Just remembered I have this cool little General John T "Blackjack" Pershing Medal (50th Anniversary of the return of the AEF) with the satiny-est of satiny finishes:
Thank you VERY MUCH Veterans!!!! The first orbital rendezvous in history was between Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 in 1965. These two flights unquestionably put the US ahead of the USSR in the Space Race, which was every bit a battlefront in the Cold War. Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford on Gemini 6 were both USNA graduates, as was Jim Lovell on Gemini 7. Frank Borman, Commander of Gemini 7 was a USMA graduate. The crew of Gemini 7 at the time of rendezvous had been in orbit for a then record of 11 days. After rendezvous Schirra, who loved to pull pranks, told Borman that Stafford would start holding up signs to check on whether Borman's eyesight had deteriorated in weightlessness. He requested that Borman read out what the signs said. There was only one sign that Stafford held up. Needless to say, Borman did not say it aloud...
Spent the first 12 yrs of my life in the military. My father retired as a major in the army and sadly I missed the draft in the 70's due to knee injuries in high school. My father taught me to respect our military and I thank all of you for your service.
It is interesting to note that my Dad earned the CIB (Combat Infantry Badge) before he became a Combat Medic. Ordinarily, medics are not entitled to the CIB.
I knew some medics who did not carry a weapon; they were CO's - Conscientious Objectors. And that was OK, nobody gave them any static that I ever saw. It was all a long time ago and war is pretty much a young man's game.
Here are a few genuine World War II service medals. American theater Asia Europe And before World War II started, the defense medal.
I like those. Out of all my medals, I think the most interesting design is my Korea Defense Medal. The rest are pretty blah.
Here is a World War I service medal. James Frazer, the artist who designed the Buffalo Nickel designed this piece.
A relative's medal; I have no backstory on the US serviceman who earned this but it belong to my gramps, who was too young to serve in WWI. The ribbon is a bit worn but the medal is in great shape. I received it in a small cloth bag. France bar on the ribbon indicates the theater in which the recipient participated, I think. John's looks like battle bars as well.
These World War I and II items are not very expensive. I think that I have about $200 in the whole the collection. Naturally the World War I item is hardest one.
I never went to clear awards and decorations when I was ready to ETS. I had a bad attitude by then. I did keep my CIB and Jump Wings tho. Those guys in WWII went through some really bad hell.