MyMilitaryMedals.com Blog
United Nations Military Observer Medal
August 29th 2010 - 11:46 am
United Nations Military Observer Medals are not US military medals, but international awards, and unlike the medals of America, they are presented by the United Nations. The United Nations Military Observer Group was established in 1949 to facilitate the creation of truce terms between India and Pakistan. Military medals were created to commemorate this service and are awarded to service personnel serving under the auspices of the UN in this capacity for 6 months or more. The most recent incarnation of these military ribbons were awarded for UN service during the United Nations India-Pakistan Observation Mission lasting from 1965 through 1966. The United Nations Military Observer Medal is awarded for 6 months of service, but Silver Numerals are approved for wear on the medal or ribbon to denote additional periods of service on the same mission. These military awards are worn below the Inter-American Defense Medal and above the Multinational Forces Observer Medal in the order of precedence for all US military medals and ribbons. The United Nations Military Observer Medal is generally available to all US military personnel who meet the criteria stated above, and can be worn as traditional full size military medals and mini medals, military ribbons and lapel pins. They are available as traditional slide-on, full size military medals or mini-medals, and slide-on military ribbons; or the newer thin mini-medals, and ultra thin military ribbons that have become so very popular among up and coming military personnel who know how important it is to their career advancement to always maximize the neatness and smartness of their uniform appearance.
Show Pride in Your World War II Medals
August 24th 2010 - 4:16 am
World War II began with the sneaky German invasion of Poland in 1939. The war quickly escalated into a global conflict with two distinct sides in direct opposition, the Allied forces and the Axis powers. The Axis powers were primarily comprised of Germany, Italy, and Japan while the Allied forces were a combined effort of military personnel from America, Britain, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, China, and France. World War II brought about valiant behavior and courageous heroics by millions of service persons from many different countries. There have been a number of medals of America that were awarded to distinguished American service people that served in the Second World War. The most popular US military medals issued for service in World War II is the World War II Victory Medal. These military medals and ribbons were created by an act of Congress in July 1945 in order to commemorate military service during World War II. This specially created military award was given to any member of the United States military who served on either active duty or as a reservist between December 7, 1941 and December 31, 1946. The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal is a medal of America specifically designed for the United States armed forces. These military ribbons and medals were issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and were intended to recognize those military service members who had performed service in what was referred to as the European Theater, which was another name for portions of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East during World War II. Thousands of these medals were issued due to the large number of American service personnel who were stationed in these theaters of conflict. The next World War II medal in prestige is the Army of Occupation Medal which is a military decoration that was established by the United States War Department in the aftermath of the war, in the year 1946. In order to receive the Army of Occupation Medal, a service member was required to have performed for at least thirty consecutive days of active military duty. It was designed specifically to recognize service members who had performed occupation service in either Germany or Japan. The original Army of Occupation Medal was designed solely for members of the United States Army, but eventually award of these military decorations were expanded to include the United States Air Force. Since it was not presented by all branches of the United State military, fewer of these medals were awarded. The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government and was awarded to service members for their exemplary performance and heroism during World War II. Nearly 500 Americans received this most prestigious of all military awards for their service in the Second World War; and over half of these service people received the medal posthumously. This medal is the most distinguished award that the United States Government bestows upon any member of any of its armed forces branches.
Vietnam Presidential Unit Citation
August 15th 2010 - 1:44 pm
Vietnam Presidential Unit Citations are not US military medals, but foreign awards, and unlike the medals of America, they are presented by the Republic of South Vietnam. The Vietnam Presidential Unit Citation was created by the South Vietnamese government. These military ribbons were awarded to all personnel in the Indo-China Military Assistance Advisory Group during August and September of 1954. These military awards were also presented to units of the US military deemed to have performed exceptional services to the Republic of South Vietnam throughout the US involvement in the Vietnam War. The VPUC is now considered obsolete since the bestowing authority of the government of South Vietnam ceased to exist with the extinction of that ruling body. The Vietnam Presidential Unit Citation is worn below the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and above the National Order of Vietnam in the general order of precedence that has been established for the proper display of all military medals and ribbons for US service branches. These awards are available as military ribbons, lapel pins and unit awards. They may be worn as traditional slide-on military ribbons, or the newer ultra thin military ribbons that have gained such wide-spread acclaim from military personnel who desire to maximize the smartness of their uniform appearance.
Philippine Independence Medal
August 12th 2010 - 9:54 pm
Philippine Defense Medals are not US military medals, but foreign awards, and unlike the medals of America, they are presented by the Republic of the Philippines. The Philippine Independence Medal was created by order of the Commonwealth of the Philippine Army in July of 1946 as an award of the Republic of the Philippines. These military awards were first created and presented only as military ribbons. In 1968 president Marcos authorized the addition of corresponding military medals. The Philippine Independence Medal was created to recognize Philippine and allied military members who participated in multiple Philippine liberation operations during World War II. The PIM was authorized for award to service persons of foreign military forces and a large number of retroactive awards were made right after the cessation of World War II hostilities. To be awarded the Philippine Independence Medal, a service member must have previously received both the Philippine Defense Medal and the Philippine Liberation Medal, and have served on active military duty in the Philippines after July 4, 1946. The award criteria effectively awarded the medal to anyone who had participated in both the initial resistance against invasion by the Japanese and also in the later campaigns to liberate the Philippines from Japanese occupation in 1945. The Philippine Independence Medal may be worn below the Philippine Liberation Medal and above the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation in the general order of precedence that has been established for the proper display of all military medals and ribbons. These awards can be worn as traditional full size military medals and mini medals, military ribbons and lapel pins. They are available as traditional slide-on, full size military medals or mini-medals and slide-on military ribbons. Nowadays however, more and more military service personnel are realizing the value to their career goals of always having their uniform decorations looking their best, and have turned to the slimmer and trimmer thin military medals and mini medals and the ultra thin military ribbons to provide them with the smartest looking military award displays possible.
Philippine Liberation Medal
August 11th 2010 - 6:45 am
Philippine Defense Medals are not US military medals, but foreign awards, and unlike the medals of America, they are presented by the Republic of the Philippines. The Philippine Liberation Medal was created by order of the Commonwealth of the Philippines Army in December of 1944 as an award of the Republic of the Philippines. At first the award was only in the form of military ribbons, but by July of 1945, full sized military medals were also established. These military awards were presented to service members of the Philippine and allied militaries who participated in liberating the Philippine Islands from Japanese occupation between October of 1944 and September of 1945. The Philippine Liberation Medal is intended to recognize military service in the last days of World War II when the Japanese military was driven from the Philippines. To be awarded the medal, a service member must have served in the Philippines for at least thirty days during the eligible time period, or must have participated in one of the following actions: participation in the initial landing operation of Leyte and adjoining islands from October 7 to October 20, 1944; or participation in any engagement against hostile Japanese forces during the Philippine Liberation Campaign of October 17, 1944 to September 2, 1945 Service persons awarded these military medals for service in the above mentioned operations are authorized to wear Service Stars on their Philippine Liberation Medals. Personnel who earned the medal for general service during the eligible time period are awarded the medal without device. The Philippine Liberation Medal was one of the most commonly bestowed awards to allied militaries, awarded primarily to the forces of the Philippine Commonwealth, the US armed forces, and the British Commonwealth forces. Other common Philippine military awards of the Second World War include the Philippine Defense Medal and the Philippine Independence Medal. The Philippine Liberation Medal is worn below the Philippine Defense Medal and above the Philippine Independence Medal in the general order of precedence that has been established for the proper display of all military medals and ribbons. These awards are generally available as full size medals, mini-medals, ribbons, a unit banner, and lapel pins. These military decorations are available as slide-on full size medals, mini-medals and service ribbons. Nowadays however, more and more military service personnel are realizing the value to their career goals of always having their uniform decorations looking their best, and have turned to the slimmer and trimmer thin military medals and mini medals and the ultra thin military ribbons to provide them with the smartest looking military award displays possible.
Philippine Defense Medal
August 9th 2010 - 10:55 am
Philippine Defense Medals are not US military medals, but foreign awards, and unlike the medals of America, they are presented by the Republic of the Philippines. These military ribbons were first created in December of 1944, followed by corresponding military medals in July of 1945. These military awards commemorated the initial resistance against the Japanese invasion which began in December of 1941. Philippine Defense Medals are presented to service members, of either the Philippine military or an allied armed force, who participated in the defense of the Philippine Islands from Japanese invasion. Those eligible must have served thirty or more days of duty, or must have been engaged in a combat operation, in which case, the time requirement is waived. Members of the United States Armed Forces entitled to the Philippine Defense Medal were also eligible to receive the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with a bronze Battle Star for participation in the defense of the Philippines. The Philippine Defense Medal was awarded to the United States and Philippine troops which defended the Philippines at Bataan and would later be captured and forced to endure the Bataan Death March. There are other, similar military awards which include the Philippine Liberation Medal and the Philippine Independence Medal. The Philippine Defense Medal is worn below the Kosovo Campaign Medal and above the Vietnam Campaign Medals in the general order of precedence that has been established for the proper display of all military medals and ribbons awarded for country campaigns. These military awards can be worn as traditional full size military medals, mini medals, military ribbons and lapel pins. It is available as traditional slide-on, full size military medals or mini-medals, and slide-on military ribbons. Nowadays however, more and more military service personnel are realizing the value to their career goals of always having their uniform decorations looking their best, and have turned to the slimmer and trimmer thin military medals and mini medals and the ultra thin military ribbons to provide them with the smartest looking military award displays possible.
Air Force Basic Training Honor Graduate Ribbon
August 6th 2010 - 9:47 am
Both the Air Force and the Coast Guard offer Basic Training Honor Graduate Ribbons for exceptional recruits who graduate at the top of their basic training classes. The Air Force was the first to create these US military medals by order of the Air Force Chief of Staff back in April of 1976, and the Coast Guard did not follow suit with their version of these medals of America until March of 1984. These Air Force ribbons are bestowed upon those Air Force service members who have obtained an honor graduate designation and demonstrate excellence in all areas of academic and military training. An airman must achieve the "Thunderbolt" physical fitness level during the final AFBMT physical fitness test. Lacking this achievement, the airman is ineligible no matter how well he or she performed in other areas of basic training. Additionally, the airman must average over a 90 percent on all the written examinations, and never fail a graded inspection (graded inspections are conducted randomly after week #3). Finally, the airman must also never receive a negative mark in his or her written evaluations. The number of airmen to receive this award is limited to no more than ten percent of the flight. Those exceptional airmen who receive this award are entitled to wear these military ribbons for the rest of their Air Force Careers. The Air Force has no corresponding military medals for these awards. The Air Force Basic Military Training Honor Graduate Ribbon is not awarded retroactively, and due to the one-time-only nature of graduating from basic training, there are no provisions for additional awards. These military ribbons are worn below the Air Force Professional Military Education Graduate Ribbon, and above the Air Force Small Arms Expert Marksman Ribbon in the general order of precedence that has been established for the display of all Air Force military awards. The Air Force Basic Military Training Honor Graduate Ribbon is available as a lapel pin. These military decorations may be worn as traditional slide on ribbons, or the newer ultra thin military ribbons that have become so very popular among up and coming military personnel who know how important it is to their career advancement to always maximize the neatness and smartness of their uniform appearance.
Air Force PME Ribbon
August 5th 2010 - 12:38 pm
This ribbon is awarded for attandance in an educational school for leadership. Both the Air Force and the Army offer a Non-Commissioned Officer Development Ribbon. The Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard have no equivalent medals of America. These US military medals honor those non-commissioned officers who have completed a prescribed leadership course at an NCO training school. The Air Force version of these military medals is called the Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Military Education Graduate Ribbon. These Air Force ribbons are presented to airmen for completion of prescribed NCO development programs. The Air Force programs include Airman Leadership School, Non-Commissioned Officer Academy, and the Senior Non-Commissioned Officer Academy courses. Additional awards of the Air Force Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Military Education Graduate Ribbon are denoted by Oak Leaf Clusters. These military ribbons are worn below the Armed Forces Reserve Medal and above the Air Force Basic Military Training Honor Graduate Ribbon in the general order of precedence that has been established for the display of all Air Force military medals and ribbons. These military awards are available as lapel pins, and as traditional slide on ribbons or the newer ultra thin military ribbons that have become so very popular among up and coming military personnel who know how important it is to their career advancement to always maximize the neatness and smartness of their uniform appearance.
Overseas training ribbon for the Army Reserve
August 4th 2010 - 10:33 am
There are many overseas ribbons that are awarded to military members, but this ribbon is awarded specifically for the Army Reserve. The Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon was first awarded in August of 1981, There were three other ribbons that were awarded at the same time. These US military ribbons are only presented to the Army Reserve and Army National Guard. These Army ribbons are awarded to members of the drilling reserves who complete ten or more consecutive days of active duty for training outside the contiguous United States. Under certain fairly rare circumstances, these military ribbons may be awarded for duty that can also earn other active duty military decorations simultaneously. Additional awards of the Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon are denoted by Award Numerals. These military ribbons are worn below the Army Overseas Service Ribbon and above the Philippine Defense Medal in the general order of precedence that has been established for the display of all Army medals and ribbons. These military ribbons can be worn as a service ribbon or as a lapel pin on civilian attire. This military ribbon is different in apperance than many other ribbons, in the fact that it displays the ribbon in a vertical orientation versus a horizontal display, this military ribbon only takes bronze numerals as attachments.
Overseas service ribbon for the Army
August 3rd 2010 - 3:07 pm
The Army Overseas Service Ribbon was first awarded by United States department of the Army in 1981. These US military ribbons are presented to members of the United States Army who complete a standard overseas tour of duty. These military ribbons may be awarded for the same duty as other authorized military decorations. The Army also issues an Overseas Service Bar which is an entirely different decoration from the Overseas Service Ribbon. For those Army service members performing overseas duty prior to 1981, the Army Overseas Service Ribbon may be awarded retroactively, provided that a service member was on active duty subsequent to 1981. Additional awards of the Army Overseas Service Ribbon are denoted by Award Numerals. These Army awards are worn below the Army Service Ribbon and above the Army Reserve Overseas Training Ribbon in the general order of precedence that has been established for the display of all Army medals and ribbons. These military ribbons are available as Army service ribbon and lapel pins. You can tell how many tours a member of the Army has participated in just by looking at the bronze numeral that is on his or her overseas ribbon.
