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Howdy all.

As some of you know, I went back to California a few weeks ago and brought back a bunch of stuff given to us by my mother. Some of it was some rare and valuable antique furniture, and some of it was bric-a-brak. Anyway, amongst the bric-a-brak was a small paper bag, like from a flea market vendor or something like that, and inside it was a tissue wrapped medal of some kind. I've posted the pictures below, and I'm hoping somebody might be able to identify what kind of medal it is, whether it is a genuine article, or whether it is just "costume jewelry." It doesn't look to me like anything given to members of the American military, but what do I know?

Front side:


Back side:

Air Force Commendation Medal

Confirmed. It is not worth anything monetarily, but may have significant sentimental value. I received several of these when I was on active duty with the AF.

RiverCity.45 wrote:Confirmed. It is not worth anything monetarily, but may have significant sentimental value. I received several of these when I was on active duty with the AF.

What's interesting to me is that I think this was purchased by my mother in a French bazaar in in Paris. One wonders how a USAF commendation medal made it all the way there. I didn't think it had any monetary value, but it's an interesting piece to keep around.

Thanks for the information guys.

...question..... Is there usually something engraved into "bar" under the word "Merit" on the back, or is that usually left blank, like in my picture?

They're left blank when awarded. I guess it's a place for you to have engraved yourself.

Mine were (and are) blank.

Mine is blank also...

Another question (never having served myself), and I mean this most respectfully..... What constitutes "Military Merit?" Is it usually just recognition for a job well done, or is it for something more "heroic" than that?

It's a fairly minor medal, in the grander scheme of things.

Here are some examples so you can judge for yourself:

http://www.airforcewriter.com/citcommend.htm

The Annoyed Man wrote:Another question (never having served myself), and I mean this most respectfully..... What constitutes "Military Merit?" Is it usually just recognition for a job well done, or is it for something more "heroic" than that?

This may help answer some of your questions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awards_and ... s_military" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is an individual award versus a campaign or unit award. Normally, you must have done something exceptional to receive it. The above link breaks down the classifications of many awards.

As a side note, I hear a lot of comments (normally the uninformed press) referring to recipients of military awards as 'winners'. For example, on NBC just recently I heard a reporter refer to a veteran as the, "Winner of the Purple Heart". This implies there was a contest and someone came out the champ. Unlike awards the press is accustomed to, each individual award stands on its on merit; individual awards are earned. However, the nomination of awards varies from unit to unit--units with a strong esprit-de-corps typically reconginze their soliders actions more than other "laid-back" units. In the Army, any individual that is witness to an act that deserves recognition may initiate the nomination. It may be the same in the other services as I once completed a nomination for an Airman that was assigned to my staff. It does not have to be a specific person within the Chain-of-Command.

Well, SOME folks may not have thought much of getting the AF Commendation Medal, but for aircraft maintainers, 'bout the only time you get one is when you change bases and they don't want to let the work you did at the losing unit go unnoticed. It usually takes several months to make it through "the system" and you're at your new base when you have it awarded to you. Usually during a Commander's Call (a mandatory gathering of the unit's members so they can be briefed on various topics, etc. by the unit commander). It also helps give you a little bit of a boost when trying to get promoted, certain medals are worth points within the USAF enlisted promotion system. I would have gotten promoted to the last rank I held a year earlier, if a Commendation Medal hadn't been EXTRA slow getting through the system...so, in the grand scheme, they aren't important like The Medal of Honor or Silver Star, I know most of those get earned with blood...but they often do mean something during a career.

Guys, I didn't mean to offend anyone or make light of their accomplishments. I know exactly why I was awarded mine and I take great personal pride in them.

I was answering TAM's question. As a civilian, he does not share our frame of reference. Most civilians are only aware of the Bronze Star, Silver Star, and CMoH. Comparatively (from a civilian perspective) the AFCM is a minor award.

If I upset anyone, please accept my heartfelt apology.

Pawpaw wrote:Guys, I didn't mean to offend anyone or make light of their accomplishments. I know exactly why I was awarded mine and I take great personal pride in them.

I was answering TAM's question. As a civilian, he does not share our frame of reference. Most civilians are only aware of the Bronze Star, Silver Star, and CMoH. Comparatively (from a civilian perspective) the AFCM is a minor award.

If I upset anyone, please accept my heartfelt apology.

And my apologies if I sounded ticked off. Something happened last week that probably played into it. I've been "retired" for almost a year now. Well, last week a package from my last duty station came in the mail. In it was a Meritorious Service Medal, with the nice blue folder containing the official citation and a letter from some DOD civilian employee at the base that really didn't say all that much. The citation was dated from May of LAST YEAR...funny that they couldn't be bothered to present it to me properly before I went on my final leave. Almost seems like it was an afterthought since I was kind of surprised to get it. And I figured what you said about lesser awards must be true. No hard feelings, I promise.

When and how awards are presented is usually up to the unit and the command. When I was awarded my first Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) it was a full ceremony in country, the same for the second DFC. But the third DFC came in the mail long after I left country, directly to me in a packet. I never knew I was put in for it and it was awarded before the packet arrived. No biggie.

One note for vets who may be missing their original awards. All my originals were lost in a car accident, which totaled the car my wife was driving to put on a ferry to Alaska. She was in the middle of nowhere, the wrecker yard stole everything out of the trunk, so for years I had nothing. That was almost 30 years ago. Just last year I finally got off my butt and filled out the forms online to replace all the awards. I wanted to leave them to my Grandson. It took about 6 months because the Heraldry Directorate in PA was backlogged, but the nice thing is the replacement medals are engraved on the back with your name. I urge any vets in the same boat to do the same. Go here to find the form SF180, and send to the appropriate address of your service branch listed on the form:

http://www.archives.gov/veterans/replace-medals.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I understand completely. That would feel like a slap in the face to anyone who has walked the miles we did.

When I retired after, in 1994, it was rather sudden. I made the decision, put in my papers, and six weeks later I was on terminal leave. At my retirement ceremony, my commander (Lt. Col.) publicly chewed me out, jokingly, for retiring too fast. He let everyone know what medal he wanted to put me in for, but I didn't leave him enough time to get it approved, so all he could give me was a MSM.

I told him later that his statement meant more to me than any medal. I would have done anything for that man. I had some good commanders and some bad ones, but he was the absolute best I saw in my 22 years of service.

Speaking of service, thank you for yours. That goes to all who have served!