ColdWarRules Posted December 10, 2013 Share #1 Posted December 10, 2013 This...this is why Keith Payne everybody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wharfmaster Posted December 11, 2013 Share #2 Posted December 11, 2013 1. Sadly, Americans do not often wear their full size medals. 2. It is costly to have medals court mounted like this by a pro. 3. The Medal of Honor is worn at the neck, the Victoria Cross is not. W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted December 11, 2013 Share #3 Posted December 11, 2013 To add to above... 4. It's rare that a year or two goes by without a new medal being added to the mix. Just try to economically remount those every so often...ouch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted December 11, 2013 Share #4 Posted December 11, 2013 Way back in January 1993 I attended a Burns Supper, a affair celebrating the birthday of the Scottish poet Robert Burns, it was held in the 7th Regiment Armory on 66th St and Park Ave here in NYC, a real nice room, perfect for the occasion. It was attened by Scots living in NYC and as one might think Americans of Scots descent, my girlfriend at the time took me, she was if you can believe half Scots on her father side, a Real Blue Blood, ( her Great Grandfather was an Admiral in the Navy, they even named a Destroyer after him in WWII, more on that later, in Ships I think ) and half Japanese. At the Burns Supper most of the Scotsmen wear Clan Kilts with Dark Blue Dinner Jackets, like Mess Jackets if you will, there were a few guys that clearly served in the British military, these guys wore British medals in the British fashion, one I noticed an older guy in his Sett was formally in the RAF, medals, wings and all, a Korean UN medal I spyed among his rack. But there was one guy, an American, a Vietnam combat Infantry vet in his Sett, wearing his medals and CIB on his jacket, minies, I thought that was cool. I talked to him a bit, lots of Scotch drinking you know, Scots born, and a Americal vet, if I remember 1970-71. I just wanted to relate that story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColdWarRules Posted December 11, 2013 Author Share #5 Posted December 11, 2013 I know the reasons why. I thought this would be a little poke at it. -Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wharfmaster Posted December 11, 2013 Share #6 Posted December 11, 2013 Just for the record, Keith Payne VC OAM is an Australian. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for service in Vietnam. W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted December 11, 2013 Share #7 Posted December 11, 2013 This is typical British vet "on parade". Regimental or BOS headgear is always worn (in this instance Royal Navy) along with a blazer, usually with a bullion pocket badge, and of course, whatever medals the vet has earned, mounted court style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted December 11, 2013 Share #8 Posted December 11, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1ashooter Posted December 11, 2013 Share #9 Posted December 11, 2013 I'd wear mine but I dont dress up very often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted December 11, 2013 Share #10 Posted December 11, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king802 Posted December 11, 2013 Share #11 Posted December 11, 2013 There is also a totally different criteria for the award of British Medals. Foreign awards are not allowed to be worn in the British Forces. The US also awards medals for things in the British Army that would be awarded by a badge. British criteria for the award of medals is also very strict, one of the upsides of this is it makes the award more valuable and you don't end up looking like a sack of shinola like Idi Amin !!!!!!!! The pictures Ian posted show veterans wearing non official awards - underneath their official awards. These are also not allowed to be worn by current service members. Court mounting Is standard practice across the UK Military. Mine and all my families medals are all court mounted. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultima Ratio Regum Posted December 13, 2013 Share #12 Posted December 13, 2013 There is also a totally different criteria for the award of British Medals. Foreign awards are not allowed to be worn in the British Forces. The US also awards medals for things in the British Army that would be awarded by a badge. British criteria for the award of medals is also very strict, one of the upsides of this is it makes the award more valuable and you don't end up looking like a sack of shinola like Idi Amin !!!!!!!! The pictures Ian posted show veterans wearing non official awards - underneath their official awards. These are also not allowed to be worn by current service members. Court mounting Is standard practice across the UK Military. Mine and all my families medals are all court mounted. Rich Sir, I am confused by your statement that foreign awards are not allowed to be worn in the British Forces. I know of numerous examples where British personnel have been decorated by other countries. for example, the current Chief of Defence Staff, General Sir Nicholas Houghton, has been awarded and is shown wearing his US Legion of Merit medal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted December 13, 2013 Share #13 Posted December 13, 2013 The fact that he's "the boss" might have something to do with it?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregory Posted December 13, 2013 Share #14 Posted December 13, 2013 The Soviet way is unbeatable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welshman Posted December 13, 2013 Share #15 Posted December 13, 2013 This is typical British vet "on parade". Regimental or BOS headgear is always worn (in this instance Royal Navy) along with a blazer, usually with a bullion pocket badge, and of course, whatever medals the vet has earned, mounted court style. Nice photo Ian, the first of the two bottom Medals, worn by our Veteran, is the Dunkirk Medal, not sure of the other one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted December 13, 2013 Share #16 Posted December 13, 2013 Not forgetting Kim-Jong-Wotsisname's Generals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted December 13, 2013 Share #17 Posted December 13, 2013 The American way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12A54 Posted December 13, 2013 Share #18 Posted December 13, 2013 "The American way" shows the clutter we have become. Example - the DSSM, ADSM, DSSM, LOM, and MSM are all essentially different flavors of the same thing - an award for service at various levels of responsibility. Perhaps only the highest should be worn (with the rest inferred), reducing the clutter by four. In the Army, I only wore the significant (to me) award of each category - three ribbons. (I only wore them all when I absolutely had to.) Regarding medals; court mounting is a much better method IMO. It makes them look way more uniform (because of varying drape lengths and pendant sizes) and it protects the ribbon by securing the pendants rather than hanging their weight on the ribbon itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welshman Posted December 13, 2013 Share #19 Posted December 13, 2013 Not forgetting Kim-Jong-Wotsisname's Generals! Their not medals, I lent them my badge collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airborne1968 Posted December 15, 2013 Share #20 Posted December 15, 2013 Post 17 is comparing apples to oranges. These pics below (taken from the web) show how US medals (not ribbons) are worn. Note the USMC still wears the ribbons for awards that do not have a medal w/ pendant while the Army does not unless it is a unit award. The USMC and USN also overlap their suspension ribbons while the Army and I believe the USAF do not. They can also wear up to 5 non-overlapped medals side by side while the Army can only wear up to 4. However, this thread started as if it were talking about veterans vs current military members. I, for one, would like to see more vets wearing them. It would help separate the bikers and other "old guys" who support the military vets in public settings from actual vets. This is not simply me babbling as I have seen bikers, at the Vietnam Wall or during the Thunder Run ride through DC, thanked for their military service although they never served a day in the military. They were mistaken as vets because they are out at these events wearing military pins and badges in support of the vets and the general public just doesn't know the difference between the supporter and the vet. Also, unlike Canada and possibly the UK, the US does not have a detailed "regulation or guideline" governing the wear of medals by vets on their civilian attire after they leave service. AR 670-1 barely touches this topic although a civilian pamphlet should be published for all civilians to access. A uniform guide for all vets across the country would likely encourage wear of full size medals at veteran events or on Veterans or Memorial Day. Keep in mind when I asked a lot of vets why they didn't wear their medals, they responded with many different comments ranging from "I did not receive all their medals" or "I lost them and can not find replacements", or "I never earned any" because they served during the between the war periods and there were no medals to earn. As a retired Warrant Officer, I wear mini medals for my decorations and though I have a mounted rack of all campaign medals and foreign awards I choose not to wear them unless I'm with a group or at an event where it is appropriate. I wear them on a blazer at veteran events and not on a fatigue shirt or BDUs; which I feel is entirely inappropriate attire for medals yet it is an image continually perpetuated through movies. That's my 2 cents on the subject and hopefully we'll see a rise in the number of vets wearing medals at events in the future. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchInfid3l Posted December 16, 2013 Share #21 Posted December 16, 2013 I had acquired these mini medals a few years ago from eBay, unnamed unfortunately... Always thought it was an interesting piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welshman Posted December 16, 2013 Share #22 Posted December 16, 2013 Nice looking medals Dutchlnfid31, interesting to see how they were hung, when worn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welshman Posted December 19, 2013 Share #23 Posted December 19, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted December 19, 2013 Share #24 Posted December 19, 2013 ^^^^^ That's an absolutely bizarre assortment of medals. Who is the vet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welshman Posted December 19, 2013 Share #25 Posted December 19, 2013 This is the caption underneath photoi A US veteran wears his medals during a commemoration ceremony on June 5, 2009 at the German Military Cemetery of La Cambe, Normandy. Preparations are underway for the upcoming D-Day celebrations to mark the 65th anniversary of the June 6, 1944 allied landings in France, then occupied by Nazi Germany. (JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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