WWI medals

[Niner]

I went out to Battleship Park today to take some photos with a new film camera. I took some snaps with my digital camera too. In one cased exhibit of WWI were some medals. British, Belgium, German, French. I was taking a snapshot through a glass front case so they didn't come out so well. The French one isn't worth showing. However, for curiosity sake I'm sharing the British, Belgium and German examples.

By contrast I took a trip through the submarine Drum. There was a display of the medals won by the skipper during WWII. I don't know what's the two above the silver star, but this guy was seriously decorated.

[DuncaninFrance]

Top of your first picture are British Great War medals commonly referred to as 'Pip, Squeak and Wilfred'
They are incorrectly labled as WWI.

[Niner Delta]

Duncan, last I knew, The Great War and WWI are the same thing?
From what I read, they were awarded for WWI service. Or are you saying they should be labeled Great War medals
as it wasn't called WWI until WWII came along?

.

[DuncaninFrance]

That's right Vern, it was supposed to be the War to end all Wars as I am sure you know.

[Niner]

What were Pip, Squeak and Wilfred awarded for? In the US services some medals are just attendance awards. Like the National Defense ribbon is given to every person in any branch of the services that completes basic training. It used to be issued only during war time. Now days we have so many unofficial wars that requirement is not even a condition. Everybody gets one. Whenever I see some general I always look to see where the NDR comes in his ribbon bars. Everything that comes after it in line are all like travel indicators that denote nothing more than where they were punching their ticket as they marked time and moved up the potential promotion line. The NDR is red with a yellow middle section. When awarded to the troops they come in a cardboard box not a presentation case. I got one that the government sent me when I ordered for free a replacement of all my medals and awards....just to see if they really would.

General McMaster of Trump service is shown in the attachment. See the red with a yellow stripe down the middle first in line four rows up from the bottom? The really strange thing there is something in the middle of it.....like an oak leaf cluster for second award. Didn't know you could earn two of them. However, the higher the rank the more the medals. One of his award clerks must have been having a slow day decided to give the general another one.

[Niner]

For someone who served in the Army in Vietnam their bottom row would be left to right, in order of military rank, National Defense, Service in the Republic of Vietnam, and a medal given by the Vietnamese government with the "60" device. The Vietnamese government actual medal you had to buy yourself if you wanted to see what one looked like. Everybody who did some time in Vietnam got these three. If you were infantry, you got a Combat Infantryman's badge. If you were a Medic assigned to an infantry outfit you got a Combat Medic badge. Nobody else got any badges....... Vern and I have awarded each other non official Combat Artillery Badges. Such a badge was proposed once but for some reason never was instituted. Most people got an Army Commendation Medal about six months in country.....but I know several guys who didn't even get the green weenie. Maybe they pissed off their 1st Sgt....or maybe got an Article 15 for something.

[Niner]

The none such Artillery Combat badge as mentioned in the previous post deserves a show. Vern gave me the full size one that was unauthorized and I have since acquired a hat size.

[Niner Delta]

You have a Bronze Star that I don't have, otherwise we have the same ribbons. I have 3 ARCOMS, 2 with V device
and one for being a good boy. I remember in the old days we would say that any one of those medals and 25¢,
you could get a cup of coffee. (when coffee was 25¢) .....


.

[Niner]

Vern, I got a second Arcom when I was leaving Vietnam handed to me over a counter as I was checking out. The clerk behind the counter couldn't find my orders but gave me the medal saying they would catch up to me. It was like the ringing in my ears when I was finally discharged that was supposed to go away on it's own in reverse. Never saw those orders. Guess since I already had one I wasn't entitled to another.

At least yours were for valor. I never did anything that anybody thought was valorous...except once. However that recommendation somehow got lost in the mail or somebody else deciding such things didn't think it was all that special what I did. And....they were probably right.

[Niner]

Pip, Squeak and Wilfred - the nicknames of the three medals instituted at the end of the First World War, came about due to the popularity of the characters of a Daily Mirror newspaper strip, thought up by Bertram J Lamb, which first appeared in 1919.
“Pip” a dog, “Squeak” a penguin and “Wilfred” a rabbit were inseparable. “Pip” was used to describe the 1914 and 1914-1915 Star, holders of one were not eligible for the other, “Squeak” was the name given to the British War Medal and to complete the trio the Victory Medal became “Wilfred”.