kfields Posted October 22, 2022 Share #1 Posted October 22, 2022 My Uncle served in the Army Air Corps and then the Air Force for 20 some years. Mostly served with strategic bombers in his later years as an Air Crew Chief. Here are a couple random ribbon bars he had in his belongings. I found the magnetic one interesting as I'd never seen one of those before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jtski Posted October 23, 2022 Share #2 Posted October 23, 2022 Thanks for posting those, really nice to see the different style backings in use at the time. Do you have any info on your Uncle's WW2 service? For ground crew with campaign stars would make me think 9th, 12th, or 15th Air Force with service in the Mediterranean and NW Europe. The silver oakleaf on the AF Longevity Ribbon represents six awards and 24 years service so serving until mid 1960s. If your Uncle remained on active duty as enlisted USAF for his entire career I would expect a bronze star on the National Defense Service Medal and at least one USAF Good Conduct. If this set is his full entitlement then Reserve service would explain the lack of two above awards. Thanks for sharing. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfields Posted October 26, 2022 Author Share #3 Posted October 26, 2022 Thanks Jeff. I don't know hen the ribbon bars were created so don't know if anything is missing. I do have his discharge (dd214) here so I guess I can check that. He did serve with the 8th Air Force during WW2 as a crew chief with the 374th Fighter Squadron. As I recall him telling me, he said his squadron moved to the mainland in '44 and setup in "safe" areas. I think he said they flew out of a base in Belgium that was previously used by the Germans after they retreated . I have some pics around here that shows some of the planes on the grass in front of "fake" Belgium farm buildings and also some of the guys looking through damaged German aircraft left behind . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfields Posted October 26, 2022 Author Share #4 Posted October 26, 2022 Here's a pic of my Uncle, Robert Bland, working on a plane. Info in his writing on back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1st Sgt CES Posted December 2, 2022 Share #5 Posted December 2, 2022 The hand made ribbons on US Air Force blue are really nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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