Service medals

Stuart Mackey · Post by **Stuart Mackey** » 2003-09-18 09:15am

A question of whimsey
How many people here have the medals of family members who saw service in the various wars of last century?
I have three WW1 medals, 14-15 star, Victory Medal and British War Medal. These belonged to a great uncle of mine, served in the Auckland regiment I beleive.

Post by **fgalkin** » 2003-09-18 05:17pm

I have my grandparents' WWII medals back in Russia.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2003-09-18 05:26pm

...I have my great-grandfather's sword...

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-09-18 05:58pm

My dad has a large number of medals from past relatives, and my grandfather has a number more, both also have quite a few of there own. But I've never looked through them that much, I do know there's a couple silver stars about though.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-09-18 07:17pm

My great uncle served in WW2, as did my grandfather (deceased). My great uncle never, ever talks about war (He was on Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Tarawa, etc) and my grandfather was a logistics guy.

So, no medals.

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2003-09-18 10:31pm

My great-grandfather served in the Spanish-American war. No medals, but I have a 1pdr shell that dates from that period, and I think was his.

My step-grandfather was in the Navy in 1944-45, and he never left Pearl Harbor. No medals.

My dad was a F-86 mechanic in Korea. No medals.

But I do have a WWI Iron Cross, 1st class, that was a gift from a friend.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-09-18 10:33pm

My dad spent 4 years in the service, 6 weeks in Vietnam. He got shot at while approaching the shore once, which earned him some sort of special, very rarely given out medal that he hasn't picked up yet.

Trytostaydead · Post by **Trytostaydead** » 2003-09-18 10:58pm

My dad has a little chest with his medals he earned during his service before, during and after Vietnam. I only saw it a few times when I was young, but for some reason he hides it away under the junk in the garage. From what I can gather, he was constantly shifted through various programs under the CIA and Psyops.. the only one I know for sure was he used to do some work for Air America. The only thing my dad ever told me about his "peers" was "If I stayed in any longer, I would be just like them.. dead."

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2003-09-19 12:00am

Howedar wrote:My great uncle served in WW2, as did my grandfather (deceased). My great uncle never, ever talks about war (He was on Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Tarawa, etc) and my grandfather was a logistics guy.

So, no medals.

My dad said that his dad almost never talked about the war, and one of the few things he could pry out of him was that he was one of the soldiers who encountered the concentration camps.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-09-19 12:09am

Yeah, I think its that kinda thing.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2003-09-19 12:33am

My grandfather was an anti-aircraft gunner in North Africa, Sicily, and Corsica, but I don't think he has any medals...

But, like I said, I have my great-grandfather's WWI bayonet/sword. Evidently he was some sort of officer, and though he was Italian, the inscription is in French...

Xenophobe3691 · Post by **Xenophobe3691** » 2003-09-19 12:41am

Uraniun235 wrote:
Howedar wrote:My great uncle served in WW2, as did my grandfather (deceased). My great uncle never, ever talks about war (He was on Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Tarawa, etc) and my grandfather was a logistics guy.

So, no medals.
My dad said that his dad almost never talked about the war, and one of the few things he could pry out of him was that he was one of the soldiers who encountered the concentration camps.

No fucking wonder, there was this video they showed during the Nuremberg trials, they showed it again in the Movie they made about those trials, just that little bit made me sick to my stomach.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-09-19 12:45am

I think we have are the basic service medels of our dad's father from his service as a dentist in the Air Force during the Korean War period. He was stationed in Alaska.

We do have a Nazi belt buckle and a few other odds and ends, though.

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2003-09-19 07:39am

My late great-grandfather was in WWI and WWII. My grandfather has his purple heart and bronze star with V among others. He also has the Luger P-08 that my great grandfather took from a German officer he shot.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-09-19 08:31am

There has not been many servicemen in my family, mainly for health reasons.
My dad did serve in the Navy but no medals to speak of. He was a mechanic on a sub tender based in Morroco during the 60's.

I found what looked like an Iron Cross in my grandma's house when I was a kid. It freaked me out, cause I thought that my grandma might be a Nazi. ( I was 8 or 9 at the time. ) But she was born here and pretty American as far as I know. Her ex husband ( my grandpa) was named Adolf, but I think he was born here too. So where the Iron Cross came from is a mystery.

greenmm · Post by **greenmm** » 2003-09-19 09:12am

My dad has my grandfather's WWII medals, including the paperwork for a citation (IIRC, a Bronze Star).

He was part of the 69th Infantry, but we've never been able to figure out if he joined them before or after the Leopoldville was sunk in the British Channel Christmas 1944...

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2003-09-19 11:06am

No medals, though I have the funeral flag. My grandfather was a Jeep driver during the German occupation for some general (don't know which one), assigned to 8th Infantry Division ("Pathfinders").

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-09-19 01:19pm

Yeah, my dad has my grandfather's flag.

For some odd reason, my stupid bitch grandmother didn't want it.

Post by **Kuja** » 2003-09-19 02:05pm

My dad has a few medals from his time as a medic in the Reserves. I haven't dug through them, though.

Raptor 597 · Post by **Raptor 597** » 2003-09-19 05:17pm

The only ones I've seen is my Grandfather's Army of Occupation ribbon, Army Service ribbon, and his Overseas Service ribbon. They are all in this nifty box with pictures of sefvice buddies. I think he showed me thoise a few years ago. The only pins I've seen is my uncle's 5th SFG pin. I forgot the inscription though I know where it's at.

Nathan F · Post by **Nathan F** » 2003-09-20 01:41am

Well, Dad just recently got all of my grandfather's WW2 awards, citations, and medals together and gave them to him. I know he had the Presidential Unit Citation and a marksmanship badge, along with a few more ribbons that I wasn't able to identify offhand. My uncle is holding my great uncle who was killed in Siciliy in WW2's Purple Heart, too.

Dad has a pretty big fruit salad, with the Air Force Commendation Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal. Only know what those two are because he has the medals in a little case. No idea what all the other ones are, although he has a couple with oak leaves. Kind of curious as to what he has, oughta find that out...

The Dark · Post by **The Dark** » 2003-09-20 01:49pm

Oh, forgot: I also have my grandfather's 8th Infantry pin, though I wear a reproduction to keep from losing the original (lost it once, but found it the next day in my band classroom). The reproduction's larger than the original, though.

m112880 · Post by **m112880** » 2003-09-20 11:45pm

i have my grandfathers purple heart that he won during war world 2. I do know that from talking to some people in my family that most of them that served very realy ever talked about what happen. I know my grandfather realy did other then when he talked about people he know or something funny that happen. I also had a great uncle who frought in afica and europe and he never would talk about it other then to mantian that the he spent the war walking from one end of afica to the other and then walked from italy to germany.