modern restrike, and is nicely maker marked on the back. A great medal. The medal has four(!!) combat year clasps, indicating rh served four years in combat in Indonesia (1946, 1947, 1948, 1949), likely experiencing significant action. See also our other interesting military books and items that we have on offer on catawiki! History of the ''Ereteken Orde & Vrede'' medal The Decoration of Honor for Order and Peace was instituted by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands on 2 December 1947 in a Royal Decree. The award was instituted while the first of the so-called police actions, the so-called "Operation Product", a failed attempt to bring the archipelago in the East back under Dutch rule by military force, was still in full swing. The tens of thousands of Dutch soldiers had to be rewarded for their efforts and the high-pitched title indicates the aspiration of the Dutch to restore what they saw as "order and peace", the Indonesians would call "colonial oppression". The decoration is awarded to the servicemen of the three then armed forces and the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army who served in the then Dutch East Indies, or Indonesia, and the adjacent sea areas, for at least three months between September 3, 1945 and June 4, 1951 in actual been in service. According to the formal requirements of the Royal Decree, the grant date was 27 December 1949 (the date of the transfer of sovereignty to the government of Sukarno). After forty years, this period was extended to the period between September 3, 1945 and June 4, 1951. Dutch troops were stationed in Indonesia until 1951 and helped transfer administrative, police and military functions to Indonesian administrators and soldiers and the evacuation of thousands of Dutch nationals who were repatriated from the new Republic of Indonesia at their own will. The decoration could also be awarded to civilians who have rendered service to the armed forces in the then Dutch East Indies during the specified period. The decoration, possibly with buckle or buckles, can be awarded posthumously. There is no mention of posthumously awarded buckles in the Royal Decree. The decoration is not awarded to soldiers of the armed forces who have served after September 27, 1949 in what was then Dutch New Guinea and adjacent sea areas, or in Indonesia as part of the Dutch Military Mission, but the Ministry of Defense still assesses nominations and applications. People can also apply for the award for themselves.