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This is the Sino-American Cooperative Organization Medal, established by the Nationalist (Republic of China) Ministry of National Defense in 1974 and manufactured on Taiwan by Hisang Fah Industrial Works. Recipients had to serve an mainland China in theSino-American Cooperative Organization(SACO) in 1942 to 1945.
Many of these medals were presented at the annual SACO Veterans convention in San Diego in 1974. This was another token of esteem from the grateful Chinese for American help against the invading Japanese. SACO personnel would also qualify for the Chinese “Medal in Commemoration of Victory in the Resistance Against Aggression.
The large, heavy (50 gram weight) decoration is colorful and gaudy as Chinese awards tend to be. It is composed of four groups of enameled alternating rays of red, white, blue, white, red, all edged in gold and pointing north, south, east and west, each group separated by a shorter gold ray in the shape of a sword blade.
The maximum height and width of the decoration is 58mm, formed by the blue rays which are the longest. In the center is a disc with a diameter of 27mm with a background of the Republic of China flag to the wearer’s right and the United States flag to his left, hung vertically and enameled in their proper colors.
Superimposed across the flags are two hands, in gold, clasped in friendship and below the hands are two Chinese ideograms, the elaborate one to the wearer’s right, translates as “America” and the other as “China,” followed by western letters reading SACO, all in gold.
On the reverse, an inscription in Chinese translates “In recognition of the contributions made by those who fought against the aggressors for freedom during the period 1942-1945. Presented by their comrades in arms.”
The suspension ribbon is threaded through a large gold ring and is composed of 5mm wide vertical stripes of blue, white, red, a 2mm wide gold stripe, and then again 5mm wide stripes of red, white, blue.
Undoubtedly, this is one of the rarest awards for World War II and although 2,800 men qualified for the award, only 600 were presented to SACO veterans in San Diego. Like the “Chinese-American Medal,” the SACO medal was not authorized for wear on the American uniform.
The original order, permitting the wearing of the “Chinese-American Medal” (Circular 166, 29 September 1945) was immediately, three days later, rescinded by Circular 169, Section III, from U.S.Forces China. The issue of wearing either medal, by 1974 was moot as it is unlikely that any of the recipients of either medal would still be serving in the U.S. Forces, 29 years after the war’s end.
TheSino-American Special Technical Cooperative Organization (中美特種技術合作所), also known as theSino-American Cooperative Organization(SACO), was an organization created by the SACO Treaty signed byChinaand theUnited Statesin 1942 during theSecond World War. It established a mutual intelligence gathering entity in China between the respective nations againstJapan. It operated in China jointly along with theOffice of Strategic Services(OSS), America's first intelligence agency and forerunner of theCIAwhile also serving as joint training program between the two nations.
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