This is the one I was coming to [del]boast about[/del] mention, since I have it, and I’m a civilian.
The ceremony was touching. I walked into the lab, and was handed the award to the tune of the Soviet National Anthem, coming from a nearby computer that was starting up a game of Hunt for Red October.
I expect in the Navy it might get a bit more formality.
Some are military, or reserved for police, but the majority are civilian, including medals for sportsmen, scientists…
The order of Civilian Merit is often given to people who’ve saved someone else’s life without it being their job.
You could illustrate a children’s picture book and get the Caldecott Medal
Join the Boy Scouts of America and:
earn a lot of merit badges, provide leadership to your troop, and carry out a community service project before your 18th birthday to earn your Eagle Scout medal: http://www.troop97.net/images/eagle_medal.jpg
earn the religious award of your particular faith, some of which take the form of medals: http://www.oocities.org/~pack215/cubreligious.gif
save someone’s life or act especially heroically, and you could get any one of several Scout medals: http://www.grandtetoncouncil.org/index.cfm?pageid=1375
They are dished out like sweeties in the UK. I think David http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3242656.stmBeckham got one for being gorgeous. Or for services to the teenage gossip mag indu
Yes, that’s it exactly 
If anyone is in doubt about posting something because it’s too simple, don’t be: post it anyway.
These suggestions are all fantastic; thanks a lot, again. I’ll read through the links more closely when I can - my internet connections, both wifi and the 3G on my phone, are bricked right now. (I’m posting this away from home on a laptop with a poor battery)
Australia gives out medals twice a year, and you get to have post nominal letters like the Poms do with the OBEs and so on.
There’s Companion of the Order of Australia (or ACs, sufficiently rare as to be about the eqivalent of peerages), Officers of the Order of Australia (AO’s, or roughly knighthoods) down to AMs and OAMs.
The AC is pretty glittery - 18K gold sunburst thing with rubies, about 3 or 4 inches across.
