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To: PAR35
Can someone explain those two sentences to me so that it makes sense?

Certainly.

The Victoria Cross is the pre-eminent award for valour in combat conditions in the British Imperial Honours system. Until recently, the Dominions of the Commonwealth of Nations (Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) awarded British Imperial Honours to their citizens. In recent decades (from the 1960s for Canada, 1970s for Australia, from the late 1990s for New Zealand), these nations have gradualoly introduced their own Honours systems (I, myself, am a Member of the Order of Australia, which gives me a real interest in the whole system) which includes their own medals for military service. Nearly all Imperial awards were replaced.

Because of the special place the Victoria Cross holds in our history, though, it was decided this medal should be retained - and so the Victoria Cross for Australia, the Victoria Cross for Canada, and the Victoria Cross for New Zealand, were instituted. These medals are awarded by the Queen, on the advice of the government of the Nation concerned, and are considered to be equivalent to the (Imperial Honours)) Victoria Cross in every way. Australian and New Zealand's VCs are identical in appearance to the original, Canada's is very slightly different (the motto 'For Valour' is rendered in Latin as 'Pro Valore' - I believe as a compromise in a nation with English and French as official languages). No Victoria Crosses have yet been awarded in the Canadian or Australian Honours systems.

69 posted on 07/12/2007 7:19:37 PM PDT by naturalman1975 ("America was under attack. Australia was immediately there to help." - John Winston Howard)
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To: naturalman1975
Welcome to the Canteen, naturalman1975. Thanks for the personal insight. And thank you for your service to your country.


101 posted on 07/12/2007 7:56:45 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska (~ RIP Brian...heaven's gain...the Coast Guard lost a good one.~)
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