Ribbon/Medal Identification help

[nightpoison]

So my wife's grandfather passed away recently. I offered to help with some research regarding his Ribbons and medals he received while in the military, Navy. We know that he has 5 ribbons, 2 of them come with medals. We have a list, but not which ones are which. The 5th, we are not sure of. There's also a patch that we don't know what it represents.

according to his discharge papers we have

1. Good Conduct Medal
2. American Theatre Ribbon
3. European African Middle Eastern Ribbon w/four Stars
4. American Defense Ribbon
5. Letter of Commendation

Also, does anyone know a place to get a real nice burial flag case with display for his ribbons dog tags and insignia patch for a good price.

 

[ericcif]

The first picture is a good conduct ribbon (there is a medal that goes with that also) The rest speak for themselves accept the patch at bottom which I do not know

 

[PixelPusher]

The patch is the Honorable Discharge patch affectionately known as the "Ruptured Duck".

 

[Another_David]

...Also, does anyone know a place to get a real nice burial flag case with display for his ribbons dog tags and insignia patch for a good price.

They sell them at AC Moore, very reasonably priced. Or there are online sources if you want nicer.

 

[Artie]

does anyone know a place to get a real nice burial flag case with display for his ribbons dog tags and insignia patch for a good price.

Just Google "Shadow Box", nice ones are expensive. If your a good craftsman, it might be a nice project to take on.
Today, Letters of Commendation don't rate a ribbon or medal. I am unsure if it did back in the day.
You can try to build his rack of ribbons/medals with this: http://rackbuilder.armyawards.com/
I think you can also request info on the awards through http://www.mrfa.org/unitnavy.htm
Good luck, it can be an adventure.

 

[Hustler One]

Are those all silver service/campaign stars on that EAME ribbon?

 

[RichM]

Battle stars were awarded for each significant battle in which one participated. The Band of Brothers Soldiers had battle stars for Operations Overlord (Normandy), Market Garden (Holland), and the Battle of the Bulge (Bastogne).
Here's a link to the Wikipedia article listing the battles for which campaign or battle stars were awarded.

The same is true of Iraq... When I served, it was OIF; now it's Operation New Dawn. If one served in both campaigns, he/she would be awarded the Iraq Campaign Ribbon with 2 stars. Service members who served multiple tours during OIF would have only worn 1 campaign star.

 

[Hustler One]

Service members who served multiple tours during OIF would have only worn 1 campaign star.

Wrong. These are the current campaign dates for OIF/OND

* Liberation of Iraq – March 19, 2003 to May 1, 2003.
* Transition of Iraq – May 2, 2003 to June 28, 2004.
* Iraqi Governance – June 29, 2004 to Dec. 15, 2005.
* National Resolution – Dec. 16, 2005 to Jan. 9, 2007.
* The Surge - Jan. 1, 2007, to Dec. 31, 2008
* Iraqi Sovereignty - Jan. 1, 2009 until a date to be determined.

The name of the operation has nothing to do with campaign/service stars. A total of six stars are authorized for wear on the ICM. If you are serving a tour in Iraq during a campaign date cross-over you are eligible for two, or more stars. If you serve a second ( or third, fourth etc..) tour during another campaign date you earn another star and so on.

Now, the reason I asked if all of the stars on that EAME ribbon are all silver is because if they are they don't add up and he should do some more digging.

 

[nightpoison]

Are those all silver service/campaign stars on that EAME ribbon?

Not silver, bronze I believe.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk

 

[RichM]

Wrong. These are the current campaign dates for OIF/OND

* Liberation of Iraq – March 19, 2003 to May 1, 2003.
* Transition of Iraq – May 2, 2003 to June 28, 2004.
* Iraqi Governance – June 29, 2004 to Dec. 15, 2005.
* National Resolution – Dec. 16, 2005 to Jan. 9, 2007.
* The Surge - Jan. 1, 2007, to Dec. 31, 2008
* Iraqi Sovereignty - Jan. 1, 2009 until a date to be determined.

The name of the operation has nothing to do with campaign/service stars. A total of six stars are authorized for wear on the ICM. If you are serving a tour in Iraq during a campaign date cross-over you are eligible for two, or more stars. If you serve a second ( or third, fourth etc..) tour during another campaign date you earn another star and so on.

Now, the reason I asked if all of the stars on that EAME ribbon are all silver is because if they are they don't add up and he should do some more digging.

Thank you for the correction! I was unaware.