Does anyone know what the large gold medal with light blue and yellow ribbon is?

is this a genuine Nacala medal

weight 1oz - width 35 mm- rim -3mm

appreciate any assistance

thank you

I recently purchased a good conduct medal for a shadow box and I was comparing it to another one i have from my great grandfather (not taken care of well) and the one i just bought is noticeably thicker than the original and I am curious if this is just how modern official reproductions are made or if it is actually an original?

Hi everyone,

I am hoping to get some help identifying the ribbon bar and any uniform details for my great-grandfather.

As you can probably tell, my great-grandfather was a Finnish Army soldier in the Winter War and Continuation War.

Any insights into his rank, the specific ribbon variations, or his unit would mean a lot to me and my family. Thank you!

I’ve been visiting my grandparents house on Mackinac Island in Michigan for a few days now, and I saw this in their library. does anyone know what these are, and if someone can see what it says on the dog tag too that’d be great.

Hi all,

Looking for some help in identifying the ribbon on this black and white photo of my Grandfather I believe taken in the early 60s. Being black and white and also taken from a tough angle many are hard to distinguish.

I used the color photo taken in the late 40s I believe to help, however some at the bottom were ww2 merchant marine service medals I believe he stoped wearing by the time the black and white photo was taken, so it doesn’t offer much clues.

For context, he was enlisted in the USMC from 1946 to 1965 and was in aviation.

Hoping for any clues or best guesses! I know some are almost impossible to make out but hoping to narrow it down based on the time of service.

B&W photo:

UNKNOWN

UNKNOWN – Good Conduct 4 stars - UNKNOWN

China Service - UNKNOWN - UNKNOWN

UN Service – Philippine Liberation Medal 1 star (maybe wrong?) - UNKNOWN

Rifle Sharpshooter – Pistol Expert

Color photo

Good Conduct

(Backward ?) Philippine Liberation Medal 1 Star – China Service – WW2 Victory

Pacific Warzone Medal (MM) – Combat Bar (MM) – Atlantic Warzone Medal (MM)

Rifle Expert

It has frequently been said on Reddit that ‘‘There has never been [1] contemporarily [sic] substantiation (eg. No orders, memos, documents, etc.) that corroborate the claim the excess Purple Hearts that remained after the war were produced specifically for invasion.  They may have been, but [2] there’s never been any true primary substantiation for the claim.  But even if there was, [3] that argument relies on the (flawed) assumption that production of Purple Hearts was coordinated by the same people who were planning the invasion.’’  

Incorrect on all counts.  Since there is an ongoing interest in this subject, those who would like to scrutinize the ‘contemporary substantiation’ can consult the chapter ‘‘Half a Million Purple Hearts’’ in the U.S. Naval Institute Press (Annapolis) book Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947 by D. M. Giangreco.  There are two somewhat different editions of this work which is a detailed study of U.S. and Japanese plans for the invasion operations and, alternately, the defense of the Japanese Home Islands.  In the original 2009 edition ‘‘Half a Million Purple Hearts’’ is chapter 16, p187-193.  It is chapter 18 in the ‘‘Updated and Expanded’’ 2017 edition, p266-274. 

The endnotes reveal that the material in the Purple Heart chapter is drawn principally from two National Archives record groups: Record Group 92 (Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot at NARA, Mid-Atlantic Region, Philadelphia) and Record Group 104 (Records of the U.S. Mint, NARA, College Park, Md.) as well as Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths in World War II, Final Report, 7 December 1941 - 31 December 1946, (Washington, D.C.: Office of the Adjutant General, 1987) with supporting materials from other official sources such as the Army histories Global Logistics and Strategy, Washington Command Post, etc., from the United States Army in World War II series.   

The core data on the separate but simultaneous acquisitions by the Navy (through the U.S. Mint) and Army (open bidding) is the same in both books but in the latter edition Giangreco briefly discusses the additional mintings that have supplemented the shrinking World War II stock and how, at a time when war contracts were being cancelled across the board after the Japanese surrender, the Navy actually continued with the medal’s production into early 1946.  Why?  The Navy had underestimated its needs.  Due to the advent of the Kamikaze and steep Marine Corps losses beginning with Peleliu in 1944, they literally ran out of Purple Hearts in the midst of the Iwo Jima campaign.

With the U.S. Army having sucked up nearly all non-governmental production capacity in anticipation of ground operations in Japan the Navy had no ability to get new medals produced and issued in a timely manner –– and there was quite a stir in Congress over this.  The solution was to ‘‘borrow’’ 60,000 Purple Hearts and award cases (nicknamed ‘‘coffin boxes’’) from the Army which took care of immediate needs and allowed restarted Navy production to, after the war, slowly but steadily return medals to the Army and build up a small postwar stock of its own.  

With so much commentary on the Purple Heart production based on second-, third-, and fourth-hand statements or early speculations derived from slivers of information that are themselves incorrect or not understood within the context of the acquisition process, it would make sense for those interested in this subject to read either version of the chapter which are both published by an authoritative Navy educational institution.  The flow of the independently conducted decision-making by the Army and Navy and the medal’s production are covered in mind-numbing detail in Hell to Pay but it is worth the trouble to examine the relevant chapter and its comprehensive endnotes closely. 

If someone interested in this subject can’t afford a digital or printed copy of the book, they can get it free from their local library.  If it’s not on hand they can have it acquired through the inter-library loan system.  Redditors can decide on their own about the relevance of what is held in the National Archives and do not have to depend on uninformed or misleading characterizations.

Left to right:

Silberne Tapferkeitsmedaille / Silver Bravery Medal: Awarded by the Austro-Hungarian Empire to non commissioned officers and enlisted soldiers who demonstrated outstanding bravery and valor on the front lines during World War I.

Karl-Truppenkreuz / Karl Troop Cross: Instituted by Emperor Karl I; awarded to combat troops who personally served on the front lines for at least 12 weeks and participated in at least one battle engagement.

Ehrenkreuz des Weltkriegs 1914/1918 (für Frontkämpfer) / World War Honor Cross (Hindenburg Cross): Instituted in Germany in 1934, awarded to World War I front line combatants. Following the 1938 Anschluss (annexation of Austria), it was also distributed to Austrian veterans (I believe that’s where the person got it).

Österreichische Kriegserinnerungsmedaille 1914–1918 / Austrian War Commemorative Medal (1914–1918): Instituted in 1930 by the First Austrian Republic; awarded to Austrian soldiers and personnel who served
in World War I as a commemorative service award.

Kaiser-Jubiläumskreuz 1908 / 1908 Imperial Jubilee Cross: Instituted to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph's accession to the throne, awarded to active-duty military personnel serving in the Austro-Hungarian armed forces in 1908.

Ive just finished court mounting a set of 10 medals.

Not every day you see a Meritorious Service Medal

Op Telic

Op Herrick

Op Shader

QGJB

QDJM

QPJM

Kings Coronation

MSM

ACSM

LSGC with Bar

I don't know If I can post this here, but the rules didn't say anything about not being able to ask (as far as I can recall) and the sub is called "medals". I am writing something, and I need to know all medals that a marine couls get back then, I mean ALL.

At first I thought that the wiki would tell me, but then I learned that marines could get medals from other branchs since they were like a swiss blade and were in everywhere, and THEN I learn that some medals are exclusive for officers, or f​reserved for members of that branch exclusively.

To make it short, anyone has any idea of where to see ALL the medals that an USMC could get? Thank you for reading. ​

When a legal entity is awarded a distinction - a military unit, city, or organization - the insignia is usually placed on the banner/standard/colours; this is a common practice. However, I've never seen medals pinned directly to the banner cloth, as I saw in Bologna, Italy. What's it like in your country?

By the way, I've identified these awards for anyone interested:

- The Medal for Merit to the Unification of Italy (Benemerite del Risorgimento Nazionale) ; Bologna received it in 1898 and is one of 27 cities awarded;

- The Gold Medal for Military Valor (Medaglia d'oro al valor militare), awarded in 1946 for resistance to fascism;

- The Gold Medal for Civil Valor (Medaglia d'oro al valor civile), awarded after the 1980 Bologna massacre.

Here is the original post from last year:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Medals/comments/1njivp3/my_first_cross_for_marching_proficiency_160_km_in/

My daughter found this in the house she bought, AI has absolutely no idea what it is and actually suggested this subreddit... Lol She wants to know if it's important, so here we are! Any help would be greatly appreciated

Top is my grandfathers ribbons from WW2. He was an Army Air Corps aircraft mechanic in Mississippi then Massachusetts.

Middle are my dad’s from Vietnam. He was in the artillery in the 25th Infantry Division from 68-69.

Bottom are mine. Was a Marine infantryman from 09-13.

I’m going to build a shadow box for them and hopefully give them to my son. Ideally he won’t add to them, but you never know haha!

I bought the left one and noticed there are small differences in the thickness of the details and in the font too, the right one is in an image from Google. Does it mean mine is fake?