My Dad won a medal in the war. He didn’t actually get it until 50 years later, but hey.
The island of Malta was awarded the George Cross, but the servicemen who suffered the horrendous bombardment and desperate privations of the Siege of Malta never received a campaign medal.
Eventually in 1992 the Government of Malta produced a long-deserved medal for these veterans, the Malta George Cross Fiftieth Anniversary Commemorative Medal. My parents decided to attend the official presentation on Malta and enjoy a holiday there.
Unfortunately their host’s English wasn’t too good, and he thought Dad had won the George Cross! Beaming with pride, he introduced Dad to his friends as a great World War II hero.