ORIGINAL: Ron Saueracker
Being a member of the Royal Canadian Legion I've had the honour to have met many decorated vets from WW2 and Korea and one thing that strikes me is that Commonwealth military personnel rarely win medals compared to US personnel. Just look at the rows upon rows of decorations on US personnel, many of whom have not even seen combat. I went on a military exercise in Grayling, Michigan in 82 and basically everybody in the US units, regardless of rank, had some. More like the Cub/Eagle Scouts achievement badges than medals. The rows upon rows of medals on some guys rival some of the banana republics.[:)]
No offence but it strikes me as somewhat excessive.
The US Military awarded ribbons for a lot of things other than combat, so almost everyone qualified for several things like "Theatre Service Awards" and "Good Conduct Awards" and such. I think it was the Marines who started the rumour that the Army Air Corps got a ribbon for getting out of their nice warm bunks in the morning. But if you don't know which ones to look for, the "fruit salad" does give the impression of some "banana republic dictator". Commonwealth awards tended to be more subdued and serious and hard to get---which meant the Yanks could put on a better "show" for the available females. That's probably the real reason for the Tommies irritation. Then of course there are the Russians who like all of their "tin" clanking on their chests at any opportunity. A Soviet Marshal could sound like a blacksmith's shop in a stiff breeze...
