Sep/Oct 2005 - Korean War Veterans Association
Sep/Oct 2005 - Korean War Veterans Association
Sep/Oct 2005 - Korean War Veterans Association
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60<br />
<strong>War</strong> period, so I have no personal stake in<br />
the issue.)<br />
As for the issue of ribbons in general,<br />
each service has its own view of what is<br />
liberal and what is not. You have only to<br />
look at a photo of a soldier, sailor, marine,<br />
airman or coastguardsman of the same<br />
pay grade to see that this is true. Perhaps<br />
this is why there is no push to have a<br />
Bronze Star medal awarded to holders of<br />
the Navy/Marine Corps Combat Action<br />
ribbon.<br />
As for the Air Force, aircrews were<br />
awarded the Air Medal for so many missions<br />
in the Vietnam era, and an end of<br />
tour Distinguished Flying Cross. If the<br />
same is true for WWII and Korea, then<br />
they were recognized for meritorious<br />
achievement and service, but with an aviation<br />
medal rather than a ground medal.<br />
While everyone realizes that the more a<br />
medal is awarded, the less it is valued, this<br />
is no reason to deny the valid award of<br />
one. It should be noted that those<br />
CIB/CMB holders who received a Bronze<br />
Star for heroism would be awarded an oak<br />
leaf cluster to show an additional award,<br />
and their “V” device would still appropriately<br />
set them apart from other awardees.<br />
No citation was issued to those who<br />
received the WWII CIB/CMB<br />
Bronze Star. I would expect it would be<br />
the same for <strong>Korean</strong> awardees.<br />
Remember, a recipient gets to keep only<br />
the initial award of a decoration.<br />
Additional award elements are a large size<br />
oak leaf cluster and accompanying citation.<br />
If anyone is really interested in a<br />
unique case, I recommend reading Shower<br />
Of Stars: The Medal of Honor and the<br />
27th Maine, by John J. Pullen, which<br />
gives the entire story of how several hundred<br />
members of the 27th Maine infantry<br />
regiment were awarded the Medal of<br />
Honor for staying on beyond the termination<br />
of their enlistment to defend<br />
Washington, DC in the aftermath of the<br />
battle of Bull Run. The award was made<br />
personally by the Secretary of <strong>War</strong>, in<br />
accordance with the original legislation<br />
establishing the Medal of Honor and<br />
allowing its award for meritorious service.<br />
While totally legal, an army review<br />
board in the early 1900’s revoked this<br />
award during a review of all previously<br />
awarded Medals of Honor. Despite this,<br />
some veterans of the regiment continued<br />
to wear their medals at parades and gatherings.<br />
However, few actually received<br />
their medals, as the names of those actually<br />
present for duty were in question.<br />
The book notes that a barrel full of<br />
medals was known to be in the possession<br />
of the regimental commander. But, he<br />
retained them, lacking good documentation<br />
of who should have received them. It<br />
should be noted that the 20th Maine,<br />
which distinguished itself defending Little<br />
Round Top at the battle of Gettysburg,<br />
received only four Medals of Honor. The<br />
one awarded to the commander, Joshua<br />
Chamberlain, was not made until the<br />
1890s, as the two officers senior to him<br />
were both killed during the battle, and<br />
their seniors failed to recommend him.<br />
There was only one medal awarded<br />
during the Civil <strong>War</strong>, and that was the<br />
Medal of Honor. It was around the turn<br />
of the 20th century, in the wake of the<br />
Spanish-American <strong>War</strong>, that the Civil <strong>War</strong><br />
service medal was authorized. The Bronze<br />
Star medal dates from 1917, when it was<br />
realized that not only were more campaign<br />
medals needed, but that medals to<br />
recognize lesser acts than that required for<br />
award of the Medal of Honor were appropriate.<br />
John Gavel, Brevard Chapter 210<br />
There Is An Impressive<br />
Memorial In Uniontown, OH<br />
The nearby photos of the Uniontown<br />
Community Park All <strong>Veterans</strong> Memorial<br />
depict the results of a worthwhile effort.<br />
I challenged the board on August 7th,<br />
2002, to erect a memorial. They took my<br />
basic design and enlarged on it. The<br />
memorial is the finished project, which<br />
was dedicated July 4, 2004.<br />
I revisited Korea with my wife in<br />
Freedom is Not Free, as viewers learn from this<br />
memorial in Uniontown, OH<br />
William Bloss, his hat, his medal, and the<br />
Uniontown monument<br />
2003. (We were there on June 25th.) I<br />
received my <strong>Korean</strong> hat and freedom<br />
medal while I was there. I am in awe at<br />
how far this country has progessed in fifty<br />
years; the gratitude shown to us was fantastic.<br />
They really enjoy their democracy.<br />
The entrance to the <strong>Korean</strong> <strong>War</strong> museum<br />
was designed to honor all United<br />
States service members who lost their<br />
lives during the <strong>Korean</strong> <strong>War</strong>. Their names<br />
are cast in bronze by state. It is quite a fit<br />
memorial to them.<br />
I can honestly say I am glad I was part<br />
of the UN effort.<br />
William Bloss,<br />
3865 Hugh Street,<br />
Uniontown, OH<br />
44685 (National<br />
Guard, Btry. “C,”<br />
987th Armored<br />
Field Artillery<br />
(1951)<br />
The Uniontown, OH,<br />
memorial is a place to<br />
reflect<br />
<strong>Sep</strong>tember - <strong>Oct</strong>ober <strong>2005</strong><br />
The Graybeards