Medal of Bravery

The Medal of Bravery was an award given for heroic efforts by the Rebel Alliance.

After Luke Skywalker destroyed the Galactic Empire's feared battle station, the Death Star, with the assistance of Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa presented them both with medals of honor. She placed the medals around their necks in a special ceremony held at the Rebel base on Yavin 4 following the Battle of Yavin. Chewbacca was also presented with such a medal, though not during the public ceremony.

The medal was engraved in a stylized flower that resembled an emblem used by the Galactic Republic of old. At its heart was a stylized rising sun that symbolized the dawn of a new hope in the wake of the Alliance's victory over the Galactic Empire.

Behind the scenes
This medal was first seen being presented to Luke Skywalker and Han Solo by Leia Organa in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.

Chewbacca's not being awarded a medal in the film was a source of discontent for many Star Wars fans. While a number of Star Wars Legends stories, such as The Day after the Death Star!, confirmed that Chewbacca did receive a medal, Smuggler's Run: A Han Solo & Chewbacca Adventure is the first canon tale to confirm this. In A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy, Chewbacca is presented with a medal at the same time as Skywalker and Solo.

LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales - "Mission to Mos Eisley" depicts a humorous take on the controversy by showing C-3PO being so distracted by the safe return of R2-D2 that he drops and breaks a medal labeled "Chewie" in two. Later, in "Gambit on Geonosis," C-3PO presents Chewbacca with a medal that R2 had initially attempted to give to him.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
 * A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy
 * Episode IV: A New Hope Read-Along Storybook and CD
 * Princess Leia, Part I
 * Smuggler's Run: A Han Solo & Chewbacca Adventure
 * Chewbacca, Part V
 * Han & Chewie Return!
 * Han & Chewie Return!
 * Han & Chewie Return!

Non-canon appearances

 * Epic Yarns: A New Hope