 He received several US and South Vietnamese awards, including the United States Legion of Merit, the (Vietnam) Medal of Honour, Cross of Gallantry (with palm), and Knight of the National Order of Vietnam.Following the war, Serong returned to Melbourne but struggled to return to civilian life and lived apart from his family, who had begun to live their own lives in his long absence.He was considered a world authority on counter-insurgency operations, and wrote widely on the subject in the 1970s.