Jump to content

Some ribbon questions!


Captainofthe7th
 Share

Recommended Posts

Captainofthe7th

Here are three ribbons bars I got recently. The first bar is British I think, it's a pin back Brit style. What kind of soldier would have had both campaign ribbons? Air Corps? The next bar is a little dirty but why is the star on the WWII victory ribbon? And finally, who makes the last set? They're a little shiny compared to other ribbons I have.

 

Rob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Because of the Good Conduct Medal ribbon, the first bar belonged to a member of the Army or Air Corps. The combination of the two theater medals would not be uncommon at all for a sailor.

 

Any number of soldiers could have received both the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal. My grandfather served in Germany and Austria with the 86th Division right before the war in Europe ended and his unit was immediately sent home to prepare for the invasion of Japan. They were at sea when Japan surrendered and wound up in the Philippines. He earned both medals since the Asiatic-Pacific medal could actually be earned for service into 1946. Several army divisions had similar experiences including, I believe, the 13th Airborne and 97th Infantry Divisions.

 

Additionally, a number of Air Corps units were sent to the Pacific after Germany surrendered including, I believe, much of the 8th Air Force.

 

Finally, I think it was fairly common for Army amphibious units to serve in both theaters.

 

As to the star on the WWII Victory Medal, I believe it was unauthorized but fairly common for soldiers who had served overseas to wear a bronze service star on the ribbon. I guess the idea was to distinguish themselves from someone who never left the U.S. who was still awarded the same medal since it was given to anybody who served on active duty at any time during WWII.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Because of the Good Conduct Medal ribbon, the first bar belonged to a member of the Army or Air Corps. The combination of the two theater medals would not be uncommon at all for a sailor.

 

Why would the Good Conduct ribbon mean this would belong to an Air Corps member? This ribbon bar could have belonged to any Army member.

 

Additionally, a number of Air Corps units were sent to the Pacific after Germany surrendered including, I believe, much of the 8th Air Force.

 

Most of the 8th Air Force was either still in Europe or in the states getting re-equipped and re-organized for deployment to the Pacific when the war ended in Asia. Hardly any 8th AF units had left for the Pacific theater.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And earlier in the War, there was some movement from the Pacific to EAME by both AAF units (via Australia, Java, Burma, and India) and Army ground units (notably from Alaska).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why would the Good Conduct ribbon mean this would belong to an Air Corps member? This ribbon bar could have belonged to any Army member.

What I originally said was the ribbon bar was worn by a member of either the Army or the Air Corps. I know that the Air Corps or Air Forces was technically a part of the Army during WWII but I was trying to distinguish this from was a ribbon bar worn by someone from the Navy or Marine Corps who would not have the Army Good Conduct Medal. I think service in both Europe and the Pacific was much rarer for anyone in the Army, whether it was the Air Forces or Ground Forces. There were a number of naval vessels that served in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets so it would not be nearly as rare to find both ribbons on a Navy uniform.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...
Here are three ribbons bars I got recently. The first bar is British I think, it's a pin back Brit style. What kind of soldier would have had both campaign ribbons? Air Corps? The next bar is a little dirty but why is the star on the WWII victory ribbon? And finally, who makes the last set? They're a little shiny compared to other ribbons I have.

 

dscf0937vm5.jpg

 

Rob

You say the first (top) bar is mounted "British" style, however I do not reconised any of the ribbons, so I doubt they are offical British medal ribbons.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry, I mean it's British made US medal ribbons. (Good Conduct, PTO, and ETO).

 

Rob

 

Oops! I didn't even recognize them as US ribbons. As you can see - I need to brush

up on my US ribbons! :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...