Vietnam War veteran Patrick Reilly has a chestful of medals from his days with the US Marines.

But now he’s desperate to replace a missing medal — given to him as a primary schoolboy in Bermuda to commemorate the 1953 visit of The Queen to the Island.

Mr Reilly, who lives near Austin in Texas, said the silver-coloured medal with a red-white-and-blue ribbon was a treasured possession as a child.

But it went missing when his father, who was stationed in Bermuda with the US Navy, was transferred to Florida in 1955 and moved the family — and attempts to find a replacement have drawn a blank.

Mr Reilly, 66, who was seriously wounded during the Tet Offensive in Hue City in what was then South Vietnam in 1968, said: “It’s been on my mind for years — I was really proud of it and I used to march around the Island showing it off.”

He added he had tried over the years to source one of medals, which had The Queen and Prince Philip on one side and a Bermuda-themed inscription on the other, including checking with specialist dealers in the US, but with no luck.

He said: “I’d really like to find one and this will be my last attempt to see if I can get one.”

Mr Reilly arrived in Bermuda aged four and was educated at a small private school in St David’s for around a year before his family moved back to the US.

Mr Reilly was invalided out of the US Marines after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) during the fierce battle with the North Vietnamese Army.

He said the grenade “virtually destroyed” his right leg and badly injured his other leg and both his arms.

After a career in the retail industry, he is now an advocate for veterans rights in the US.

The 1987 smash hit film Full Metal Jacket — which Mr Reilly said was not popular with some veterans — was based on the experiences of his unit.

His unit won two Presidential Citations — the equivalent of the Navy Cross — while he was personally awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Medal and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, with palm leaves, among others.

Anyone who can help Mr Reilly with his search for the medal should contact news@royalgazette.com.