KASTAUFFER Posted August 22, 2014 Share #1 Posted August 22, 2014 This is one of the items I acquired at the OMSA convention last week. This is a very scarce box. It is the 1st style WWII untitled US Navy DFC box. It is not the same size as the other untitled US Navy boxes such as the green Am box and the Purple Heart box. It is similar in size to an Army box. These boxes are often seen with posthumous awards from Midway or the Battle of the Coral Sea in them. I thought I would share this box since its existence is unknown to most people. It is much harder to find than a green Air Medal box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmpmstr Posted August 22, 2014 Share #2 Posted August 22, 2014 Kurt, that's is fantastic. You are a magnet for the good stuff. Would there have been DFCs awarded in this other than Midway and Coral Sea? Or are those just the most commonly seen in this early case?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJohn#3RD Posted August 23, 2014 Share #3 Posted August 23, 2014 Very nice find there Kurt. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emccomas Posted August 23, 2014 Share #4 Posted August 23, 2014 Very Nice. The only other one I have seen was in this thread, post #8. http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/206809-navy-wwii-colored-medal-cases/?hl=%22colored+medal+cases%22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted August 23, 2014 Author Share #5 Posted August 23, 2014 Kurt, that's is fantastic. You are a magnet for the good stuff. Would there have been DFCs awarded in this other than Midway and Coral Sea? Or are those just the most commonly seen in this early case?? Hi Tony Lately my magnetism hasn't been good but I got lucky finding this! I have had one other of these that came out of the family and it was from a pilot that sank a sub in early 1943. I have only seen 3 of these boxes in 30 years, Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted August 23, 2014 Share #6 Posted August 23, 2014 Kurt, that's is fantastic. You are a magnet for the good stuff. Would there have been DFCs awarded in this other than Midway and Coral Sea? Or are those just the most commonly seen in this early case?? Tony - two of the guys I wrote about in my book, credited for sinking subs in mid/late 1943 had DFCs in this style of box. In fact, after seeing the first one, I e-mailed Kurt and some others just because I didn't have a clue of what it was! Only a handful of the other DFCs I photographed were cased, so I don't know the actual number of these relating to Atlantic-based sub hunters. However, considering that they were awarding the green-box Air Medals to the guys who sunk a sub in mid-1944, I would suspect that many of the early Navy DFCs from 1942/43 and possibly 44 were in these cases...but no one knows because so few exist... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanemono Posted August 23, 2014 Share #7 Posted August 23, 2014 Thank you for the information Kurt. I learn something new here almost every day. Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhcoleterracina Posted August 23, 2014 Share #8 Posted August 23, 2014 Interesting, never seen one of those before. Thanks for showing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclegrumpy Posted August 23, 2014 Share #9 Posted August 23, 2014 Two of the guys I wrote about in my book, credited for sinking subs in mid/late 1943 had DFCs in this style of box.Question....were any of those medals engraved? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted August 23, 2014 Share #10 Posted August 23, 2014 Question....were any of those medals engraved? No, neither of the early cased ones were engraved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclegrumpy Posted August 23, 2014 Share #11 Posted August 23, 2014 Thanks! I have always wondered when the Navy quit engraving DFCs presented non posthumously....we know they multi line engraved them for Coral Sea and Midway, but it appears they stopped before they ran out of these early style cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmar Posted August 23, 2014 Share #12 Posted August 23, 2014 Kurt! You have obtained the unobtainable, I've only seen 2 others in my time. Congratulations on a fantastic addition to your collection! Best wishes, Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakethetrees Posted October 3, 2015 Share #13 Posted October 3, 2015 I've been collecting medals since 1967 and have never seen the Air Medal, DFC, or Navy and Marine Corps Medal colored boxes. I'm familiar with the others, and the later type similar to the Army black leatherette cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decwriter Posted October 3, 2015 Share #14 Posted October 3, 2015 Another great find Kurt! Thanks for enlightening all of us on these early boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emccomas Posted October 5, 2015 Share #15 Posted October 5, 2015 OK, so here are almost all of the colored Navy cases. Missing is the Navy MOH case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary B Posted October 5, 2015 Share #16 Posted October 5, 2015 Thanks for showing all of the different cases. NIce collection! Kurt, is the covering on these DFC cases cloth? It appears so in your picture. Gary B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted October 5, 2015 Author Share #17 Posted October 5, 2015 It is cloth on the DFC case. Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary B Posted October 5, 2015 Share #18 Posted October 5, 2015 Thanks for the response....now you need a nice early DFC for the case! Gary B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted October 5, 2015 Author Share #19 Posted October 5, 2015 Thanks for the response....now you need a nice early DFC for the case! Gary B Funny you should say that! I do have some early war US Navy ( US Mint Contract ) DFC's and what I have noticed about them is that the DFC planchet is a little thinner on the earlier ones. The later war US Mint medals are thicker, Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakethetrees Posted October 5, 2015 Share #20 Posted October 5, 2015 Does anyone know if the Mint made early Navy Bronze Stars? I am aware of the wrap brooch version, but all I've seen are stray medals. I know they came in short black leatherette cases modeled after Army cases, but did they ever have a colored cloth version? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumpin Jack Posted October 5, 2015 Share #21 Posted October 5, 2015 OK, so here are almost all of the colored Navy cases. Missing is the Navy MOH case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumpin Jack Posted October 5, 2015 Share #22 Posted October 5, 2015 OK, so here are almost all of the colored Navy cases. Missing is the Navy MOH case. The Forum comes through again! The recently acquired grouping of Admiral John S. McCain had a green case with blue velvet interior base that I could not account for. It seems to go with his Distinguished Military Service Medal with Gold Star. Thank you very much for posting this very informative case coverage. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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