Medals and ribbons?

Question

My husband was in the Navy, Special Forces SBU during the first Gulf War. He was honorably medically dishcharged. He has medals and ribbons put in a drawer. I was going to put them in a shadow box for him, but he said he doesn't want them on display. Why? He isn't very clear when I ask him.

Answer 1

To some degree he probably suffers from PTSD even if he never voices his problems.

War makes people do and see things that they ultimately want to forget about. Who he was during the Gulf War is probably not someone he wants to be now.

That's a very nice gesture tho to want to have his medals and ribbons mounted on the wall. He sounds like a lucky guy.

Answer 2

I'm a retired Army Warrant Officer. Before I became a Warrant Officer I spent twelve years as an enlisted soldier. I also put every thing away and for the past fifteen years have worked as a civilian. I do not display any military items in my home either. I do not believe anything is wrong with it. I do sit at home sometimes an think about the Army and the wonderful people I met and the fun we experienced. It's kind of funny, but I really don't remember the bad times just the good.

Answer 3

That is the way soome men are. I think maybe he has a bit of PTSD and the medals bring back some bad memories.
He may also be the type of person who isn't into the whole medal game and doesn't like to answer questions about his service.

Answer 4

Keep them in the drawer, someday he may want to display them, but that is a common occurrence. My uncle tossed his out after WWII in 1946, in fact he never claimed his best one (says he didn't even know he received it). We got them replaced in 2006 and he was glad in a quiet way, but he still didn't have much to say about them or the war in general. About the only thing he ever mentioned about the war (his picture, on the beach in the 1st wave, is in a D-Day book and he his mentioned by name in another), is he always wonders what happened to his Company Commander ("the best soldier", he, "ever knew"), my Uncle was wounded in a field hospital with 2 gunshots wounds the day his unit got wiped out, so there was nobody left to tell him what happened.

Vietnam vets didn't start to talk openly about their experiences until the 1990s. So he probably won't want to be reminded about his experiences for at least another 5 to 10 years, maybe more.

One thing that I witness this past weekend that I thought was cool, I saw a young man in a suit with a Silver Star lapel pin (it was a social event, mainly friends and family). I didn't ask him about it, I just quietly mentioned it to my buddy who was with me (who was in uniform at the time).

Answer 5

most millitary men and women i know, i being a millitary brat, feel this way because they did it for the love of country not for the awards and recognition. however there may be some personal reasons, it is best to keep there personal wishes, if at a later point he desides to make one as a family heirloom, then you know where the wedals are.

Answer 6

From experience I've found that most people who have done it don't like to talk about it. That's why I don't believe half the stuff these chairborne rangers say on this site about what they did in the military.

Answer 7

It might remind him of stuff that he's trying to forget...
He may not agree with some of the reasons those medals were given to him.

Answer 8

Medals and ribbons don't pay the bills, they don't stop the pain, they don't replace limbs, they don't fix a marriage,

Answer 9

you can be proud of something and still want to keep it in the past...it might also be one of those things that he would rather keep to himself and not have to answer questions everytime some one walks into a room and notices his military achievments...eitherway, good luck and god bless your husband

Answer 10

Respect his wishes. He doesn't need his service memorialized.