Posted 13 years ago
Stephanie
(12 items)
Hello, My husband recently inheritied these WWII items from his uncle. He has never been in the military so we aren't familiar with what these are, what the little gold stars on the bars mean, etc. Using the internet we have figured out a lot of them including a purple heart but these we don't know. The one with the yellow center is Japanese (writing on the back). Can someone help us out? Thank you in advance.
The thing on the left (as photographed) is a ribbon bar with three ribbons/ medals on it: WW2 Victory Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with two campaign stars, and Phillipine Liberation Medal with one service star.
The center item is probably a Japanese piece (maybe captured??).
The item on the right is a Distinctive Unit Insignia (DUI). I am not sure of the unit, but based on the motif would think it was a Western US unit that was activated to serve in WW2.
Scott
Thank you Scott, the information on the ribbon bar all makes sense as he did serve in the Phillipines, each star represents service for a length of time???
No, the stars are for a campaign for the Asiatic Pacific Medal-- do an online search and you will find the names of the campaigns.
For the Phillipine medal it represents particpation in ONE of the following:
- Initial landing on Leyte or nearby islands 7- 20 OCT 1944
- Participation in any engagement with Japanese during the Liberation of Phil. Campaign from 17 OCT 44- 2 SEP 1945.
Scott
The Distinctive Unit Crest (DUI) is for the 35th Infantry Regiment.
The 35th Infantry Regiment was called "Cacti" it was created on July 1, 1916 at Douglas Az. The 35th served on the Mexican Border during WW1. In WW2, Korea, and Vietnam the 35th served as part of the 25 Infantry.
I am a serious Imperial Japanese medal collector. This is one of the more rare ones... WWII JAPANESE WAR MEDAL MANCHUKO ORDER Of THE PILLARS of STATE.
Manchukuo EMPIRE. 1930s.
This award was one of the main orders of the Manchukuo Empire. Sources say that this
order corresponded with the Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure, so it should have
been freely awarded for merit. However, since the puppet empire lasted only 13 years
(1932-45) and since this order was established in 1936, this medal is hard-to find and
is highly desirable for collectors.
Thank you for this information, it's very interesting.