So I found these in my moms attic after she died. My brother and dad were both in the military. Dad WWII and Korea on USS Wisconsin. Brother in Vietnam. Both gone. Can anybody give me any information on this stuff? I poked around on the web and decided to try here with you experienced folk. Thx in advance for any help at all!
I labeled the ribbons here. About two years ago I went through my grandfather's WW2 Navy records looking for awards he should have received. If you're planning on doing the same, a word of warning: Medals books will list differing criteria for awards. Use the Navy's Awards Manual 1650.1H (Link on bottom of post. Its on the right under "Awards Instructions")
A few things:
Award eligibility conditions do change from time to time. I used the National Archives list of Executive Orders to check eligibility for the Good Conduct Medal.
After the war the military created the "Combat Action Ribbon". Based on your ribbons and battle stars you should have at least one. If they were involved in an amphibious assault or helicopter assault the ribbon will have a bronze arrowhead.
Most ribbons have an accompanying medal, but it isn't always the case.
I download a PDF that was extremely helpful in determining Battle / Campaign Star eligibility. Unfortunately I renamed it "Battle Stars" and can't find the original source. It is 104pgs, top of page one says "American Defense Service Medal".
1650.1H Manuel - awards.navy.mil/awards/webbas01.nsf/(vwWebPage)/home.htm?OpenDocument
All I can remember is the ribbon on the top right corner (red with rainbow ends). I thought that one looked the coolest of the ones my grandpa gave me when I was a kid. Anyways, it's the WW2 victory ribbon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_Victory_Medal_%28United_States%29
/r/military might be a better resource.
In the past I've found this Wikipedia page to be a good starting point for visually identifying ribbons. All the usual Wikipedia disclaimers apply.