Dad's WWII decorations came today. We had never had them because they were stolen from his tent while he was on R&R in Austria right after the war, along with a number of souvenirs he'd picked up along the way.* He could have requested replacements for the decorations but he never did. As it happened, and because when the war ended the DoD was swamped with medal citations that had to be investigated and filled during a time when whole military departments were being dismantled, a Bronze Star appeared out of the blue in April, 1950, that he didn't even know he'd been put in for. And he did have one souvenir -- a Mauser Model 98k carbine that he'd picked up on the battlefield,** disassembled, and mailed home because it was too big to tote around.
So about three or four months ago, I discovered that as an immediate family member, I could request his decorations from the DoD. And I did. (They were nice enough to send a new Bronze Star, even though I had indicated that we had the original. So now my sister and I will both have one.)
These are small things, like the flag that covered his coffin. But they have great meaning to us. They represent the thanks of a grateful nation. God bless the USA. And thanks, Dad.
UPDATE TO ADD: The website explaining how to obtain missing medals for your service relatives is here: http://www.archives.gov/veterans/replace-medals.html
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* Not all from the battlefield -- there was French perfume for his mother that was also stolen.
** He said it looked like a tank had driven over the stock. And possibly the guy who dropped it.
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