I have been doing some genealogical research for a friend of my granddaughter. He gave me many things including some military insignia, ribbons, medals, etc from his maternal grandfather who was a major in the artillery in WW II. The gentleman earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Croix de Guerre avec Palme. I've identified each of this ribbons except for one which is a two color ribbons, one color lying atop the other. It is either dark blue over red or red over dark blue. It also have five battle stars affixed to it. With the battle stars I am guessing it is an area of operations type of ribbons but I've already located his European-African-Middle Eastern ribbon with the five battle stars on it which his 201 file says he earned. I can't post a picture, sorry, but it is just a simple two-color ribbon as I described above. The gentleman served from 1941 to 1946. Can anybody help?
By the way, this is an interesting family. This war hero's grandfather made the first amateur auto trip in 1908 across the USA in a 1908 Packard Thirty. He wrote a small book about the trip which was published by Packard and I have a copy included in the items. Also, the grandfather adopted his grandson thus making the boy his own mother's brother and his grandparents son. The major was also the victim of a kidnapping. Very interesting family to research.
Rick & Karen
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Also, the ribbon may have been earned while attached to a unit of an Ally of the United States.
What you are describing does not ring a bell with me, and it may be that I am not able to picture it. US ribbons tend to be very colorful, thus the term "fruit salad" when referring to one's ribbon bar.
Engineer, that was a good place to look but no cigar. I tried both sites and neither they nor the original sites I looked at had any ribbons with two colors, one color atop the other, much less the specific one I am looking for. I looked at a site showing French medals/ribbons which are authorized for wear by the American military but no joy there either.
It's odd that it would have 5 stars. Usually you add a star for each campaign in a theater up to 4. On your 5th campaign then you remove the bronze stars and replace them with one silver star. The silver star stands for 5 campaigns.
Now about the colors....is it horizontal or vertical bars? Is it 50% red and 50% blue?
A picture would help, but if you take a look at the stars they should be all oriented with the points up giving you an indication of which color is on top. To echo the earlier posts a picture would help..
The Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon is the only American military award I can find with horizontal red and blue but it has a white component as well. I also remember working with son Vietnam Vets my first few years in the Navy and they were awarded military Honor's from other countries and were authorized to wear them in dress uniform. Could it be that it is a foreign military award?
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The bronze stars are oriented with the points pointing into the red color so apparently that means the red bar is on top with the blue underneath. I wish I could post a picture but don't currently have access to a digital camera. It is, however, a very simple ribbon as such things go. As I have said, the top half is one color and the bottom half is another. Using the star point rule it is red on top and a dark blue on the bottom. It has five bronze battle stars running horizontally across the border between the red and blue.
The 201 file for the officer says that he was in the following battles and campaigns: European Theater, Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes, Central Europe. The file also says that his decorations and awards are: Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Distinguished Unit Badge, European African Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Ribbon, and American Defense Service Medal. All of these decorations are present in the items loaned to me.
The closest I have found (and what would seem to be a logical ribbon for him to have considering he served into 1946) is the WW II Army of Occupation Rlbbon. However, it's red & blue colors are vertical and it has on both outside ends an additional white color. Very frustrating!
Rick Y wrote: The bronze stars are oriented with the points pointing into the red color so apparently that means the red bar is on top with the blue underneath. I wish I could post a picture but don't currently have access to a digital camera. It is, however, a very simple ribbon as such things go. As I have said, the top half is one color and the bottom half is another. Using the star point rule it is red on top and a dark blue on the bottom. It has five bronze battle stars running horizontally across the border between the red and blue.
The 201 file for the officer says that he was in the following battles and campaigns: European Theater, Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes, Central Europe. The file also says that his decorations and awards are: Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Distinguished Unit Badge, European African Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Ribbon, and American Defense Service Medal. All of these decorations are present in the items loaned to me.
The closest I have found (and what would seem to be a logical ribbon for him to have considering he served into 1946) is the WW II Army of Occupation Rlbbon. However, it's red & blue colors are vertical and it has on both outside ends an additional white color. Very frustrating!
It would appear that he, and my maternal grandfather were in units attached to the same armored division.........
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The major was also the victim of a kidnapping. Very interesting family to research.
