triviawayne wrote: ↑Thu Dec 13, 2018 10:04 am
ouachiouat wrote: ↑Thu Dec 13, 2018 7:49 am
I figure someone on here might know....I found out the other day my grandpa earned 2 bronze stars in WW II. He never mentioned it to anyone; even his wife and my dad didn't know until they were going through papers after he died. This was years ago, but I just now heard about it. Nobody knows why he earned them, just that he did. I saw a way to find who earned them online, but there's a .exe file to download, and the site looks like it hasn't been maintained in years, so I'm skeptical of the security measures--plus, that may just be a list of who, not why. Does anyone know any other way to find out why he would've gotten them? He was on the grounds crew for the Flying Tigers, stationed in China, if that helps.
Go to your county office of veterans affairs to ask.
I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, but there may be some confusion as to your Grandad's honoraria. Two Bronze Stars would be unusual, if not rare. Props to your Grandad and the greatest generation.
There may be some confusion as to whether he had a "battle star" vs. the actual stand-alone medal. A family friend's obituary said he had won 3 or 4 "bronze stars", and my father said they had confused them with battle stars. He didn't say this as if it was a participation trophy, as this gentleman was constantly in harm's way as a combat engineer.
My father earned a bronze star after getting stuck behind enemy lines and getting his squad out. There is a version with a "V" for valor, as well, and the next level up is the Silver Star, which is some badass honor. (disclaimer - Militaria experts, please be gentle and informative, this is not my lane. Now I should Wiki that information since I just got it from my late father and took it at face value).
Does your family still have the medals? I don't think they came with ceremony and paperwork, at least not in the theater of operations. My father said that a CO went by his foxhole and called out for Sergeant Meares, and tossed it to him. If there was paperwork, it got lost when he was evacuated to the field hospital and he lost all his personal possessions. We do have all the hardware, however. His proudest medal was his CIB (Combat Infantryman's Badge), and the BS and PH were circumstantial.
I hope you find some resources and the backstory. If there is a public record, please PM me, I'd like to noodle Sgt. Meares paperwork as well.
Disclaimer - repeated exposure to author's musings may cause befuddlement.