heathicus wrote:So the medal and the ribbon are two different awards, not two ways of displaying the same award?
NO, Each Ribbon represents a single award.
All Ribbons represent an award of some type, Not all of the awards are Medals. Citations and awards typically do not have an official "Medal" associated with them.
The reason I'm confused is, on the checklist of his awards is the "National Defense Service Medal" and the "Vietnam Service Medal with 2 bronze stars."
These are in fact Medals. If the award says "Medal" it has an actual Medal associated with it. Devices (attached to the ribbon itself or the ribbon the medal hangs from) are used to delineate special distinctions or successive awarding of the same medal. These can be palms, stars, oak leafs, "V" etc.
For the "Vietnam Service Medal with 2 bronze stars." The 2 bronze stars indicate he has been awarded that medal 3 times (3 tours?). The first time the recipient is awarded the actual medal each successive time the recipient is awarded a bronze star device to attach to the ribbon that the medal hangs from. Wearing three of same medal just isn't right.
Included in the package was a National Defense Service Medal (metal medallion hanging from a ribbon) in a snap-together plastic package. It appears designed to slide on a bar,
They can be place on a ribbon rack but there was no bar. In a separate tiny ziplock bag was the National Defense Service
ribbon. The ribbon included a bar (one "ribbon" long) that has two pins on it for pinning to a uniform.
That Bar can be used for either the medal or the ribbon. (Some people only have one ribbon/medal.) as the collection of ribbons and medals grows you get different size bars (Racks) to mount the ribbons/medals and attach to the uniform
The Vietnam Service Medal
and ribbon were packaged together, pinned to a piece of cardboard inside a sealed plastic bag. Two bronze stars were in a separate tiny ziplock bag. I haven't opened the bag the medal and ribbon are in, but the ribbon appears to have the same bar as the National Defense Service ribbon (with two hat pins) while the medal has a long safety pin style pin.
The medal typically can be slid out of it's holder and attached to the ribbon rack.
Then, on his checklist, is the "Presidential Unity Citation Ribbon" and the "Combat Action Ribbon." Those ribbons were included in individual tiny ziplock bags, but with no bars or pins.
This is common. You need to get a larger rack to accommodate multiple ribbons. These awards are Citations and have NO official Medal associated with them.
Looking at sites like
http://www.medalsofamerica.com, I see there is a "Combat Action Commemorative Medal" and a "Presidential Unit Citation Commemorative Medal." I hadn't noticed the "Commemorative" until just now. What does that signify?
You already discovered the Commemorative deal on another thread
His Foreign Awards (three from the Republic of Vietnam) could not be sent by the USMC so I'll be ordering those. They are listed on the checklist from the USMC as:
- Vietnam Campaign Medal w/1960 Device This is an actual Medal
- Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Gallantry Cross w/Palm and Frame) ribbon bar This is Just a Ribbon No Medal
- Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Civil Action Color w/Palm and Frame) ribbon bar This is Just a Ribbon No Medal
But, likewise, I see "ribbons" and "medals" at MedalsOfAmerica.com
Some people only need to buy medals, some people (especially military folks) only need to get ribbons. Each time you get a new award, you have to redo your ribbon rack, when they get dirty you have to redo them, it is a very common occurrence.
The "Campaign" medal is not listed as "commemorative."
The Campaign Medal does have an official medal associated with it.
And I'm totally confused on the two Meritorious Unit Citations. The "Medal" options are:
- RVN Gallantry Cross Medal with Palm (it has no frame)
- Gallantry Cross Unit Citation Commemorative Medal (no frame or palm)
- RVN Civil Action Honor Medal 1st Class (no frame or palm)
- RVN Civil Action Honor Medal 2nd Class (no frame or palm)
- RVN Civil Actions Unit Citation Commemorative Medal (no frame or palm)
Furthermore, included with the paperwork was a form to apply for the "Cold War Recognition Certificate." Looking at MedalsOfAmerica.com again, I see a Cold War Commemorative Medal, and a Cold War Commemorative Ribbon.
This is just an official certificate with no official ribbon or medal
So my current list of questions:
1) What do I do with the two bronze star devices for the Vietnam Service medal and ribbon? Attach one star to each? Two stars to only one of them?
You need 2 more star devices, the medal should have 2 star devices, the ribbon should have 2 star devices
2) Why did the USMC send some ribbons with accompanying medals, but other ribbons with no accompanying medals? Does it have anything to do with those medals being "commemorative"?
Yes, Not all awards/citations have an official medal
3) What does "commemorative" medals and ribbons mean? How are they different?
You figured out commemorative, a ribbon is just a representation of the medal. When running around in daily uniform (Class C) The ribbons are worn but not the medals. Typically the only time medals are worn is at a very formal occasion.
4) Is it appropriate to purchase those "commemorative" medals to display along with his ribbons?
5) Is it appropriate to go ahead and purchase the "Cold War" commemorative ribbon and medal to display while the application form is being processed?
This is completely up to you. As you have learned "commemorative" is not official and should not be worn on the uniform. Since it does represent an award and your display is not an official representation it can be displayed.
