Kuwait Liberation Medal of the Government of Saudi Arabia

Places
Accession Number REL29724
Collection type Heraldry
Object type Medal
Physical description Metal
Maker Unknown
Place made Saudi Arabia
Date made c 1991
Conflict Gulf War, 1990-1991
Description

Kuwait Liberation Medal of the Government of Saudi Arabia. Unnamed as issued. The medal is a stylised silver sunburst with, at its centre, a globe overlaid with a map depicting the Arabian Peninsula. The globe is encircled by a matt gold wreath of palm above a scroll with the words 'LIBERATION OF KUWAIT' in raised letters. Arabic text above the words is presumably a duplication of this text. The wreath is surmounted by a crown, above which is a palm tree issuing from two diagonally crossed sabres, hilts downwards, all in matt gold. Suspension is via a single ring attached to the back of the sunburst, which is concealed by the gold palm tree at the top of the medal. The ribbon has a central broad green band flanked by 4 mm white stripes, 2 mm black stripes and edged with 4 mm red stripes.

History / Summary

The Kuwait Liberation Medal was issued by the Government of Saudi Arabia to those serving in support of Operation Desert Storm between 17 January 1991 and 28 February 1991 in one of the following areas: Persian Gulf; Red Sea; Gulf of Oman; Gulf of Aden; Iraq; Kuwait; Saudi Arabia; Oman; Bahrain; Qatar; United Arab Emirates, or; Arabian Sea north of 10 degrees North Latitude and west of 68 degrees East Longitude. Eligibility was: Attached to or regularly serving for one or more days with an organization participating in ground/shore operations; Attached to or regularly serving for one or more days aboard a naval vessel directly supporting military operations; Actually participating in one or more aerial flights supporting military operations in the areas designated above, or; Serving on temporary duty for 30 consecutive days during this period. The symbolism of the medal is as follows - the sunburst is the light of freedom; the globe, depicting the Arabian Peninsula, denotes the theatre of operations, and is encircled by palm, denoting victory; the palm tree with the crossed sabres is the emblem of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Green, red, white and black are the colours of the flag of Kuwait.