Lets see some US NAVY Good Conduct Medals !!

[KASTAUFFER]

I feel like we have been neglecting the USN! We have seen lots of USMC GCM's , but none from the US NAVY!

 

I will start this thread off with a couple of mine.

 

This first one was awarded in 1928 and has 3 bars. The recipient served in aviation units from 1923 until the end of WWII. During WWII he became an officer. I have all of his Aviator FLight Logbooks from 1923- 1939 .

 

The ship USS Wright was a seaplane tender. He was serving with an aviation squadron attached to the ship. He was never part of the ships company. I wish his squadron had been engraved instead!

 

 

[KASTAUFFER]

This second one was awarded in 1912 to a sailor who served from 1904 until 1946. He was an enlisted man until he became a Naval Aviator in 1919 . He flew off of the USS Langley on her maiden voyage . He later transferred back to the fleet as a " Boatswain ( Warrant Officer ) " and retired as a LT CDR in 1946 after 42 years of service .

 

 

[Gary Cain]

OK Kurt,

 

Sadly I have but one, but, it's part of a grouping!

Gary

 

 

 

[KASTAUFFER]

Nice bar Gary!

 

Here is another group I bought recently on E-Cheap

 

He served with the USN from 1931 until he retired in the 1960's . He became an officer during WWII .

 

The reason I bought the group as because he was serving with the Asiatic Fleet on the USS Bulmer at the beginning of WWII. He saw quite a bit of action in the waters off the Philippines and Java in 1941-42. His ship was lucky to have survived.

 

This GCM is a later variety than the first two I posted. The brooches on the earlier medals are different than the GCM's made in the 1930's . The early brooches are not as wide and the pins are different. The 1930's medals have a US Mint contract brooch like you see on early WWII USN contract decorations ( AM's , DFCs, ETC ).

 

The CSC number engraved on pre-1932 USN GCM's relates to the sailors Continuous Service Certificate number . If a sailor stayed in for more than 1 enlistment , he could apply for a CSC # , and a CSC book would be issued to him. The CSC # is NOT the medal's serial or issue number ( like USMC GCM's have on them) , or the the sailors official service number.

 

You will see pre-1932 USN GCM's without a CSC number on them. That means the sailor did not have a CSC number.

 

The USN stopped engraving duty stations on GCMs in 1931 . The Name and Date of award was hand engraved on GCM's until early 1942. After early 1942 the naming was machine stamped in both large and small lettering. Gary's GCM is an example of that style.

 

Posthumous GCM's awarded during WWII were impressed with a name only and no date.

 

 

 

 

*****************************************

 

This is interesting too! It is a token that says it is made from metal used in the construction of the USS Constellation, which was in 1797, the 1st US warship commissioned in the US Navy . He wore it on his dogtag chain . The token is actually from the USS Constellation that was launched in 1855! At the time the coin was made it was mistaken that the 1855 sloop-of-war was actually the famous 1797 frigate.

 

 

[Gary Cain]

Thanks for the complement Kurt but compared to your outstanding groups mine looks pretty pathetic . I love the stuff you have

 

Cheers

Gary

Nice bar Gary!

 

Here is another group I bought recently on E-Cheap

 

He served with the USN from 1931 until he retired in the 1960's . He became an officer during WWII .

 

The reason I bought the group as because he was serving with the Asiatic Fleet on the USS Bulmer at the beginning of WWII. He saw quite a bit of action in the waters off the Philippines and Java in 1941-42. His ship was lucky to have survived.

 

His GCM is a later variety than the first two I posted. The brooches on them are different than the GCM's made in the 1930's . The early ones are not as wide and the pins are different. This one has a US Mint contract brooch like you see on early WWII USN contract decorations ( AM's , DFCs, ETC ).

 

The USN stopped engraving duty stations on GCMs in 1931 . The Name and Date of award was hand engraved on GCM's until early 1942. After early 1942 the naming was machine stamped in both large and small lettering. Gary's GCM is an example of that style.

 

 

This is interesting too! It is a token that says it is made from metal used in the construction of the USS Constellation, which was in 1797, the 1st US warship commissioned in the US Navy . He wore it on his dogtag chain . The token is actually from the USS Constellation that was launched in 1855! At the time the coin was made it was mistaken that the 1855 sloop-of-war was actually the famous 1797 frigate.

[KASTAUFFER]

I really like your bar Gary, the GCM ties the AM nicely together! Your set is ripe for research!

 

Here is a GCM with the latest date engraved on it that I own. ( 1941 , I dont have a 1942 hand engraved one )

 

It is a bar with a GCM to a USS Arizona Pearl Harbor survivor.

 

 

 

[KASTAUFFER]

Here is an example of a posthumous GCM awarded during WWII. During WWII the brooches of USN GCMs were switched to the slot style.

 

Kramer was KIA in July 1945 serving with VPB-109 .

 

[collectsmedals]

Here is a small Navy Good Conduct Medal group in my collection.

 

Reverse of the Good Conduct Medal.

[erichjr]

early Navy GC.

[Fred Borgmann]

Here is a mounted US Navy medal group with a Good Conduct medal named to Everett D. Johnson, 1942. The medal also has a "Second Award" bar, (pin back version) and three stars which I think means that he enlisted in 1939 and stayed in the navy until 1954 or later. The American Defense ribbon has one battle star as does the Pacific Campaign ribbon which makes me wonder if this might be a Pearl Habor grouping. Is there anyway to find out more about Mr. Johnson? I checked the social security death index and found two possibles. The medals are all nice early issues. Thanks, Fred

[USMCR79]

Commander Edgar T. Hammond WWI Navy Cross awardee

 

Bill

[USMCR79]

Ernest Fairbanks

[GLM]

Posthumous GCM for Harold B. Wood, USS Arizona.

 

Gary

[USMCR79]

Posthumous GCM for Harold B. Wood, USS Arizona.

 

Gary

 

 

Very nice Gary

 

Bill

[erichjr]

Commander Edgar T. Hammond WWI Navy Cross awardee

 

Bill

 

 

Bill that navy cross and GC are nice. I noticed the the ribbon stripe on the

navy cross is wider not the thinner version, it also looks silver than white.

Erich

[Raidercollector]

Very nice Gary

Nice to have the PH and the KIA goodconduct. To a pearl group

Nick

[USMCR79]

Bill that navy cross and GC are nice. I noticed the the ribbon stripe on the

navy cross is wider not the thinner version, it also looks silver than white.

Erich

 

Erich,

 

It is a 3 piece construction Navy Cross, however the original ribbon had a much thinner center stripe. The reribboning was possibly done in the 1940's or 1950's. The original split-open catch broach is on the medal

 

 

Bill

[erichjr]

Erich,

 

It is a 3 piece construction Navy Cross, however the original ribbon had a much thinner center stripe. The reribboning was possibly done in the 1940's or 1950's. The original split-open catch broach is on the medal

Bill

 

Bill a U S medal collecter had told me they had both the thin(1919) and the

wide stripe(1920). That the way to tell if it was ww1 ribbon was that the stripe

was not white but a light shade of grey. Later years they used a solid white

wide stripe. I have not that much info on ww1 Navy cross's, It's just what

i heard.

 

Erich

[KASTAUFFER]

Hey Guys

 

Thanks for posting your GCM's. When you see the early examples from before 1932 you can see where the inspiration for the engraving on early WWII US Navy Purple Hearts came from!

 

Kurt

[KASTAUFFER]

Here is a mounted US Navy medal group with a Good Conduct medal named to Everett D. Johnson, 1942. The medal also has a "Second Award" bar, (pin back version) and three stars which I think means that he enlisted in 1939 and stayed in the navy until 1954 or later. The American Defense ribbon has one battle star as does the Pacific Campaign ribbon which makes me wonder if this might be a Pearl Habor grouping. Is there anyway to find out more about Mr. Johnson? I checked the social security death index and found two possibles. The medals are all nice early issues. Thanks, Fred

 

Fred

 

This one might be a hard one to reasearch since his name would be a fairly common one. Chances are that more than 1 person by that name served in WWII. He could have been a Pearl Harbor vet, but the 1 Battle star in the A-Pac wouldbe unusual. That would have meant after the Pearl Harbor attack, he earned no more battles stars.

 

One thing I always go is google the name every way possbile using quotes: IE " Johnson, Everett D. " ETC.

 

Kurt

[KurtA]

I obtained this one from a local antique dealer who acquired it out of an estate with alot of airship items. The sailor was apparently a crewman on an airship, but I haven't been able to verify that yet. The top bar is a 1929-dated US Naval Air Station, Lakehurst, NJ bar.

Kurt

 

He started his career on a battleship.

[KurtA]

This sailor spent his career on battlships.

 

Early 1909 date.

[Rattle]

Here are two GCM from my collection.

The first was awarded to James W. Poole in 1922 for duty on Naval Air Station, Hampton Roads, VA.

It was reribboned at some time.

[erichjr]

Early Navy GC with bar.

 

Erich

[Fred Borgmann]

Fred

 

This one might be a hard one to reasearch since his name would be a fairly common one. Chances are that more than 1 person by that name served in WWII. He could have been a Pearl Harbor vet, but the 1 Battle star in the A-Pac wouldbe unusual. That would have meant after the Pearl Harbor attack, he earned no more battles stars.

 

One thing I always go is google the name every way possbile using quotes: IE " Johnson, Everett D. " ETC.

 

Kurt

Thanks Kurt, I suspect that this is an incomplete group since there is no National Defense Service medal. I may have to try St. Louis with my two possible social security numbers and hope they can find something on one of them. Fred