Silver Star Medal Mystery! HELP!

[GIZMO8Z]

Hello all,

I am posting this for a friend who is unable to get online at the moment.

He is currently trying to solve a mystery about the medals that his grandfather received while serving in the Pacific during World War II.

The following questions are based on this picture:



First, based on the evidence in the picture, what medals did his grandfather receive?

Second, it appears as if there is a Silver Star ribbon on his grandfather's ribbon bar. However, his family does not have the Silver Star medal in their possession nor is it mentioned in the grandfather's discharge papers. What could have happened?

Does anyone know how my friend and his family can find out more information on this subject?

THANKS!

[RedArmyCollector]

Top row: World War II Victory medal, unknown, American Defense Service medal
Middle row: American Campaign medal, Bronze Star, Army Good Conduct medal
Bottom row: Army of Occupation medal probably w/ Japan clasp, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign medal w/ 2 stars, Another Army Good Conduct medal

The odd thing is that there is no Silver Star medal yet there is one on his ribbon bar. Also the top row middle medal is unknown to me but hopefully someone will figure it out.

Do you know anything about his unit or where he lived during the war or is this picture the only info we have?

[GIZMO8Z]

Do you know anything about his unit or where he lived during the war or is this picture the only info we have?

He was a member of the 27th Infantry Division and to the best of my knowledge fought for quite a long time and experienced a lot of hardship. My friend remembers that his grandfather always insisted that he was a cook during the war ... he never wanted to talk about his experiences.

Also, my friend thought it was quite odd that if his grandfather was a cook... he would have accumulated so many medals - especially the ones that qualified him as an expert with his weapons.

[Walkwolf]

Top row middle award is a 'Veterans of Foreign Wars Medal', I believe.................!

It does seem like a Silver Star ribbon, but it is in the wrong place on the bar
if it is. It's probably for an American Legion Medal, similar to the VFW,
- or it's simply an incorrect additional ribbon that does not belong
with the group if there is no mention anywhere.

The ribbon bar is really mixed up - the Bronze Star should be first !

[RedArmyCollector]

Also, my friend thought it was quite odd that if his grandfather was a cook... he would have accumulated so many medals - especially the ones that qualified him as an expert with his weapons.

Well the expert qualifications are conducted during basic training before "jobs" are assigned so he was probably a good shot. Even as a cook he probably saw action when the division was involved in Okinawa

[GIZMO8Z]

Well the expert qualifications are conducted during basic training before "jobs" are assigned so he was probably a good shot. Even as a cook he probably saw action when the division was involved in Okinawa

Well, that's the interesting thing... my friend has documentation that says his grandfather qualified as expert with the M1903 around the time of (or even during) Okinawa. It almost seems as if they were looking for soldiers to fill in as snipers.

[RedArmyCollector]

From the picture it looks like he shot expert and either marksman or sharpshooter. Is it possible to get better pictures or those documents? Also as Walkwolf said the ribbon bar is very scattered.

[GIZMO8Z]

From the picture it looks like he shot expert and either marksman or sharpshooter. Is it possible to get better pictures or those documents?

I'll tell my friend to provide better pictures. In fact, I'll try to get him to join this message board. Eliminate the middle man, you know?

Don't take my word for it... but I believe my friend said that his grandfather qualified as sharpshooter... that's why he never believed that he was "just a cook". A funny side note - my friend always said that his grandfather refused to play shooting games at fairs or carnivals because he felt that he had an unfair advantage!

[RedArmyCollector]

I'll tell my friend to provide better pictures. In fact, I'll try to get him to join this message board. Eliminate the middle man, you know?

This would be great

[GIZMO8Z]

I'll get him to sign up and post tomorrow.