MyMilitaryMedals.com Blog
Wreaths across america
January 31st 2012 - 6:51 am
When my husband was on temporary recruiting duty in Iowa for three years, we were introduced to a wonderful couple who were very active in Wreaths Across America. Their purpose is one of such passion, respect, and admiration that I wanted to share it here.
Their mission, Remember, Honor, Teach is carried out by coordinated wreath laying ceremonies throughout the United States including the Arlington National Cemetery as well as veteran’s cemeteries and other locations. Each year, the event occurs on the second Saturday of December. Wreaths Across America also coordinates a week- long event that includes tributes to international veterans at State Houses and a “Veteran’s Parade” that runs from Maine to Virginia in which they spread their message about the importance of remembering our fallen heroes; honoring those who serve, and teaching children about the sacrifices made by veterans and their families to preserve our freedoms.
In Iowa, I was able to witness this breath-taking event. Volunteers, veteran’s, and today’s service members gathered to honor those who have fallen by placing a wreath at the headstone of these brave men and women. It was such a memorable sight to see my husband knelt at the grave of a passed veteran next to a young Boy Scout. The same look of respect and honor in the other’s eyes as they placed a wreath on the grave. Standing up, I noticed the boy straighten out his Boy Scout sash as he gazed at my husband’s own military ribbons.
It was a bitterly cold day in Iowa with the snow falling and the wind chilling your bones, yet all of these people were bundled up to honor those who have served.
Wreaths Across America also arrange veteran services through multiple other programs and provide schools with materials for projects in order to remember our heroes. These volunteers may not have their own set of military medals, but what they do is so incredibly wonderful and done in such good will. May God bless all volunteers in this project!! If you would like more information on becoming involved, visit wreathsacrossamerica.org.
What Should I wear Today
January 31st 2012 - 6:45 am
What should I wear today? The blue shirt, the black blouse, the yellow sweater? What shoes should I wear? The black boots, the green tennis shoes, the high heels? These question are ones our soldier’s never get to bother with. Every morning at 5am, my husband’s alarm clock of a rooster crowing goes off. He sleepily drags himself out of bed, puts on his government issues physical training clothes and heads out the door. Yes the alarm clock startles me every morning and no I don’t understand why he has to put on his wind suit right next to me instead of going into the bathroom, but without his devotion as a soldier in our United States Army, I wouldn’t get to make such decisions like what should I wear today. We are so blessed to live in a country where we can make our own decisions, say what we feel like, and where whatever we feel like that particular day.
When you see one of our Nation’s proud soldiers with their military medals and military ribbons on their jackets, take a moment to thank them and God for the rights and freedoms you experience today and owe to them. Our soldiers surely did not get those military awards by carrying some old lady’s groceries to the car or doing the dishes. Those military honors were achieved by fighting tirelessly and selflessly for you, your family, your friends, and all other Americans. Most civilians do not understand the difficult and relentless life of being a service member. Most civilians do not understand what it is like to not be able to take a vacation day, to miss Christmas with your family, to not have McDonalds in walking distance. Civilians generally never have to worry about their buddy getting shot in direct fire or their own weapon jamming. Those military medals and military ribbons you see adorning our soldiers are well deserved military awards. We should all be so grateful for them because they stand for our freedoms.
What it Means to be a Military Spouse
January 30th 2012 - 6:28 am
What does it mean to be a military spouse? Being a military spouse is much more than most civilians realize. For me, being a military wife is a new role. A role I was not briefed about in its entirety. I knew it would be difficult and my husband warned me it would be, but I was in for a rude awakening. I met my husband when he had been pulled on temporary recruiting duty for a three year duty. Right away, I learned recruiting for the Army is a very stressful and high pressure position. Unlike a job recruiter or college recruiter, recruiting for the Army involves a very touchy balancing act. First, you have to find the recruits. Where he was at, the population was mainly college kids and graduating seniors. Although an individual may have the desire to join the military, their disgruntled parent had words for my husband. Degrading his career, they’d tell him they refused to have their child be a bullet catcher, completely disregarding the honor that comes with serving one’s country. Not only were parents breathing down his neck, but his own command would threaten his career if numbers were not hit. I will say my husband was a stellar recruiter; never giving people the run around, telling the truth about combat, and the hardships the military life can impose. Kids looked up to my husband though because of his passion for our country, his love for his freedom, and the excitement and pride that combat instilled in him. These were some of the traits I came to love about him and in turn I say he recruited me to marry him! Not to mention a man in uniform with military medals gleaming in the light and a chest full of military ribbons doesn’t hurt the situation either!
We married just as his recruiting duty came to an end. He received orders to move across the country and thus away from all of my friends and family would remain. I looked forward to our new exciting life! I was an Army wife now!
I was not prepared for the life of an active duty, regular Army soldier’s wife. Moving to a new location, civilians often don’t realize how difficult it is for a military spouse to find a job. Often, employers do not want to hire us because they know we may not be stationed here for the long-term. Generally, we will not be stationed here for more than three years, but we won’t know that until he gets his order 90 days out. The idea of a stable, good paying career is not always an option.
The first time my husband’s unit went to the field for just one month, I was extremely lonely. I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t know our town. I would call my family and they’d ask, “Well, why can’t he come home for the night?” I’d mope around all day, miserable. My husband would call at night, I’d be so scared to sleep, and there wasn’t much he could do.
It’s a very difficult concept to grasp. You’re married, but you are alone. Your protector and friend are not always there. You must learn to wipe your tears, hold your head up, and figure out how to relight your pilot light because he is not home right now. Youtube offers wonderful videos to help you fix about anything.
Often times, you feel abandoned. It is difficult to hear your husband talk about his excitement for deployment. You feel like your husband loves his country more than you. Then you remind yourself, he is going to be living under plywood for a year getting shot at from all directions and you thank God he is getting in a positive mindset or neither of you would make it through the deployment. Being a military wife is difficult. It is sad. It is stressful. It is lonely. But being a military wife has shown me what a strong person I am. How lucky I am to have other strong military wives in my life. What incredible leader skills I possess for those young wives who struggle. And finally, distance really does make the heart grow fonder for your military man. When I see my husband adorned in all his military medals, those military honors belong to both of us because I know I saw him through them.
Uncle Ed
January 28th 2012 - 7:39 pm
Recently, I made the thirteen hour trip back to my hometown in Iowa to visit family. While visiting with my grandma, I noticed an old postcard in her china hutch that caught my attention. I asked her about it and she was more than reluctant to take it out and share it with me. Carefully, she took out the postcard and a tattered, worn out envelope. She explained to me that her uncle was a soldier in World War II. She proceeded to show me his military profile picture, and although it was black and white and a bit blurry, I could clearly see the family resemblance. She explained to me how he was taken as a prisoner of war and held at a camp for years and years. Sitting back in her chair, she reminisced about the day the black sedan pulled into her farmyard driveway with the United States military emblem on the door. As if it had happened yesterday, she described how she felt as the military officers slowly lifted themselves out of the car and reported to her stunned mother that her uncle was missing in action. Although only a little girl, she remembers the feeling of her heart seeking to her belly. The officers had no more information for her mother, no words of condolence, no remarks about keeping in touch with the family. Months went by and they received no word from him until on my grandmother’s 6th birthday, she received a postcard from him in the mail. It had a simple, distorted message, but said how her mom and dad were to get money from his bank account so she could get some candy from the penny store for her birthday. Such a simple message, but the joy it brought to her family was indescribable. Delicately sliding the postcard to me, I noticed how the message of the postcard had been completely rearranged and the language of the message was unnatural; an obvious doing of his captors to deform any information that would delve my uncle’s whereabouts, health, or environment. For six whole years, these once-a-year birthday messages continued to be the only source of information my grandmother’s family received of my uncle’s well-being until he was returned home. Although my grandmother doesn’t have any military medals or keepsakes of her uncle to remember him by, those letters will remain a treasure in my family for years to come. The feelings associated with them are monumental. The real military award was having him finally home safe all those years ago.
Military Talk
January 28th 2012 - 7:36 pm
The Army certainly has its own culture and its own language to go with it! Someone would say to me, “Oh your husband is in the Army? What Unit is he in? What is his MOS?”…..HUH? Coming from the civilian world and marrying into the Army, I was at a complete loss with all of the lingo! Why can’t they just say job? What is your husband’s job? In their defense, yes, saying MOS is much easier than saying Military Occupational Specialty.
I picked up the Army language rather quickly, but am still not fluent. Sometimes I forget when talking to my family just how far I have come! One day a civilian friend from back home called and asked what my plans were for the day. I told her, “Well I’m going to run on base to the commissary and grab a few things. I have to pick up my husband’s ACUs from the cleaner before our FRG meeting tonight.” Understandably, she had no idea what I was talking about!
To make things more interesting, the military language is not universal throughout the branches of service! The lingo changes between the Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Army.
Although I am getting stronger in speaking Army, it is still difficult to decipher military awards and what all the Army medals and military ribbons stand for. Depending on whether the soldier is enlisted or commissioned, how many years they’ve been in service, duty combats, etc., etc. they could have a million different military ribbons and tons of different military honors on their uniforms. With different military honors, these individuals may need to be addressed a certain way, talk about nerve racking meet and greets!
Just an FYI, nonservicemembers do not salute. You will look like an idiot if you do so. And embarrass your husband.
The Saint Barbara Military Award
January 27th 2012 - 12:43 pm
The Saint Barbara military award is given on behalf of the United States Field Artillery. With this military honor, one becomes a part of the honorary military society of the United States Field Artillery. This military order is bestowed upon service members in both the United States Marines and Army field artillerymen, as well as others in the civilian world who have supported their efforts. This military award is presented by the United States Field Artillery Association. There are two levels of recognition that exist. The highest ranking honor of the Saint Barbara Order is the Ancient Order of Saint Barbara. Those recognized with this military achievement have served long-term, distinguished service to the field artillery community surpassing fellow comrades receiving the Honorable Order of Saint Barbara. This military honor ties field artillerymen of history with those forging into the future in a family marked by selflessness to country, professionalism in their trade, and the same sacrifice symbolized by Saint Barbara.
As the legend goes, Saint Barbara was the extremely beautiful daughter of a wealthy man in Asia Minor. Afraid her relentless beauty would make her a token for marriage, her jealous father ordered her to a tower in which her would be shut away and protected from the outside world. Before he was scheduled to depart on a long journey, he ordered a beautiful bath house to be built for his daughter. Barbara had become well versed in Christ and understanding in his teachings. She ordered the builders of the bathhouse to have three windows in order to represent the Holy Trinity.
When her father returned from his journey, he was infuriated with Barbara practicing Christianity. He took her before the head of the province who proceeded to condemn her to be tortured and put to death. Her father beheaded her himself. On his way home from ending his own beautiful daughter’s life, he was struck by lightning and killed. The legend of the lightning bolt who struck down her perpetrator caused her to reign as the patron saint in time of danger from such disasters including thunderstorms, fire, and sudden death. When gunpowder made its way into the world, Saint Barbara was called upon to protect believers from accidents resulting from explosions since oftentimes early artillery equipment blew up instead of firing its projectile. Thus, Saint Barbara became the patroness of the artillerymen.
Military Life
January 27th 2012 - 12:34 pm
It’s Sunday morning. I awake when I feel like it and lay there a few minutes orientating myself to being awake. My husband, an active duty Army soldier, is long gone. As a platoon sergeant, he had his whole platoon meet him at Home Depot and follow him to the head of a trail. They are all instructed to bring a backpack full of whatever in order to resemble their rucksacks. They are preparing to deploy and thus, they have no days off. Likewise, this coming week I know my husband will not make it home until way into the night because they are qualifying their weapons in the dark. I understand, I want my husband to be accustomed to shooting in the dark. I am just thankful it is this week and not the week of Valentines’ Day. Unlike any other job, most employees would complain and pitch a fit if they were required to show up on their day off, nonetheless, show up and hike up a mountain with a heavy backpack. Or if they were required to stay at work from 5am until 10pm for no extra pay or appreciation. Yet, these men all willingly will be there, back packs in place. They understand the importance of preparation and the importance of being a team.
Today’s soldiers are incredible people. These men and women are truly dedicated to their profession and we should be so thankful they are. These people do not do what they do for a military medal, or in order to pin an extra Army ribbon on their uniform. They do what they do so you can experience freedom; saying what you want, going where you please, being whoever you want to be. The dedication our troops put in is more than most civilians will ever understand. Being a military soldier is so much more than a 9-5 job, it is a lifestyle.
The latest in Military Ribbons & Medals
January 27th 2012 - 12:16 pm
Isn’t it amazing just how much times have changed? From the rotary phone to the cell phone, what updates we have seen. I remember when my mom got her first cell phone; it was about ten inches long and came in a black bag. I thought it was the hippest thing. Now a day, I can rarely find my cell phone because it is so tiny. Time has definitely changed our ways of communication. Back in World War II, the only communication my grandmother had with her uncle while he was a prisoner of war was a single letter that came once a year on her birthday. There was no way to send information back to him nor could you really even understand the message due to its distortion by his captors to prevent any information leaking out. Yearly, my grandmother’s family would wait for these birthday letters to find out if he was even alive.
As my husband prepares to deploy again, we have so many decisions to make. Should we get an international cell phone plan or just international text? Maybe he should just take our laptop and we will plan on Skyping at a certain time? Or chat through Yahoo messenger? Should he buy a cheap cell phone from the locals when he gets there? I bet my great uncle would roll over in his grave thinking of buying a phone from a local in World War II. But times have changed. In no way, could I fathom only hearing from my loved one once a year. I can only imagine the complaints the rear detachment commander would hear from the deployed soldier’s family! There would be a riot on Facebook!
Although having a family member deployed is extremely difficult and stressful, we are so fortunate to have the technology and means of communication that we do. Just like technology has updated so has the look of our soldiers. Military medals, miniature military medals, and the sleek ultra-thin military ribbons provide our soldiers with a sophisticated and sharp appearance that coincides with our futuristic advances in all realms of life.
The Value of Military Awards
January 27th 2012 - 12:10 pm
I just read a completely disturbing article on the internet. It occurred in Villa Rica, GA where a group of coward burglars broke into a woman’s house who happened to be the mother of a deceased soldier. The burglars ransacked her home stealing $10,000 worth of personal belongings including her television, other electronics, her jewelry box, but most heart wrenching- her deceased son’s military medals. I thought to myself how disgusting. How could those burglars look at those military awards and not feel completely full of shame.
The soldier’s name was Mike Hardegree. He was an Army Sgt. who died September 10, 2007 with 6 other soldiers after their vehicle unfortunately flipped over in Iraq. These pathetic burglars stole all of this honorable soldier’s military medals as well as the Gold Star military award that was given to his family by the Department of Defense after his passing. The mother had made this particular military honor into a locket, and was most deeply hurt by its loss to her.
Reading this article, I was nearly brought to tears. This woman’s son would duplicate all of his military medals and awards he received and give them to her when he returned home from combat telling her she had earned them, too.
These military medals were all this mother had left of her deceased son. She felt as if she had lost him all over again. She had planned on passing his military awards down to her grandchildren in order to keep his remembrance alive.
She asked the burglars to honor a man who had lost his life serving our country by returning the military awards back to her.
I’d imagine that no amount of money these disgusting burglars receive for these cherished military medals could come close to the worth this family has for them. I do not understand what good these military medals would be to someone who didn’t earn them or understand the true cost these honors represented. I pray these burglars are found or at the least whosever hands these military awards end up in have enough respect to return them to this brave man’s family in which they belong.
Take Care of Your Military Awards
January 17th 2012 - 9:40 am
Just about everyone in the United States has a family member that is either serving, or has server in the United States military. The percentage of people with a current connection with an active duty member is much less today, than it was thirty to forty years ago. When I was young we were coming out of the Vietnam War, and a lot of the young men from our small community had been shipped off to war, and were making their rotation from battlefield to state side. Prior to the Vietnam War we had many military assignments worldwide that kept the volume of soldiers at a very high level. During the Korean War we had members from all branches of the armed forces involved, and we were a very efficient fighting force. We were a much better prepared military after learning many valuable lessons in World War I, and World War II. As we look back at our military history, we can be proud of how the US fighting forces have performed and answered the call of duty. During the last eighty years of service we have all in some way been associated with one of these brave soldiers. Most of our grandfathers, or fathers engaged in combat, and we have been privileged to hear the stories, and see the military awards that were presented to the great warriors. There are always those that for one reason or another that lose or misplace their military ribbons, and it is usually a family member that in later years attempts to acquire replacement military medals. It is very understandable that family members would want to recreate these family heirlooms, and symbols of the family’s military history. There are few other occupations that one tries to put the pieces back together to remember a part of history. Many of our forefathers worked with the railroad, or in an auto manufacturing plant, but we do not try to find tangible items to collect to hold on to these memories. It is much easier to establish a record of one’s military service, because this is an area that records are kept, and men and women are honored for their service. If an individual is looking to put together these military awards, there are many resources available to help gather the information, and a few companies willing to help replace these treasured pieces of history. If you are a veteran, or still serving this country, take the time to preserve and protect your military awards for the generations to come, for they will be telling stories about you and the awesome service that you provided to this country.
Military Ribbons are only a Reminder of Service
January 4th 2012 - 9:40 am
I have noticed over the years that there are some families that have many members of their family in the United States armed forces, and that there are others that hardly have a person in the military. I sometimes think that some people think that they are above the military, or that it is below them, either way I think that they are wrong. My dedication to the US military is strong, and it does not have anything to do with being enlisted, or not. I feel that the reason I am able to do everything that I can, in this free environment, is because our military members affording me this opportunity. Although there have been many members of my family in all branches of the armed forces, there has never been a push by anyone to join the service, and for sure not any particular branch. Starting with my father, who was in the US Navy, he never tried to convince anyone to join the military, nor did he try to persuade one not to. Come to think of it, my father never spoke of the military much, and only briefly told a few stories of his experiences. One of the best pictures of my father is a photo that was taken in his first year of enlistment, and it is a black and white that always hung at my grandmother’s home. Seeing this picture on a regular basis was the beginning of my love for the military, and there would be many fond memories to follow.
The generations following my father saw a lot of family members enlisting into the military. Several of my uncles enlisted into the US Army, and US Air Force in the 70’s and 80’s, and a good number of my cousins followed in their footsteps. All but one of my siblings has served at least one term in the military, and my youngest sister who did not enlist is married to a Marine. My oldest sister spent twenty-two years in the military before retiring, and is now on a second career, and completing her master’s degree. Many folks think that the military is a substitution for college, or another route in life, but I beg to differ.
The majority of my family and friends that have been or are currently in the military are very highly educated. There are many programs, and opportunities to complete your education in the military, and that is one of the reasons that people use when they choose to enlist. If you take advantage of the educational benefits afforded to military members, you can be much further ahead than if you stumble through life trying to figure it out without direction. Being a part of the military, regardless of the branch of service, you will most definitely have direction. I also have had several family members use their education to the best benefit of the military, and become commissioned officers. In addition to my friends and family members being in the military many of them have used the leadership, an organizational skills acquired in the military to go on and start their own businesses. I plan to make a wall of fame for a lack of a better term, and have a place where my family can go and see the accomplishments of the family as a whole.
In this wall of fame, which could be posted on the internet, or maybe an actual physical display will show the accomplishments of my family members. I plan to display pictures of members in service, along with their military awards. I think it will be fun and rewarding to work on this project, and to recognize these individuals. A display of all the military ribbons and military medals will really tell the story of each service member. As one reviews a members military awards they can tell where they have been, for how long they have served, and in what campaign time periods they are part of. When completed this display will also show the pride I have for the accomplishments of my friends and family, and the respect and admiration I have for all those that have served this great nation.
