Have new medals been awarded for WWII veterans since the end of the war?

Question

My grandfather is a veteran of the pacific campaign and I need to know if I should look into this before I have his medals mounted.

Answer 1

Sometimes accounts of actions take decades to be resolved. For some medals esp the distinguished service cross and the medal of honar have LONG waiting lists because they have to get throught the verification process. People who die earning it i think are pushed higher up the list. Back in march i think a US Air Cavalry pilot who was a hero in vietnam FINALLY got his medal of honor. So it DOES happen but I cant speak to whether that process stretches as far back as WW2.
God Bless your granddad for what he did for this country.
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magnetic_azimuth is right, the VFW are the people you would want to contact about this, they'll be happy to help you out.

Answer 2

Yes, as a matter of fact, A WW1 nurse was recently awarded the Silver Star. Unless you mean like a new campaign medal, which I doubt that any one will be receiving.

Answer 3

if you want to be sure to get everything he was awarded, request a copy of his military records, i think you can request just the awards records, it takes a few weeks to get paperwork, but it includes everything.

be sure when you mount the medals and ribbons to do your research and find out the right order to mount them in, there is a specific order and im not familiar with it back to WWII the only order i have is from Korea to now

The national records archive for military records has a website to request records from. The one for Next of Kin (I.E. Parents or whoever) http://www.archives.gov/veterans/evetrecs/index.html

and all other requests go here
http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/standard-form-180.html

Hope this helps....

Chris

Answer 4

go to the VFW or VA websites and that will tell you what you need to know. I know WWII veterans are still receiving medals from deeds of heroism they performed back then. I have a friend who's dad didn't receive his until the 80's from the the battle of Bastogne.

Answer 5

Before mounting check to see what the regulations are with regard any unofficial commemorative medals.

A good place to check out and ask questions is the online website of the Orders and Medals Society of America (OMSA)

at: http://www.omsa.org/forums/index.php?

Answer 6

There are WW2 vets who have recently received medals they earned during the war, such as Purple Hearts. I don't know if any new medals have been created since the war, though.

Answer 7

None. Congress has no longer declared conflict when you consider that 1941. If we count selection all militia engagements we've: Korea 1950 (no longer even approved by utilising congress): a tie Lebanon 1958: does not incredibly matter selection as we deployed 14,000 troops and the battling stopped as quickly as they arrived. U.S. suffered in basic terms one wrestle fatality. Vietnam 1964: sparkling loss Lebanon 1982: Peace keepers -> does not count selection. Panama 1989: win Iraq 1991: win Afganistan 2001: win ( i assume ) Iraq 2002: ongoing. So by utilising my count selection it is 3 wins, one loss, and a tie with one nonetheless in progression.

Answer 8

yes, but i don't know what all the medals are. Contact the VFW and ask them to help you.

if you have his records, it will help to establish where he was, the campains, the food chain he served under, as sometimes the food chain has awards that carry to the subordinate units.

email me if you want an excellant catalog (on line) to find those awards

hope this helps

Answer 9

This explains the only change I know of. It stems from the original requirement for a written citation to receive the Combat Infantryman Badge. If he was in the Army and is authorized the CIB it was upgraded to a Bronze Star in 1947.

3-13. Bronze Star Medal
a. The Bronze Star Medal was established by Executive Order 9419, 4 February 1944 (superseded by Executive Order 11046, 24 August 1962).

b. The Bronze Star Medal is awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity in or with the Army of the United States after 6 December 1941, distinguished himself or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service, not involving participation in aerial flight, in connection with military operations against an armed enemy; or while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.

c. Awards may be made for acts of heroism, performed under circumstances described above, which are of lesser degree than required for the award of the Silver Star.

d. The Bronze Star Medal may be awarded for meritorious achievement or meritorious service according to the following:

(1) Awards may be made to recognize single acts of merit or meritorious service. The lesser degree than that required for the award of the Legion of Merit must nevertheless have been meritorious and accomplished with distinction.

(2) Award may be made by letter application to Commander, ARPERCEN, ATTN: DARP-VSE-A, 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63132-5200 (enclosing documentary evidence, if possible), to each member of the Armed Forces of the United States who after 6 December 1941, has been cited in orders or awarded a certificate for exemplary conduct in ground combat against an armed enemy between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945, inclusive, or whose meritorious achievement has been other wise confirmed by documents executed prior to 1 July 1947. For this purpose, an award of the Combat Infantryman Badge or Combat Medical Badge is considered as a citation in orders. Documents executed since 4 August 1944 in connection with recommendations for the award of decorations of higher degree than the Bronze Star Medal will not be used as the basis for an award under this paragraph.

(3) Upon letter application, award of the Bronze Star Medal may be made to eligible soldiers who participated in the Philippine Islands Campaign between 7 December 1941 to 10 May 1942. Performance of duty must have been on the island of Luzon or the Harbor Defenses in Corregidor and Bataan. Only soldiers who were awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation (Presidential Unit Citation) may be awarded this decoration. Letter application should be sent to the Commander, ARPERCEN, ATTN: DARP-VSE-A, 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63132-5200