Quote Originally Posted by kiltimabar View Post
I believe the reference is to the Stolen Valor Act, 18 USC 704, as amended in 2005, which forbids, among other acts, the wearing, or falsely claiming to have been awarded, decorations and medals to which one is not entitled.
The Stolen Valor act makes the wearing of military decorations and medals by those who did not receive them, a criminal act.

It does not prohibit the wearing of medals, per se, by private citizens, although it does clearly restrict the wearing of military decorations and medals to those who are lawfully entitled to same. Having wasted several hours of my researcher's time this morning, it would appear that there is no U.S. Government regulation, other than the Stolen Valor Act, relating to, or regulating, the wearing of orders, decorations, and medals by private citizens. That being the case, a private citizen not wearing the uniform of one of the various military or naval forces of the United States, may wear any medals, to which they are lawfully entitled, in any manner they may choose.