Hi , OpanaPointer I was just reading all the old posts here..and chuckling at my learning experience . I just noticed something you said here about the Bronze Star not being what you thought . That it’s an indicator of his service . Can you explain what you meant ….and what did you think it was - Please enlighten me Thank you
It's a little star put on the service ribbon to indicate he did more than one tour of service that made him eligible for the original ribbon. I have a Vietnam service ribbon with two stars, denoting three years in country. (Didn't finish the third one but I got another star on my purple one to make three.)
There are two "bronze stars": The Bronze Star Medal is awarded for gallantry or meritorious conduct (also retroactively awarded to those with a Combat Infantryman Badge). The Bronze "service star" / "campaign star" is a small pin which is affixed to a campaign/service ribbon/medal to signify multiple campaigns/tours, as OpanaPointer describes above. This is unrelated to the Bronze Star Medal but often causes confusion.