Crossword Genius

US relatives awarded an Australian honour (5,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

uncle sam

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'australian honour' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how one could define the other.

'us relatives awarded an' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'relatives' could be 'uncles' (uncle is a kind of relative) and 'uncles' is found within the answer.
'an' could be 'a' and 'a' is found within the answer.
A single letter 'm' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for uncle sam that I've seen before include "USA personified" , "Statesman" , "America as a recruiting officer" , "America personified" , "Iconic male relative of USA" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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