We all have those little things that bug us. Pet peeves they have been called. They are those things that for one reason or another just rub us the wrong way. Surprising how many of those their really are. You only have to spend a short time on social media to discover plenty of them. Well , you can find plenty of them in television advertisements too. Another one has appeared lately on my Facebook timeline. It's an advertisement for a site that will connect you with other service members. They call themselves VETFRIENDS.com. Now, if you join this, purchase yourself a lifetime membership, they will send you a medal! That's right, a military looking medal. And it is that that bugs me. It's not the same thing as Stolen Valor but strikes me as purchased valor, if there were such a thing. I would think this Veterans group would understand that but apparently they do not! You don't buy your medals at the base exchange! I also question just what veteran would want such a medal? None that I know of, I'd bet on that. No, that just doesn't sit right with me.
After seeing that advertisement, with the promise of a medal for joining, I did begin to think about my own medals. It's true I did receive one for just joining. It's called the National Defense Medal and is issued to everyone that serves during a time of war. When I joined Vietnam was in full swing and so I was issued one of those. Later, for the Gulf war, I was awarded it for the second time. I picked up a few more over the course of twenty years. They are displayed in a shadow box on my bedroom wall, alongside the ones my father earned in WW2. He earned his and I earned mine, they weren't a free gift for a lifetime membership. I did look at them for the first time in a long while.
You know how it is. You have these things around the house, mementos or whatever, and after a while you barely notice them. They are just there, a fixture. It is these constants though that bring us contentment. They are like old friends, always there for you even when you fail to visit for great lengths of time. It isn't that you have forgotten, it isn't neglect, it is familiarity. Comfort. But I looked at my medals and had to smile. It's a nice feeling to have them, to pass them to the next generation as a remembrance. I smile because those medals will most likely have as much meaning to those descendants as they do to me. It's a funny thing to try to explain. Only those that have received such medals really understand. We had a saying when I was in the Navy, this medal and 25 cents will get you a cup of coffee. Yeah, that about sums it up. At the same time the medal does hold value for the recipient. That's why I can't understand why anyone would want a free medal for signing up for a lifetime membership!
I am not a highly decorated veteran. I'd say I was a barely decorated veteran. That doesn't bother me at all as I didn't join the Navy to get medals. Yeah they look good on your uniform, they are symbols of service rendered. I got one for joining during a time of war, one for " good behavior " twelve years running, one for the liberation of Kuwait and another for something else. I don't even remember what it was for. Is that a reflection of its' importance? It is to me anyway. Others look at it not knowing and imagine it was for some heroic deed or act of valor. That isn't always the case and those that never served probably don't understand that. I look at my fathers medals and wonder what they meant to him. He never spoke of them, never displayed them. They were just tucked away, old memories. Old memories and old soldiers, or in my case, old sailors.
Twenty eight years ago the liberation of Kuwait took place. That happened from the 24th of February through the 28th. February 26th is celebrated as liberation day in Kuwait and I can say I was part of that. It's cool if you think of a foreign country having a national holiday that you helped to create. I was given a medal for that. It is called the Kuwait Liberation medal and was issued in 1992. It is a medal that will never be issued again. There are several versions of the Kuwait Liberation medal and I have the rarest version. It was given by the Saudi government. It was authorized for service in the Gulf War between the 17 of Jan 1991 and the 28th of February 1991. That is what makes it rare. It only covers a short time frame and time can never be recovered. Later the Kuwaiti government issued a version of this medal but it wasn't awarded until after my retirement. No matter, in order of precedence the medal issued by the Saudi government takes precedence. In 2005 President Bush signed the Stolen Valor act providing punishment for unauthorized wearing of certain medals, decorations and awards. The Kuwait Liberation medal is one of them.
I mention all of this because as I looked at my Dads medals, and my own, I realized that some of those medals will never be issued again. There are some that remain universal, like the National Defense Medal, it is still issued. It was created in 1953, the year I was born, and is the oldest medal. There are decorations older, the purple heart for instance. Yes, there is a difference between medals and decorations. I thought about that and how we tend to view such things. They sure mean a lot more after you have had them for many years than they did when you were first issued them. I think that is something only service members will understand. Funny thing is most of those medals and decorations will be unrecognized by those looking at them. Sometimes even the one it was issued to. But that doesn't matter, that isn't the point. They are there to remind others of services rendered. The old soldiers and sailors will be gone one day, but the medals remain.
My medals. The Kuwait one is lower right. Oh, the one next to it, the one I didn't remember. It was issued for service during Desert Shield/ Desert Storm
After seeing that advertisement, with the promise of a medal for joining, I did begin to think about my own medals. It's true I did receive one for just joining. It's called the National Defense Medal and is issued to everyone that serves during a time of war. When I joined Vietnam was in full swing and so I was issued one of those. Later, for the Gulf war, I was awarded it for the second time. I picked up a few more over the course of twenty years. They are displayed in a shadow box on my bedroom wall, alongside the ones my father earned in WW2. He earned his and I earned mine, they weren't a free gift for a lifetime membership. I did look at them for the first time in a long while.
You know how it is. You have these things around the house, mementos or whatever, and after a while you barely notice them. They are just there, a fixture. It is these constants though that bring us contentment. They are like old friends, always there for you even when you fail to visit for great lengths of time. It isn't that you have forgotten, it isn't neglect, it is familiarity. Comfort. But I looked at my medals and had to smile. It's a nice feeling to have them, to pass them to the next generation as a remembrance. I smile because those medals will most likely have as much meaning to those descendants as they do to me. It's a funny thing to try to explain. Only those that have received such medals really understand. We had a saying when I was in the Navy, this medal and 25 cents will get you a cup of coffee. Yeah, that about sums it up. At the same time the medal does hold value for the recipient. That's why I can't understand why anyone would want a free medal for signing up for a lifetime membership!
I am not a highly decorated veteran. I'd say I was a barely decorated veteran. That doesn't bother me at all as I didn't join the Navy to get medals. Yeah they look good on your uniform, they are symbols of service rendered. I got one for joining during a time of war, one for " good behavior " twelve years running, one for the liberation of Kuwait and another for something else. I don't even remember what it was for. Is that a reflection of its' importance? It is to me anyway. Others look at it not knowing and imagine it was for some heroic deed or act of valor. That isn't always the case and those that never served probably don't understand that. I look at my fathers medals and wonder what they meant to him. He never spoke of them, never displayed them. They were just tucked away, old memories. Old memories and old soldiers, or in my case, old sailors.
Twenty eight years ago the liberation of Kuwait took place. That happened from the 24th of February through the 28th. February 26th is celebrated as liberation day in Kuwait and I can say I was part of that. It's cool if you think of a foreign country having a national holiday that you helped to create. I was given a medal for that. It is called the Kuwait Liberation medal and was issued in 1992. It is a medal that will never be issued again. There are several versions of the Kuwait Liberation medal and I have the rarest version. It was given by the Saudi government. It was authorized for service in the Gulf War between the 17 of Jan 1991 and the 28th of February 1991. That is what makes it rare. It only covers a short time frame and time can never be recovered. Later the Kuwaiti government issued a version of this medal but it wasn't awarded until after my retirement. No matter, in order of precedence the medal issued by the Saudi government takes precedence. In 2005 President Bush signed the Stolen Valor act providing punishment for unauthorized wearing of certain medals, decorations and awards. The Kuwait Liberation medal is one of them.
I mention all of this because as I looked at my Dads medals, and my own, I realized that some of those medals will never be issued again. There are some that remain universal, like the National Defense Medal, it is still issued. It was created in 1953, the year I was born, and is the oldest medal. There are decorations older, the purple heart for instance. Yes, there is a difference between medals and decorations. I thought about that and how we tend to view such things. They sure mean a lot more after you have had them for many years than they did when you were first issued them. I think that is something only service members will understand. Funny thing is most of those medals and decorations will be unrecognized by those looking at them. Sometimes even the one it was issued to. But that doesn't matter, that isn't the point. They are there to remind others of services rendered. The old soldiers and sailors will be gone one day, but the medals remain.
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My Dads' medals
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