I've started to make a display of my Grandfather's WWII medals. He served in the Army (14th armored div. as a radio man) and has two ribbon bars I cannot identify. Can you help? Ribbon 1: 1/16 in. red stripe, 1/8 in. white stripe, 1/2 in. blue stripe, 1/8 in white stripe, 1/2 in. blue stripe, 1/8 in. white stripe, 1/16 in. red stripe. Possibly helpful: This ribbon is located on a slide bar next to a ribbon for the French Croix de Guerre. Could this be a foreign gov't medal also? I've searched the US medals and cannot find anything similar. Ribbon 2: 1/8 in. blue stripe, 1/16 in. red stripe, 1/4 in. grey stripe, 3/4 in. black stripe, 1/4 in. grey stripe, 1/16 in. red stripe, 1/8 in blue stripe. This ribbon looks suspiciously similar to the WWI Occupation Medal if the grey stripe is really white. But why would my grandfather have a WWI medal on his WWII slide bar? He was only a child during WWI. Any ideas, websites or help is greatly appreciated. I'd like to make a display that my family and their children can value and one that will honor my grandfather's service. Many Thanks, Ron
Heres a few sites. The first one allows you to enter in which ones then shows you in what order they go. Rackbuilder @ armyawards.com Military Wives Website - United States Army Ribbon Checker Army Medals and Ribbons Army Ribbon/Medal Order of Display EzRackBuilder - Easy Ez Rack Builder Ribbon Checker for Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard Ribbon Order of Precedence Foreign Awards: Nations
Here is a photo of the ribbons. The ones on the right of each bar are the medals in question. The one on the lower right looks like the WWI Occupation Medal. Ron
It looks a lot like a Prisoner of War Medal, but flanking red/blue stripes aren't right. I have no idea about the top right.
The one on the lower right does look like the World War I German Occupation Medal Ribbon. I can't figiure out the other one yet .
The lower left one is the WW 2 Victory medal with bronze star that shows it was awarded twice. The lower right is the German Occupation Medal. The upper right appears to be a variant of the American Campaign Medal. The upper left might, might and this is just a guess, be an Army Commendation Medal. The colors are right and the stripes are in the right place but the colors are reversed.
My nephew has reassembled my father's ribbon rack from WWII and we have encountered a ribbon that we can't identify... the last ribbon on the rack (bottom row, far right) is the problem... Dad was an infantryman in the 10th Mountain Division in Italy. He had some contact with the British Army. We've looked through the usual medals and have come up dry. Any help identifying it is appreciated! Bruce
The ribbon in the upper left is a French Croix de Guerre w/palm. Don't understand the star on the WWII Victory medal (lower left)--we only won that war once--my book says "no devices authorized". The bottom right does look like a WWI occupation medal and I can't get anything on the upper right. Very unusual rack, looks like someone just threw some loose ribbons on a bar so they wouldn't get scattered.
Bruce, Because the medal comes after the last American award (WWII Victory) it would be a foreign award. I looked through the common British awards without success. Could be an Italian liberation medal. The rack is well done and in proper order so I suspect it's authorized. Anything on his separation papers?
