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Thanks Rick/Gerd, This was an inexpensive flea market find in Berlin around 1988 or 89. Wish I had the forsight to buy more of this kind of stuff back then when this stuff was inexpensive and just starting to flow out of the east. Kevin

And the reverse side:

Here is mine, picked up when I was stationed in West Berlin in the late 1980s. I know nothing about it, except I assumed it was a WWII issue. Would appreciate your comments. Kevin

That's an Army Achievement Medal (AAM) it is not specifically for service in Iraq. Here is the Army's criteria for this award: The Army Achievement Medal is awarded to any member of the Armed Forces of the United States, or to any member of the Armed Forces of a friendly foreign nation, who while serving in any capacity with the Army in a non-combat area on or after 1 August 1981, distinguished himself/ herself by meritorious service or achievement of a lesser degree than required for award of the Army Commendation Medal. The Army Achievement Medal will not be awarded to General Officers. Kevin

Post WWII Excellence Badge, better made and heavier than the later versions.

Reverse:

Here are couple of badges I picked up in the mid-80s while stationed in Berlin: WWII Mortar Excellence Badge:

Here are the Photos:

I just purchased one of these pins on E-bay last week and had no idea what the initals were for. Thanks. I'll try to post a photo here if I can get my scanner working. Kevin

No problem - I worked as a volunteer in an Army museum several years back and there was no shortage of dealers trying to sell the museum "D-Day worn" Assault vests. Same with WWII paratrooper items, there are high quality reproductions of the uniforms, boots, and even parachutes. Kevin

Beware there are a fair number of reproductions of these vests out there. Some prop vest from the movie Saving Private Ryan are also being sold as originals but I believe these are marked SPB. Unless there is a proven provenance I'd steer away fromt these. Kevin

Thanks - I thought it might be civil, something like police and perhaps postwar since it does not appear to have many signs of age. No marks that I can see on the obverse. Kevin

I don't collect Japanese Awards but purchased what appears to be some type of Japanese medal in a mixed lot of US insigina. No sure what period or even if it is Japanese. I've attached a photo, would be interested in your comments. Kevin

Some folks mistake the M4 for the M16A2. The M4 is shortened and lighter weight variant of the M16A2 rifle designed to operate in close quarters or linited space...ideal for Urban Warfare. The M4 started out as Special Operations specific weapon, but more and more conventional units are carrying it now. There are almost a dozen items that can be mounted on the M4 including special sights, illumination and pointing devices, flash/sound supressor and the M203 grenade launcher. You can even mount the Infanryman's best friend on it....a bayonet. Of course the M16 can carry several types of sights as well as an M203, but is a bit heavy after all this gear is attached to it. Ehrentitle

Most modern US medals are designed by The Institute of Heraldry (TIOH) at Fort Belvior, Virginia. Generally broad suggestions for the design are made by the Department of Defense (DoD) or the Army but TIOH is responsible for creating a design. sometimes several design choices, one of which is approved by senior officials. TIOH designs and appoves all flags, streamers, and insignia....patches (Shoulder Sleeve Insignia), unit crests (Distinctive Unit Insignia) and badges for the Army. They also design insignia and flags for other services and government agencies. See their website at: http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil It contains a wealth of information on current US Army insignia with color illustratons. TIOH used to have a close relationship with the British College of Heraldry, several TIOH directors from the 1950s-1970s spent time with the College of Heraldry. Everything TIOH does is supposed to conform to heraldric rules, although I think they are much less strict than years ago, their primary interest now is customer satisfaction. Yes I've heard many folks over the years complain about the decline in quality of production of US campaign medals. Cost may be an issue, for a campaign like Iraq, hundreds of thousands of these medals will have to be produced...by the lowest bidder. Still you are talking about spending millions for just one campaign medal. I for one would rather see DoD spending top dollar on armored vests rather than purple hearts. Another factor may be the pressure to produce design in a very short period of time. The new Combat Action Badge, for example, was cranked out in less than 90 days. http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/badges/C...ActionBadge.htm You still see higher quality in US decorations. I participated in a ceremony this week where a Legon of Merit was given to a retiring NCO and I had to marvel about the quality of that medal. Speeking only for my experience in the Army, no one ever wears full size medals, except for when they are presented. Also a few ceremonial units like the Old Guard wear them. Generally the only thing worn is the ribbon bar on the class A, B and Blue Uniform or mini-medals on the mess dress uniform. Ehrentitle

Here is the link to the Institute of Heraldry webpage describing this medal: http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Awards/I...mpaignMedal.htm

Here is the official description from the US Army Institute of Heraldry website: "On the reverse, the Statue of Freedom surmounting a sunburst, encircled by two scimitars points down crossed at tip of blades, all above the inscription ?FOR SERVICE IN IRAQ.? I believe it is a representation of the Statue of Freedom that tops the dome of the US Capitol building in Washington DC. Ehrentitle

Here is the background on the medals that had previously been service bars: "On May 19, 1992, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced the availability of new medals for civilian merchant seamen, in recognition of their service in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. The medals are being issued to supplement war zone ribbon bars previously awarded to civilian mariners who supported the nation's armed forces in these wars." So these medals are less than 15 years old and can be ordered directly from 4 companies selected by the Maritime Administration. See this link for details: http://www.marad.dot.gov/Education/history/medals.html Kevin

Here is a site that lists all decorations that the Merchant Marine's are authorized. It includes images of many including the Merchant Marine Expeditionary medal given for the Desert Shield/Storm: http://www.usmm.org/medals.html Kevin

I looked for information on the Merchant Marine Vietnam Service Medal and got nowhere until I realized that it was issued as a ribbon bar at the time, apparently the medal came out later. The Merchant Marine Vietnam Service Ribbon Bar was awarded to Merchant Marine personnel which served on US ships in and adjacent to Vietnam. It was designed by R.A. Chandler or the Maritime Administration. As a side note the Merchant Marine were authorized a number of WWII ribbon bars which roughly paralled the US WWII campaign ribbons. They were: Merchant Marine Defense Ribbon Bar Merchant Marine Pacific War Zone Ribbon Bar Merchant Marine Atlantic War Zone Ribbon Bar Merchant Marine Mediterranean, Middle East War Zone Ribbon Bar Other Merchant Marine ribbon bars were: Merchant Marine Gallant Ship Citation (Ships cited for gallantry by the Administrator of the War Shipping Administration) Merchant Marine Combat Ribbon Bar (Service on ship that was attacked or damaged) Merchant Marine Korean Service Ribbon Bar The Merchant Marine also at least two decorations parallel to US military decorations. They are: Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal Merchant Marine Meritorios Service Medal They also have the Merchant Marine Mariners Medal and of course the Merchant Marine WW II Victory Medal shown in this thread. Kevin

Greetings from Virginia, I'm new to the club but a long time collector of US medals. patches and insignia. The Vietnam Civilian Service Medal was awarded for 12 months of civilian service in Vietnam. Civilians who were injured or forced to leave Vietnam before one year of service were also eligible. It was established on 15 Jan 1968 and was retroactive to 1 January 1962. Kevin