What do you guys think of my ShadowBox ? 10 Medals

[JonErik]

Ok i went the military base right by my house and picked up the medals and Ribbonrack and other stuff that my dad was buried with that i didnt have because all i have were 2 medals and no ribbons and i made a shadowbox out of them. Tell me what you think? I think it looks amazing he was CW3 22 years in the Army, 82nd Airborne and then Military Intel i decited to put his highest Enlisted rank E-7 on it also before he went to Warrent Officer

Its not 100% finished yet but i layed it all out to what i want it to look like when im done, i decited to put his unit badges and where he was stationed at throughout the years on the outside, the only things im missing is the Big Warrent Officer Pin that goes on the hat they didnt have them, and the 2 small warrent officer pins that go on the neck of the dress uniform not the CW3 pin i mean the Gold eagle that officer/enlisted wear, they also didnt have the Number 3 and 2 for the NCO ribbon and the other ribbon on the far bottom right.

My Dad joined the Army in 1970 when he was 18 years old. He did basic and training at FT. Leonard Wood, Arkansass. Later he was stationed in FT Folk in LA where he went through Advanced Infantry training and earned his parachute wings.

After that he was Promoted to the rank of E-3 and was in the 508th Infrantry Brigade stationed in Ft. Bragg NC where he was a light truck driver for 2 years. Atfer his 2 he decited to leave the army only tyo find himself going from job to job for 3 years. Later he re-enlisted in the Army in 1975 and went into the 82nd Airborne Division im not sure how many years he was there as the records i currently have dont show it. A few year later the army which tests all its soldiers decited to pull him outa airborne because he possesed a unique Intellect. He was in training/school's for years and eventually made it into Military Intelligence. He was promoted every 1-2 years E-4 then E-5 then E-6 where he met my mom while stationed in Germany and of course a few years later i was born. I have letters from Colonels and and LTC saying that he possesed extremely high technical and leadership ship skills that someone of a much higher rank should posses. He was in charge of alot of people and stuff that higher ranking people shoulda been in charge off which is a good thing . Later he was promoted to E-7 sometime in 86-87 the year i was born in.

By this time he had top secrete clearance, and was helping devolope some of the latest at the time spy and other tech that todays tech is based off which gives information to troops on the ground and keeps them safe from harm. He was stationed from germany to Arizona FT Huachuca Sierra Vista where he started more Intense leadership and technical training which was needed to get promoted to Warrent Officer. I was 1 year old and still in germany with my mom who's Immigration was expedited over everyone else to the United states because of his clearance level. Once he was done with his training he was skipped ahead from the usuall Promotion of W1 ( Warrent Officer 1) to CW2 (Chief Warrent Officer 2) in 1987-88.

He was promoted so fast and so often and skipping ranks over other people i have papers of the yearly grade's that the army gives people and outa 1-40 points he was always 40 which means promote now over other people. He was a CW2 for 2 years and in 1990 was promoted to CW3, and in 1993 he was offerd CW4 but declined due to his words (Tired of the Army, Sick of the way it was changing) he often referd to this as being sick of the 2nd LT's from westpoint. You can imagine how some 19 year old kid from westpoint who was clueless at best being a higher rank and in charge over someone 20+ years experiance in the army, i actually have been hearing this quiet often from older Veterans.

Anyway from CW2-CW3 he was the OIC ( Officer in charge) of his own men im not sure how many people it was but letters im reading were over 40 people with his specific thing he was doing. I wish i knew what all the top secrete stuff was that they were working on but i know it was with satalites, spying on russions, and other stuff. When he retired in 93 he worked with a company called TASK which worked with the government on the same he was with in the army TENCAP Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities. He passed away in 1998 from liver cancer which he got from Hepatitus C.

I was only 11 years old and my brother was 5. Its hard to remember him what he was like in person. Being 11 and him being TDY alot i only remember the last like 5 years from 93-98 before that and its really sketchy so all i have to go on is what my mom says and what his papers say.

Anyway this is my story and this is my shadowbox i made to Honor him

[Francois]

VERY NICE COLLECTION, YOU SHOULD ADD THE WW II VICTORY MEDAL AS WELL..

[JonErik]

VERY NICE COLLECTION, YOU SHOULD ADD THE WW II VICTORY MEDAL AS WELL..

This collection is what he earned, im not putting medals on that he didnt get. This isnt a collection that i simply bought to make my wall look shiny, its actually what my dad earned while in the army. The WW2 Victory medal was only givin out to people during WW2 in the 40's heh, My dad has the WW2 Occupation medal which is giving to people stationed in Germany after the war the WW2 Occupation medal is the Red and Black one on the right.

You are right tho its a really nice collection, besides the wartime Bronze/Silver/Gold star and the Better Defense Meritorious medals he has some of the higher awards givin out during peace time. He was in the army from the early 70's to the early 90's he retired in 93.

One thing that i dont get is he didnt get the Southwest Asia Medal, the requirments for it are Contribution to the Desert storm war back when the first bush helped Kuwait when Saddam Invaided, even tho he wasnt actually stationed in Iraq/Kuwait and the other countries he provided Intel for the people over there being in Military Intel, i specificly remember him telling me about him in the War, he even has the DesertStorm War engraved on his gravestorm but they never gave him the medal because he wasnt actually stationed over there i guess thats what the National Defense Medal was for tho, 1 Star being awarded it twice 1 for Veitnam and another for Desertstorm

Edited January 13, 2009 by JonErik

[Francois]

I was under the impression that you father was a late WW II veteran as well , sorry for that, just trying to give some feedback....

[JonErik]

I was under the impression that you father was a late WW II veteran as well , sorry for that, just trying to give some feedback....

Hah no sorry, i thought you were implying putting medals on there to make it look better or something. Na he isnt that old 40's would be my grandpa he served in WW2 he was a PT Boat LT or captain or something like that, im sure he has the WW2 Medal and others. Im not sure tho it would be cool to get that information but since im not the next of kin i doubt the national Archives would give me that information.

[Francois]

No problem, this is not my style anyway to joke on people past, I buried mine when I was 18, he was a Colonel at the time.

PEACE.

Edited January 13, 2009 by Francois

[GRA]

Hello JonErik!

Nice display you have there, but before you put the lid on it, take a look at the Occupation Medal ribbon. It seems reversed!

Greetings/GRA

[dond]

Yes, the Occupation medal goes black to the heart. (toward the right)

[Ulsterman]

A few things:

1. I believe some Berlin vets have an UNOFFICIAL (but nice) Berlin bar they attach to their occupation medal.

2. Anyone stationed in the Gulf Region during Gulf War One I thought was eligible for the campaign medal AND the Kuwaiti victory medal. I have a good friend, a marine Col., who never actually left the ship 50 miles south of Bahrain and still received one.

3. If by some bizarre reason you Dad wasn't entitled to the Gulf War One medal (and frankly, I'd be amazed if he wasn't entitled, I know people stationed in Ramstein who still got it: see air flight reasins 1 and 3 below..."direct support of operations"), then I'm 99% certain that overseas deployment in that area AFTER August, 1990 earned him an Armed Forces Expeditionary medal.

4. Although the "Cold War Victory Medal" is only a certificate at this time, it is still a Congressionally authorized "award". One day Congress will authorize issue of such a medal-probably as a 50 year commemorative,and like the old Wiemar era veteran's medals, it would add panache to the grouping.

Personally, I hope you engrave and mount them too. 100 years they will still be here and treasured by someone and your Dad's memory will still be around because of them.

Do you have a photo of him for the box too?

The swiftest and most effective way sometimes to get these medals due is to write to your Senator, enclosing his paperwork and request a medal review. Senatorial requests at the Pentagon get higher priority than Congressional ones and Senators often have someone like me on staff who was done a score or more of these requests and can expedite the medal review.

Jeff Floyd may also be able to help you-and the Legion/VFW also has people who can and do help with owed medals.

Edited January 13, 2009 by Ulsterman

[Doc]

I don't know where your father was stationed during Desert Storm, but the criteria for the SW Asia Service Medal are (AR 600-8-22):

2?14. Southwest Asia Service Medal

a. The Southwest Asia Service Medal (SWASM) was established

by Executive Order 12754, 12 March 1991. It is awarded to all

members of the Armed Forces of the United States serving in

Southwest Asia and contiguous waters or airspace thereover, on or

after 2 August 1990 to a date to be determined. Southwest Asia and

contiguous waters, as used herein, is defined as an area which

includes the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden,

that portion of the Arabian Sea that lies north of 10 degrees N.

latitude and west of 68 degrees E. longitude, as well as the total

land areas of Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and

United Arab Emirates.

b. Members of the Armed Forces of the United States serving in

Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Syria, and Jordan (including the airspace and

territorial waters) between 17 January 1991 and 11 April 1991, will

also be eligible for this award. Members serving in these countries

must have been under the command and control of U.S. Central

Command or directly supporting military operations in the combat

theater.

c. To be eligible, a service member must meet one or more of the

following criteria:

(1) Be attached to or regularly serving for one or more days with

an organization participating in ground or shore (military) operations.

(2) Be attached to or regularly serving for one or more days

aboard a naval vessel directly supporting military operations.

(3) Be actually participating as a crew member in one or more

aerial flights directly supporting military operations in the areas

designated above.

(4) Be serving on temporary duty for 30 consecutive days or 60

nonconsecutive days. These time limitations may be waived for

people participating in actual combat operations.

d. The SWASM may be awarded posthumously to any person

who lost his or her life while, or as a direct result of, participating in

Operation DESERT SHIELD or Operation DESERT STORM without

regard to the length of such service, if otherwise eligible.

If your father met one of those criteria, then he is eligible. But you will need to be able to prove it, perhaps through assignment records or Officer Efficiency Reports. Good luck! Doc

[JonErik]

Yea about medal engravings, the 4 medals i still have from him not the ones i had to get replaced dont even have his name engraved on the back i find that redicules that in these old pictures from 30 years ago of them pinning them on his jacket that they didnt even engrave them. Im gonna have to go to a Trophy store or something and have them engrave his name on the back of them. As for a picture i looked all over the place but i dont have any "recent" pictures with him in his uniform when he was CW3 just him when he was CW2 but i think its a good picture. What do you guys think

The cold war medal is something i was reading about of course when they come up with that i will add to his ribbon rack and medal line, i thought about buying the commemortive cold war medal but im not sure if that would be prudent. My dad wasnt stationed anywhere in the middleeast, he was with military intel working in the base's with the spy satalites giving the guys on ground intel during the war, so i still think he deserves something. Why should they award people sitting in ships off the coast something, when people giving Inteligence on enemy positions get nothing ? I think this is where the Star comes in on the Defense service Medal, 1 for Vietname another for Desertstorm, he contributed but wasnt actually there.

Number 4 on your description Doc says be serving for 30-60 days on Duty, does this mean anywhere on Duty or what ? Like i said before he even has his gravstone with desertstorm ect but no medal

Edited January 13, 2009 by JonErik

[Chris Boonzaier]

Hi,

its a question of taste, but I think it would look way better with the color patches, they go better with the medals.

Great to see a family member making the effort!

best

Chris

[JonErik]

Hi,

its a question of taste, but I think it would look way better with the color patches, they go better with the medals.

Great to see a family member making the effort!

best

Chris

The only patchs i have are the green ones and 1 color one, thanks for the comments :)

Edited January 13, 2009 by JonErik

[Doc]

Yea about medal engravings, the 4 medals i still have from him not the ones i had to get replaced dont even have his name engraved on the back i find that redicules that in these old pictures from 30 years ago of them pinning them on his jacket that they didnt even engrave them. Im gonna have to go to a Trophy store or something and have them engrave his name on the back of them. As for a picture i looked all over the place but i dont have any "recent" pictures with him in his uniform when he was CW3 just him when he was CW2 but i think its a good picture. What do you guys think

The cold war medal is something i was reading about of course when they come up with that i will add to his ribbon rack and medal line, i thought about buying the commemortive cold war medal but im not sure if that would be prudent. My dad wasnt stationed anywhere in the middleeast, he was with military intel working in the base's with the spy satalites giving the guys on ground intel during the war, so i still think he deserves something. Why should they award people sitting in ships off the coast something, when people giving Inteligence on enemy positions get nothing ? I think this is where the Star comes in on the Defense service Medal, 1 for Vietname another for Desertstorm, he contributed but wasnt actually there.

Number 4 on your description Doc says be serving for 30-60 days on Duty, does this mean anywhere on Duty or what ? Like i said before he even has his gravstone with desertstorm ect but no medal

That's 30-60 days on Temporary Duty-- in other words, stationed somwhere else (like Germany), but sent into the theatre for short periods. Like it or not, he had to have been in theatre to get the Desert Storm Medals. They are pretty firm on that. Why a guy on a ship got the campaign medal and he wasn't eligible is a judgement call, but theoretically people eligible for the campaign medal could have been shot at (or rocketed, etc.)-- those not eligible were considered too far away to be in danger, even though their jobs were vital to the war effort. He very well could have gotten one of his other medals for his contributions, but if he wasn't in the theatre, he is not eligible for the campaign medal. That's just the way it is. To find out if he is eligible under one of those special provisions, you will need to find out where he was stationed and what he was doing.

The star on the NDSM is for being on active duty during the Desert Storm period, anywhere in the world. Doc

[Doc]

Sorry for a double post-- previous comment only got partially uploaded.

That's 30-60 days on Temporary Duty-- in other words, stationed somwhere else (like Germany), but sent into the theatre for short periods. Like it or not, he had to have been in theatre to get the Desert Storm Medals. They are pretty firm on that. Why a guy on a ship got the campaign medal and he wasn't eligible is a judgement call, but theoretically people eligible for the campaign medal could have been shot at (or rocketed, etc.)-- those not eligible were considered too far away to be in danger, even though their jobs were vital to the war effort. He very well could have gotten one of his other medals for his contributions, but if he wasn't in the theatre, he is not eligible for the campaign medal. That's just the way it is. To find out if he is eligible under one of those special provisions, you will need to find out where he was stationed and what he was doing.

The star on the NDSM is for being on active duty during the Desert Storm period, anywhere in the world.

As regards engraving-- The US does not routinely engrave any medals for anyone (except for the Medal of Honor), even though it is authorised. They are almost all issued unengraved (none of mine have my name on them). However, if you send the medals to the appropriate office, they will engrave them for you.

AR 600-8-22 says: 1?32. Engraving of awards

The grade, name, and organization of the awardee are engraved on

the reverse of the Medal of Honor. The name only of the awardee is

engraved on the reverse of every other decoration and the Good

Conduct Medal.Normally, engraving will be accomplished prior to

presentation. When this is impracticable, the awardee will be informed

that he or she may mail the decoration (or Good Conduct

Medal) to the Commander, U.S. Army Support Activity, Philadelphia,

2800 South 20th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19101?3460, for

engraving at Government expense.

Doc

[Sivart]

Great to see a family member making the effort!

best

Chris

I agree. It is great that you have made a real effort to commemorate your father's service, the shadow box is looking good!

Sivart :cheers:

[JonErik]

I agree. It is great that you have made a real effort to commemorate your father's service, the shadow box is looking good!

Sivart

Thanks for all the comments guys it means alot to me. I updated my first post with a history of my dad's military service maybe some of you will find it interesting and a new photo of the finished shadowbox hanging on my wall 2 feet away from me. Fixed all the crooked medals and changed some things around and add'd a picture of my dad above the ribbonbar's. I still have minor things to add like a Germany Bar for the occupation medal, and a number 3 and 2 for the NCO ribbon and overseas ribbon, and i need to add Rocketlauncher, Grenade, machinegun to the Qualification Marksmen Badge.

After re-reading my story i made alot grammar error's lol but i cant edit the post, you guys can still read it im sure sorry

Edited January 18, 2009 by JonErik