List of Medals issued/awarded to WWII Veterans

[Morlok]

Hello! I have been working on building a framed collection of WW2 medals, but I need some help! I am planning on framing the medals issued to WW2 Soldiers, with some medals from Sailors & Airman as well. I am including those medals issued later on to WW2 Veterans, such as the POW medal. My questions are:

 

What medals am I missing? I am sure I missed a few! Also, in what order would they be displayed? I know this info can be found online, but it gets confusing when mixing Army, Navy & AAF. Also, where should the Campaign, POW, Occupation, Etc be placed & in what order?

 

***Please note: I will be using a high resolution photo of the MOH, so please don't offer me one! I enjoy my freedom!!

 

Thank you all in advance!! I am hoping this would make a fun project that will be a nice centerpiece in my wall display!!

 

[cutiger83]

You don't have a WAC medal. They were WWII soldiers too.

 

...Kat

[Allan H.]

Matthew,

This is a cool idea you have here. As I look at the medals, the ones that jump out at me as being missing are the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, the navy Good Conduct, the Marine Corps Good Conduct, the WAC medal, the American Campaign, and the two Occupation medals. You would also be missing the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. If you go past WWII, you'll want the Medal for Humane Action aka the Berlin Airlift Medal.

 

I would arrange them as follows:

Distinguished Service Cross

Navy Cross

Distinguished Service Medal (Army)

Distinguished Service Medal (Navy)

Silver Star

Legion of Merit

Distinguished Flying Cross

Soldiers' Medal

Navy & Marine Corps Medal

Bronze Star

Air Medal

Purple Heart

POW Medal

Army GC

Navy GC

USMC GC

WAC Medal

American Defense

American Campaign

EAME (ETO) Campaign

Asiatic Pacific (PTO) Campaign

World War II Victory Medal

Army of Occupation medal

Navy Occupation Medal

 

Optional-

China Service

Medal For Humane Action

 

Allan

[Dakota]

Great display so far!

 

 

D

[Morlok]

You don't have a WAC medal. They were WWII soldiers too.

 

...Kat

You are absolutely right!! I have a WAC medal & ribbon, but they are displayed with a WAC Helmet I have! I'll have to pick up another for this project!!

[Rakkasan187]

How about the Philippine Defense Medal, awarded to those who participated in the defense of the Philippines from December 8, 1941 to June 15, 1942.

 

The ribbon was created in December 1944 and the full size medal aythorized in July 1945.

 

I was also thinking about the Merchant Marine Medals, usually a branch that has been overlooked..

 

Leigh

[Javelin4life]

Morlok, great idea for a display! Are all of these WWII vintage?

[Jack's Son]

You are absolutely right!! I have a WAC medal & ribbon........

OH, poor Morlok....beaten into submission so soon.

[impigpen1]

I think I have all of them here, might have missed something:

 

MEDALS:

 

Medal of Honor
Distinguished Service Cross
Navy Cross
Distinguished Service Medal
Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Legion of Merit
Distinguished Flying Cross
Soldier's Medal
Navy and Marine Corps Medal
Bronze Star Medal
Purple Heart
Air Medal
Army Commendation Medal
Navy Commendation Medal
Prisoner of War Medal (Retroactive to 5 Apr 1917)
Army Good Conduct Medal
Navy Good Conduct Medal
Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal
Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal
Organized Marine Corps Reserve Medal
Navy Expeditionary Medal (with Wake Island Device)
Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal (with Wake Island Device)
China Service Medal
American Defense Service Medal
Women's Army Corps Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Army of Occupation Medal
Navy Occupation Medal
Naval Reserve Medal

 

RIBBON Only:

 

Combat Action Ribbon (Retroactive to 7 Dec 1941)
Army Presidential Unit Citation
Navy Presidential Unit Citation
Navy Unit Commendation
Army Meritorious Unit Commendation
Navy Distinguished Marksman and Pistol Shot Ribbon

 

MERCHANT MARINE MEDALS:

 

Distinguished Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal
Gallant Ship Citation
Mariner's Medal
Combat Bar (ribbon only)
Defense Medal
Atlantic War Zone Medal
Mediterranean & Middle East War Zone Medal
Pacific War Zone Medal
World War II Victory Medal

 

Common Foreign Medals Awarded to US Military in WWII:

 

Croix de Guerre (France)
Croix de Guerre (Belgium)
Luxembourg War Cross
Czechoslovak War Cross
Luxembourg War Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (England) (USAAF assigned to RAF)
Philippine Defense Medal
Philippine Liberation Medal
Philippine Independace Medal
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation (ribbon only)

 

[Rakkasan187]

I think I have all of them here, might have missed something:

 

MEDALS:

 

Medal of Honor

Distinguished Service Cross

Navy Cross

Distinguished Service Medal

Navy Distinguished Service Medal

Silver Star

Legion of Merit

Distinguished Flying Cross

Soldier's Medal

Navy and Marine Corps Medal

Bronze Star Medal

Purple Heart

Air Medal

Army Commendation Medal

Navy Commendation Medal

Prisoner of War Medal (Retroactive to 5 Apr 1917)

Army Good Conduct Medal

Navy Good Conduct Medal

Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal

Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal

Organized Marine Corps Reserve Medal

Navy Expeditionary Medal (with Wake Island Device)

Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal (with Wake Island Device)

China Service Medal

American Defense Service Medal

Women's Army Corps Service Medal

American Campaign Medal

European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal

Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal

World War II Victory Medal

Army of Occupation Medal

Navy Occupation Medal

Naval Reserve Medal

 

RIBBON Only:

 

Combat Action Ribbon (Retroactive to 7 Dec 1941)

Army Presidential Unit Citation

Navy Presidential Unit Citation

Navy Unit Commendation

Army Meritorious Unit Commendation

Navy Distinguished Marksman and Pistol Shot Ribbon

 

MERCHANT MARINE MEDALS:

 

Distinguished Service Medal

Meritorious Service Medal

Gallant Ship Citation

Mariner's Medal

Combat Bar (ribbon only)

Defense Medal

Atlantic War Zone Medal

Mediterranean & Middle East War Zone Medal

Pacific War Zone Medal

World War II Victory Medal

 

Common Foreign Medals Awarded to US Military in WWII:

 

Croix de Guerre (France)

Croix de Guerre (Belgium)

Luxembourg War Cross

Czechoslovak War Cross

Luxembourg War Cross

Distinguished Flying Cross (England) (USAAF assigned to RAF)

Philippine Defense Medal

Philippine Liberation Medal

Philippine Independace Medal

Philippine Presidential Unit Citation (ribbon only)

 

Now that's a list.. I think this just about says it all...

 

Leigh

[bertmedals]

Well, if you wanted to be a stickler about it you would probably use the Commendation Ribbon instead of the Army Commendation Medal. The medal has an interesting history but in WWII it would have been the ribbon only.

Dennis

[Morlok]

OH, poor Morlok....beaten into submission so soon.

But I stood my ground for a good 30 seconds before caving!!

[Morlok]

Morlok, great idea for a display! Are all of these WWII vintage?

Thanks!! About half are WW2 era, and the rest are modern strikes. After seeing the list above, I would have to sell a few Garands to complete this project with all WW2 era medals!!

 

The Purple Heart is a early enameled heart, numbered 262572. The DSC was picked up recently on the forum. It's a nice slot brooch with "display" engraved on the back. The Silver Star is a WW2 medal, which I re-ribboned on a crimp brooch...

[Jack's Son]

But I stood my ground for a good 30 seconds before caving!!

 

That's a boy!

[Rakkasan187]

I also thought of the Selective Service Medal...

 

Leigh

[Morlok]

Thank you all for your help! It's going to be a longer project than I thought! Does anyone know if there is a way to connect rows of a dozen or so medals in a long rack? I see ribbons are slid over a ribbon rack, but only in short rows. I am trying to figure out the best way to hang this large amount of medals. I want the end result to be a clean display, with even rows. If I hang the medals individually in a frame, it will be impossible to keep them straight!!