Hello

[danb]

Hello all.

I am new here and have found something that I wanted to share, I would be happy to write you pages on how I feel about this, however I just wanted to get this out so you all could see it and help me with the issue I am having.

http://cgi.ebay.com/US-Army-Accommodation-...1QQcmdZViewItem

I found this today on ebay out of the blue, I have no idea of the value of this, I do not want to let this go. I was there on the day this medal was both earned and awarded, and am affraid I may not be of the most service if I obtain this to give it back at a later date, however I do know what it cost to earn.

Thank you for reading this if you have.

[David S]

If you want to spend the money . . . so be it

The medal by itself is worth $10 tops

It's not a hard medal to earn

p.s. It's called the Army Commendation Medal, not Accomodation Medal . . .

Edited July 9, 2008 by David S

[speagle]

Hello all.

I am new here and have found something that I wanted to share, I would be happy to write you pages on how I feel about this, however I just wanted to get this out so you all could see it and help me with the issue I am having.

http://cgi.ebay.com/US-Army-Accommodation-...1QQcmdZViewItem

I found this today on ebay out of the blue, I have no idea of the value of this, I do not want to let this go. I was there on the day this medal was both earned and awarded, and am affraid I may not be of the most service if I obtain this to give it back at a later date, however I do know what it cost to earn.

Thank you for reading this if you have.

Not quite sure what you are talking about when you say "I was there on the day this medal was both earned and awarded, and am affraid I may not be of the most service if I obtain this to give it back at a later date, however I do know what it cost to earn.

Thank you for reading this if you have."

Can you be a little clearer on your thoughts please?

[Paul R]

If you want to spend the money . . . so be it

The medal by itself is worth $10 tops

It's not a hard medal to earn

p.s. It's called the Army Commendation Medal, not Accomodation Medal . . .

I would not say the Commendation Medal is not a hard medal to earn. I guess that this would depend upon the command or branch of service the member was with. I made Corpsman of the Year for my entire branch of service for various events and got an Achievement Medal(lower than a Commendation Medal).

Many people I serve with do not know the names of the medals they have been awarded. The simply received the award, placed it on their medal bar, added a ribbon bar to rack, and never thought about it again.

David is right... the medal itself is not worth more than 10 dollars, but if he is providing a copy of the citation... who knows.

If what he says in his narrative is true(which I am leaning toward believing), I really feel for him. His pitch is more about finding a job than looking for a handout! It is a sad day when a vet has to contemplate selling his medals to feed his family.

Here is the narrative:

"I am selling my medals that I earned during Operation Iraqi Freedom 1 & 2. This is for my original Army Accommodation Medal with Valor awarded to me for valorous actions. Read on and I will tell you what I did to earn this medal but first let me explain my situation. During my tour I was wounded and received a purple heart. Now after 14 years of service i am being medically retired due to my injury. What this means to me is that now the Army has retired me and I am only getting 30% of what my pay was. This means that somehow I need to come up with a way to not lose my house my truck and other items that i own. I have sold allot of the things that I own such as toys i bought for myself (PS3, Motorcycles, Riding Gear, Etc..) but used it all just to keep up. A friend of mine recently helped me out allot but it only goes so far and were to that wall. Living the way I have to now just brings major stress to my life and is hard on my family. I have a wife and two children that depend on me to give them a good life. I did two tours in Iraq and missed allot of their birthdays and Christmas's serving my country. Having a steady job and income for 14 years and then going to having almost no income is very hard on a person. My credit is good just now my debt to income ratio has made it impossible for me to even get a loan to pull myself out. As for jobs, I have applied everywhere, I cant even get Wal-Mart to call me back being a veteran definitely doesn't help as much as they say it does when looking for work. I am limited in my work abilities but I am a workhorse and a fast learner. My job in the USMC(before I switched to the Army) and Army was Infantry Sniper. I just need help, I have worked very hard to get where I was and am now losing it all due to being hurt while serving in Iraq. I'm not looking for necessarily money but even a job would be great, as you can see I tried opening a eBay store here but I am only gaining pennies and not even close to what will help me. Personal Security? I am highly trained, professional and very good at what i do so if anybody needs a PSD(Personal security Detachment) then I am available. So heres how I earned my ARCOM with Valor. To make a long story short, while on a mission a Kiowa Helicopter was shot down and two pilots were stranded, Myself and my snipers(I was the Battalion Sniper Section Leader) made it to the pilots within 2 minutes after they were shot down, as soon as I got on scene I had to open fire on a enemy soldier who was attempting to shoot down another helicopter. He was 700 meters away and I scored a fatal hit, I took my 6 snipers and led them to an area where we took high ground and immediately engaged the enemy for 4 hours straight. Four almost 45 minutes there was a total of 42(My 6 snipers and the scouts 36 soldiers) of us taking on almost 1500 advancing enemy. After 45 minutes reinforcements finally arrived. We stopped the enemy by using precision fire and creative tactics. The final outcome my section had 61 confirmed kills that day and over 4 dozen unconfirmed (wounded enemy who crawled off and probably died later) I personally contributed with 15 kills and over 2 dozen unconfirmed kills from that day. The medal will come with a copy of the award orders which will verify all of this information. Also if you are a history and military channel junkie then you have seen the documentary made about this event. If not I will try and locate my copy and include a copy with the medal. No promises but I do my best to find the copy. Thank you everybody who read this far, and even if you don't help me, just one day help a veteran."

[danb]

Thank you for replying.

There was a movie made about this event, it is called Kiowa Down, it can be obtained through the Military Channel.

The KW was shot down by an R.P.G. which as you probably know is not a very common event, alot of news was never reported, however Tal Afar was one of the most dangerous places to be, and as the Ebay page tells you we were given a clear ok to engage, for five months we had been dealing with the people of this city, our sister element had set up station in the city and were run out, they were pounded regularly by every type of indirect fire that could be sent thier way, when they finaly became combat ineffective we were sent to plus them up and to continue raiding strong holds. On the day before this event we had had over 50 R.P.G.'s fired at us while we moved in to try to get ahold of the strong points that were being held along the M.S.R..

This event became out of control, being out numbered 250,000 to about 400, and our chain of command had decided in the wake of the Black Water event earlier that year that none of the equipment would even be left behind. For a more intense account view the movie, it is obtainable.

I do agree with the comment that these medals are handed out like candy, however in the Infantry world nothing is above the job, so these medals are not very common, as at that point atleast. We did for the most part all get these awards, however I feel we earned them, the award is decorated with the V device. And my opinion is that this is what we wear to hide the scars.

I do not support the selling of the award, I am from Gettysburg, PA a small town north of the Mason Dixon line that is adorned with the sacrafices that changed the world, that is what made being an Infantry soldier an easy choice for me. I have never known why others do it, it is all great untill a war comes along, I miss all the guys that have gone away, but honestly find it very hard to talk to them at times, however I rarely miss or avoid any opertunity to to be coached by any Vet. And I do know what they paid. And do believe whole heartedly in the Infantry Man's Creed.

Again thank you.

[Paul R]

So this is YOUR medal?

[Ed_Haynes]

First wisdom: Buy the medal, not the story. But if the story is research, then make up your own mind. But an unnamed medal that is normally $10 on a GOOD day??!?

[Kev in Deva]

Hallo danb,

I am a little confused here, in your first post you say you found it on Ebay,

Then in your next post it looks like you are the person that is selling the medal?

I thought any Medal handed out for Valor had a V insignia attached to the ribbon??

Your Medal seems indistinguishable from any other.

Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong,

as U.S. Medals are not my specialty, but I am always looking to learn.

Kevin in Deva :beer:

[danb]

Thank you again, it is great to hear and to see your involvement here.

This is not my medal, I am mentioned 2 times in the story though.

A dear friend of mine and the recipient of this award has taught us some things and that being that he regrets burning everything from his tours in Vietnam, and I do not want to see the same regret here, however if the award is unsellable then I do not need to worry about it and can let the sale run it's course and all will be the same.

As for the job part mentioned, things are changing all the time, almost all employers are now required to honor the medical retirement and to do job placement according to that.

I would love to tell everyone who is reading this alot more details, however I am affraid of losing the medal, I will continue on the path I am going and hopefully will have Chris employed by the end of the month, and then I will be happy to talk to you all about everything, it is a good story, and it does have a good ending, barring the obvious, in the fact that we have both made it to the home I never want to leave again.

[Kev in Deva]

Thank you again, it is great to hear and to see your involvement here.

This is not my medal, I am mentioned 2 times in the story though.

A dear friend of mine and the recipient of this award has taught us some things and that being that he regrets burning everything from his tours in Vietnam, and I do not want to see the same regret here, however if the award is unsellable then I do not need to worry about it and can let the sale run it's course and all will be the same.

As for the job part mentioned, things are changing all the time, almost all employers are now required to honor the medical retirement and to do job placement according to that.

I would love to tell everyone who is reading this alot more details, however I am affraid of losing the medal, I will continue on the path I am going and hopefully will have Chris employed by the end of the month, and then I will be happy to talk to you all about everything, it is a good story, and it does have a good ending, barring the obvious, in the fact that we have both made it to the home I never want to leave again.

So, the real owner of this award, as well as being in Iraq 1 and Irag 2 was a Vietnam veteran as well?

If I understand your post correctly.

So with tours of duty in Vietnam, what years did he serve over there??

Lets say he was 18 years old in 1974 / 75,

that would make him now out to be about 52,

Is that not a bit old to be running around Iraq as a Sniper Section Leader

Kevin in Deva.

Edited July 9, 2008 by Kev in Deva

[danb]

The awardee and the Vietnam Vet as well as myself are all friends.

[Kev in Deva]

Sorry for the questions but, with the way you wrote it,

I understood the seller of this medal was in Vietnam too.

With regards the medal being sold, by your friend

why does it not have the "device" for Valor attached?

The reason I am asking is that since the "Stolen Valor act was enacted in the USA

Buyers too have to be careful so as not to contravene this law by buying certain listed medals.

Hopefully its not an offense for your Buddy to sell this?

Kevin in Deva.

[danb]

THANK YOU!

I have now read the law it is very interesting.

I am now going to be emailing it to him, it would seem that getting ahold of any earned medal has been made very difficult for you collectors. And from what I understand after reading the law to buy or sell it would become a nightmare. As there are alot of laws that will attach to that, to include mail fraud and or import and export issues.

Thank you for paying attention and spending a little time helping me understand.

If there is anything I can help you with please do not hesitate to let me know, I am not sure what you collect, not that I may have it, however I have seen my share of things I would never have thought anyone would collect, being collected.

Dan Black

[W McSwiggan]

I think Kev raises a very valid point that has not been addessed.

In my experience, the Army issues Army Commendation, Air & Bronze Star Medals awarded for heroism with the "V" device attached.

There is no sign of such a device having been affixed.

Also, to my eye - that medal is not of the current vintage - frankly - it looks far better than the current issue pieces.

Makes me suspicious.

[Ed_Haynes]

I doubt that the "Stolen Valor" nonsense applies to this medal, not high enough to attract the attention of these self-annointed protectors of both national morality and "heroes".

There are, however, a legion of non-legal problems here.

[ANZAC]

So, the real owner of this award, as well as being in Iraq 1 and Irag 2 was a Vietnam veteran as well?

If I understand your post correctly.

So with tours of duty in Vietnam, what years did he serve over there??

Lets say he was 18 years old in 1974 / 75,

that would make him now out to be about 52,

Is that not a bit old to be running around Iraq as a Sniper Section Leader

Kevin in Deva.

Yes I picked up on that to. He would have been around 35 in 1991, so, on the borderline for combat operations in a special unit. But 45 in 2001 leading a special unit? Could be true but I have never heard of such in recent times. If it is true, there's a real story to be told there!

Brendan

[David S]

I may have been a little harsh in saying that this was 'an easy medal to earn', with competent service over a period of time it can be awarded, I was awarded six of these over 15 years, the only ones that meant anythings were the ones for valor

I thought any Medal handed out for Valor had a V insignia attached to the ribbon??

Bingo

This medal shows nothing like a V

I have a number of problems with the story

[danb]

Please look at the picture again, I guess there have been alot of people as good at noticing a fake as you guys, I lived the story so I did not take much time in noticing the fine points, I just about dropped over when I saw it.

however he has replaced the fake picture with the real one.

And please understand, I get to spend some time with some people who have been to combat and the friend that we both share was the Vietnam Vet. we both enjoy talking to him, and hearing anything he wants to talk to us about, I could eloborate on his burning all his stuff, however he was a medic on the ground for 3 tours and after 3 purple hearts I doubt, besides knowing him he could have made the trip to OIF. We should all understand his ill feelings towards the war. It seems thier is a brotherhood of Infantry, who would have thought, you walk in one day and are in this thing for life.

Battlefield Diaries - Episode 8: Kiowa Down

http://www.militarychannel.com/store.html

Please check out the movie, you will see the awardee getting interviewed, and then you will have met him, I was not intending to start a fuss, just learn what I could, I have no intentions of selling my stuff. I tried to have him pull it off the sale however all this fuss (not you all) has just made him more determined.