A Vietnam War veteran has appealed for help to return his missing war medal after losing it during Anzac Day commemorations.
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Ron Emerson, who served as a lance corporal and a section commander in Vietnam between 1968 and 1969, lost his only war medal - a Vietnam service medal - at the dawn service at the Australian War Memorial.
Mr Emerson said he attached the medal before leaving the Hyatt Hotel on Thursday morning, but by the time the dawn service had ended, it had disappeared.
"I only ever wear it on Anzac Day, I don't wear it any other time other than that," Mr Emerson said.
"I put the medal on when we left the hotel, and then my daughter said after the service 'Where is your medal?', so I have no idea where it fell off."
The gold medal has a likeness of the Queen on one side, with the reverse side bearing the words "Vietnam" and the figure of a man in between spherical shapes.
The ribbon on the medal has blue, red and yellow on it.
The veteran said his name was also inscribed on the medal.
Mr Emerson was conscripted into the Australian army and served between June 1968 and June 1969.
His tour of duty coincided with multiple bombing campaigns, including the Tet Offensive.
"The whole war changed in just 24 hours," Mr Emerson said.
The Vietnam service medal was first issued in 1968 and was awarded for service in Vietnam by Australians between May 29, 1964 and January 27, 1973.
Mr Emerson now lives in Vancouver, but said he regularly made visits back to Australia for Anzac Day commemorations.
He hoped his medal was able to be returned soon.
"The medal symbolises what you go through. We went there for a year and that was the longest year of my life," Mr Emerson said.
Lost medals that have been found by members of the public can be reported to the Department of Veterans Affairs by emailing vetaffairs@dva.gov.au.
Found medals can also be reported to the NSW RSL, which handles missing medals, by emailing admin@rslnsw.org.au.