Military Medals

[RaevynCait]

This is a follow-up, apparently of a story that was run last week about a Korean War Vet who was told "here's your certificate stating that you earned a Purple Heart, but we don't have a medal to give you, so you can either buy your own, or reapply in 90 days"
::WTF::

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5070032.html


Now, it would seem to me that if Lars can keep up with guild pins and certificates, the US Military could keep up with who has earned what medal AND who has actually received them! I mean, if you've already certified that I earned and am due something, but YOU are out of stock, why do I have to re-apply for something I've already been certified for??? (Now, I'm not talking about something that is renewable, like a license)

Kudos to Senator Cornyn for addressing the issue appropriately!

And a resounding THWAP to the "military goods store" that apparently will sell a medal to anyone who has the $ to pay for it, without requiring evidence of merit!

[Buxom Wench]

With all the crap the government wastes 'our' money on, shame on them for not having enough medals to go to our deserving veterans. :shame:

[Lady Sarah]

Medals? feh...

let's try shame on them for not having uniforms - and piling up paperwork in front of those soldiers who have to special order sizes beyond the 'standard stock'.

Medals are just decoration gals. As long as you've got the cert, it's on your record and that is the most important thing.


ETA: OK, having actually read the article, I can give you a better insight. Rae, I know you're a Brat, so you'll at least understand where I'm coming from.

First, I'm not all that impressed with the purple heart. They were handed out like candy in Viet Nam. I know of a few men in my dad's unit that got their purple hearts for *ingrown*toe*nails*. So, there, not impressed with the 'merit' behind the purple heart any longer. And, handing them out for death? Sorry, cold comfort. VERY COLD COMFORT. But Medals of Honor are harder to attain and you HAVE to die for those. Medals are an unfair awards systems.

Second, He waited until NOW to make record of his injuries... and only *after* seeing other veterans put in for theirs? I'm sorry, that just doesn't sit right with me. He'd gone 52 years without the need or (I guess) want of it, knowing in his own mind and heart what he went through and that he survived. What's more important is that he was able to come home to his family - THAT is the biggest and BEST Medal of them all.

I feel for the guy, really I do - about the hullabaloo. He shouldn't have to pay for the medal - if he earned it, then it should be given freely. I don't have any sympathy for him, however, in waiting this long to go through the certification.

[Buxom Wench]

Medals? feh...

let's try shame on them for not having uniforms - and piling up paperwork in front of those soldiers who have to special order sizes beyond the 'standard stock'.

Medals are just decoration gals. As long as you've got the cert, it's on your record and that is the most important thing.

To some it may be enough but, passing on a medal to a relative is more meaningful, at least to me, than passing on a certificate.

And for those veterans that may be marching in a parade or attending a special ceremony, those medals show everyone else just how much that veteran sacrificed for our country.

Just my opinion.

[Lady Sarah]

To some it may be enough but, passing on a medal to a relative is more meaningful, at least to me, than passing on a certificate.

And for those veterans that may be marching in a parade or attending a special ceremony, those medals show everyone else just how much that veteran sacrificed for our country.

Just my opinion.

And it's a valid opinion. But it's just decoration Robin. Ask anyone who's got the medal and they'll say that it's just a decoration for their uniform. it's not the Pink Ribbon or the AIDS Ribbon or a secret sign to a secret club. It's a piece of metal and ribbon given to them by those who weren't there to thank them for getting injured while doing their job.

Ask any soldier. It's not about the medals or the commendations. it's about doing your job and going home.

[Buxom Wench]

<snip>

The heart-shaped medal was established in 1932 to honor members of the military wounded or killed during enemy action.

<snip>

For those that don't go home, that medal could mean a great deal to a child or grandchild of that soldier.
It's something tangible that they can hold and look at and show with pride.

[WenchLadyKate]

I have my grandfathers military medals. I treasure them, and keep them in a safety deposit box just in case. I keep them there along with all the photos from that time and the documentation of all the different medals and ribbons, they really are an important piece of family history.

My Uncle James, didn't get his Purple heart until after he died. He was near a buddy of his who stepped on a landmine and was killed. My Uncle was thrown into the side of a hut type structure which then fell on him crushing part of his face. Yet, he got up and went to see if he could help his buddy and other members of his troop. He deserves that medal, and he should have at least gotten it before he died. But, my Aunt is grateful that she has it.

I think no branch of government is perfect, but the one department that actually shows appreciation for the Americans that protect this country should at least have a system in place for this kind of situation, not just "reapply in 90 days".

No matter what is going on in anyone's life or in the world, it just makes you feel better about everything to know that someone, somewhere appreciates what you've done for their freedom.

I'm glad he got his medal, he deserves it.

[UnicornBee]

I agree that medals are decor, but sometimes they mean something to the families. My Pappy (grandfather) was also in Korea and got a few medals. My uncle as a surprise to him got all of his medals and patches and framed them. My pappy had tears in his eyes when he saw them. They may just be decoration, but they can also be reminders of the sacrifices people and families made.

And telling a vet that he has to pay for his own medal? Thats just wrong. And only needing $42 ..... I pity those who bought the medals without deserving them.

[Lady Sarah]

For those that don't go home, that medal could mean a great deal to a child or grandchild of that soldier.
It's something tangible that they can hold and look at and show with pride.

Be honest - which would you rather have?

[Buxom Wench]

Be honest - which would you rather have?

Personally, I'd rather have the soldier than anything else.

But knowing that person has died in service, the medal would be something to have to frame (as someone else already said) near a photo and have that to remember that person in a very special and different way.

My great-grandfather emigrated to the US from Poland.
Within 5 years of being here, he joined the US army to fight in the war.
He also died for this country and having his medals is a very special honor.

[Lady Sarah]

I guess I'm the odd one out. Medals don't mean that much to me. Leslie 'earned' and received a purple heart his first go-round in the sandbox. It means nothing to me other than he survived and that he was able to come home.

My parents have a shadowbox in which they have some pieces from their time in service. There's one medal in there - a bronze star. The rest are pieces of uniforms - buttons, badges... a history of their life, a celebration of the life in service. I guess I grew up with skewed opinions about what really matters to me.

[Bean]

Somewhere along the line my dad lost all the medals he was awarded in WWII. So as a gift for his birthday several years ago I contacted a military surplus store in Hawaii and got replacements for all his medals and battle stars. We also framed his discharge papers and his mariner's certificate from when he crossed the equator for the first time. (He was in the Navy). Without that store we couldn't have replaced those medals.

[WenchLadyKate]

I guess I'm the odd one out. Medals don't mean that much to me. Leslie 'earned' and received a purple heart his first go-round in the sandbox. It means nothing to me other than he survived and that he was able to come home.

My parents have a shadowbox in which they have some pieces from their time in service. There's one medal in there - a bronze star. The rest are pieces of uniforms - buttons, badges... a history of their life, a celebration of the life in service. I guess I grew up with skewed opinions about what really matters to me.

I don't think that they're skewed opinons, just different. If we all had the same opinions about stuff, where would we be? Right, yawnsville! :-)

I was always taught that the medals and ribbons and the other stuff that we have were pieces of history, which is probably why I treasure them so much. I think I seem them much as you do, a history of their life, and a celebration of the people who keep us free and safe.

[Ariel]

My eldest brother is in the Army (he's actually flying back to his fort in Washington state right now after serving a year in South Korea). On one of Thane's visits home my mother pulled some of his stuff from storage. In the boxes were some of his medals and ribbons. Thane wanted to throw them out. Mom confiscated them for safe keeping. I guess I can see both of their opinions. To Thane, he's just doing his job. To mom, it's a record of his achievements and a reason to be proud.

[Cyranno DeBoberac]

Medals? feh...

let's try shame on them for not having uniforms

Or body armor... :unamused:

[Buxom Wench]

Anyone happen to notice on the bottom of the page that you can BUY a Purple Heart for the low low price of just $24.99? :unamused:

[AllieSutherland]

But Medals of Honor are harder to attain and you HAVE to die for those.

For the record, you can be a suriving Vet and earn the Medal of Honor. I can name a number of vets who lived/are still living after the incidents for which they earned the MoH.

[Cyranno DeBoberac]

For the record, you can be a suriving Vet and earn the Medal of Honor. I can name a number of vets who lived/are still living after the incidents for which they earned the MoH.

Correct. The MoH is awarded to "...a person who, while a member of the Army, distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States..."[1 (http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2002/julqtr/32cfr578.4.htm)] You don't have to die to get one, you just have to not care if you die. :)

3,463 MoHs have been awarded, only 616 of them were posthumous.[2 (http://www.army.mil/cmh/mohstats.htm)]

[Lady Sarah]

For the record, you can be a suriving Vet and earn the Medal of Honor. I can name a number of vets who lived/are still living after the incidents for which they earned the MoH.


The standing 'joke' amongst soldiers is that due to tightened criteria restrictions since WWII, 60% of the awarded CMoH have been posthumously. Hence, you have to 'die' to get the medal. Morbid joke, I know.

The Medal of Honor has been awarded only four times, all of them posthumously, for actions occurring since the withdrawal of US forces from Vietnam in 1973.

The first two were earned by Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart and Master Sergeant Gary Gordon, who were defending downed Black Hawk helicopter pilot Chief Warrant Officer Michael Durant and his crew during the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993.

The others were awarded during the Iraq Campaign. In 2005, a posthumous Medal of Honor awarded to Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith for actions in Operation Iraqi Freedom was presented to his survivors. In April 2003, Smith killed over 50 Iraqis near Baghdad International Airport, while providing cover for an aid station full of wounded Americans to evacuate. On January 11, 2007, President George W. Bush awarded Marine Corporal Jason Dunham of Scio, New York, the Medal of Honor posthumously for his bravery in Iraq during a combat mission during which he threw himself on a grenade to save his fellow Marines during an action near the Syrian border in April 2004.

So, technically, yes, there are living Honorees, but they served in Viet Nam and before.

[Lady Sarah]

Correct. The MoH is awarded to "...a person who, while a member of the Army, distinguished himself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States..."[1 (http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2002/julqtr/32cfr578.4.htm)] You don't have to die to get one, you just have to not care if you die. :)

3,463 MoHs have been awarded, only 616 of them were posthumous.[2 (http://www.army.mil/cmh/mohstats.htm)]

All branches of the military are eligible for the CMoH... Even the Coast Guard. But, the Army far and away has the most recipients.