How to rescue a disintegrating WWI Victory Medal ribbon?

[jpipes]

I recently purchased the crown jewel of my WWI collection, a uniform with all medals (including his Distinguished Service Cross #200 for Belleau Wood) to a solider in the 2nd Division that served alongside the 5th Marines. His WWI Victory Medal is the single best example I've seen personally, the clasps, the silver star, and the best part of all, the engraving make this astounding. Only problem is the ribbon is starting to seriously disintegrate. I had to carefully remove it from the uniform so as to stop the damage from getting worse. I'd love to have it back on his jacket but doubt there is anything that can be done. I refuse to add a replacement ribbon and that seems like the only option. Any thoughts?

[Wake1941]

Id remove it from the uniform to prevent further stress. You could possibly throw a few threads in if you felt comfortable with that

[No Quarter]

I would put in a small case or shadow box and display it next to the uniform.

 

Jacob

[Captainofthe7th]

I'f you're adamant about keeping it on the uniform without replacing the ribbon, I would find some cloth you could loop through the brooch or sew to the brooch and then sew to the suspension ring. Basically adding a stabilizing "ribbon" hidden on the reverse that reduces all stress to this tired original ribbon.

 

Or, on a similar note, if you are keeping it in place, similarly pin or sew (tack) the medal a bit higher to the pocket itself.

 

I would avoid putting a needle through that ribbon. I would also avoid any adhesives.

 

Rob

[Wake1941]

These ribbons are super easy to come apart. Ive had them just fall apart in my hands once there is a rip like that. Beening 100 years old be careful

[Wake1941]

I think finding a replacement medal with the same bars and displaying it in on the tunic and the engraved in a case would definitely be a good move

[jpipes]

Thanks for the comments! I carefully removed the medal from the uniform to asses, and would like to have it back on but displaying it protected in a box is also an option. I had thought about the third option described by Rob and that sounds fantastic. I need to look into that.

[Brig]

There's no saving a ribbon frayed that much...you can only conserve it. I think some of the above ideas are great, but if you absolutely want that one on the uniform, I recommend using a safety pin on the medallion, through the suspension ring and uniform, lifting it up to take the stress off the ribbon. Otherwise, the weight of the medallion is inevitably going to tear the rest of the ribbon over time...it happens all the time. Even if you choose to put it in a shadow box beside the uniform, you'll want to stitch the medallion through the ring to the backing to prevent it from weighing on the ribbon

[Allan H.]

I would recommend that you remove the other medals from the uniform and display them in a riker mount of other frame. The longer these medals have pendants hanging from the drape, the more likely you are to see other damage occur to those other medals. In the frame, the medals will not come apart and they will make for a very nice display.

 

Good luck!

Allan

[jpipes]

Thanks, yes that is a sound idea. There were 7 medals on this uniform, and two of them, the CdG and the Victory Medal, were starting to come apart. Thankfully his DSC is not coming apart. The others were all sound but it's only a matter of time. A riker mount is for sure a good idea. I may get some stand in medals also to display, I just need to mark them clearly that they weren't originally part of his grouping.

[emccomas]

I understand not wanting to replace the ribbon, but this seems like a case where replacing the ribbon with an absolutely original and excellent condition WWI Victory Medal ribbon is a good alternative.

 

All of the other suggestions are excellent.

 

Let me ask it this way... If the ribbon was replaced with an 100% original and excellent condition WWI Victory Medal ribbon, who could tell the difference? It is not like you are trying to deceive someone, what you are doing is preserving what you have.

 

Beautiful medal, by the way.

[Leatherneck72]

Ambulance driver attached to 5th Regt. Early DSC to boot.

[themick]

Very good advice from all of the above. Now, toward the end you mention the Good Conduct Medal is also having similar issues. Could you please post a picture of the entire medal group on the uniform? I tend to go with the idea of removing all of them and placing them in a case, especially since it is more than one medal deteriorating. . But before you do that, take many good quality pictures of them on the blouse.

[Flyboy1945]

PUT A PIECE OF THICK CLOTH CUT-TO-SIZE BETWEEN BOTH SIDES OF RIBBON AND USE ELMERS WHITE GLUE TO KEEP IT FROM RIPPING OFF BY WEIGHT OF METAL PARTS. I HAVE DONE THIS AND WORKS GREAT.

[warroom1]

I would put the medals in a frame and get ribbons for the uniform

[Bluehawk]

I understand not wanting to replace the ribbon, but this seems like a case where replacing the ribbon with an absolutely original and excellent condition WWI Victory Medal ribbon is a good alternative...

 

 

Exactly...

[czardom]

When it comes to the original ribbon there is one method I have seen utilized but requires some thought on the part of the collector. The method is to cut a piece of single sided contact tape wide enough to cover the ribbon separation and just slightly narrower than the actual ribbon, The tape could then be applied to the reverse of the ribbon. Personnaly I don't recommend this as once the adhesive on the tape touches the ribbon it is there for life. If the ribbon is not pieced together properly then there is no hope of future repair and replacement would seem to be the only option.