Kerry was awarded the following silver star, and the distinguishing "V" device stood for "vat."
Posted on 09/03/2004 12:39:28 PM PDT by pdxbandit
http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/jul2004/a072004a.html http://www.milehighcaf.org/leader.asp
http://biography.lotsofgoodbooks.com/us_bio-item_id-0826330134-search_type-AsinSearch-locale-us.html
Affectionately know as "Top", was a retired Master Gunnery Sergeant, United States Marine Corps. Top Shablack during his service was awarded the Silver Star with Valor, the Bronze Star with Valor, and the Purple Heart just to name a few.
In Memory of Aviation Ordnanceman John Shablack: Affectionately know as "Top", was a retired Master Gunnery Sergeant, United States Marine Corps. Top Shablack during his service was awarded the Silver Star with Valor, the Bronze Star with Valor, and the Purple Heart just to name a few. Top served as a Chapter 22 Board of Director as Vice President of Chapter 22. Our Aviation Ordnanceman of the Quarter (AOQ) Program is named in Honor of Top Shablack.
FORWARD OPERATING BASE WARHORSE, Iraq, July 20, 2004 — The 1st Infantry Division Commander, Maj. Gen. John R.S. Batiste, awarded the Silver Star medal with Valor, one of the highest military decorations, to Staff Sgt. Raymond Bittinger, an infantryman from the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment and attached to the 1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery, according to 1st Infantry Division officials.
After jumping out of airplanes for four years, I decided it was time to try flying them. In the Army’s Warrant Officer Candidate program, the top ten percent of the initial training class are offered fixed wing training. I completed their fixed wing program and, after a transition course in the Dehaviland Otter at Ft. Ord California, in 1967, I was off to Viet Nam. I became the company’s standardization officer, flying direct support for our Green Berets in the delta. I flew over 1,100 hours that year, I was awarded 23 air medals with an oak leaf cluster, I was shot down once and awarded the Silver Star with valor. Upon completing my military obligation, I was hired by Continental Airlines in 1969.
An Accidental Soldier: Memoir of a Mestizo in Vietnam
Garcia's "tour of duty" ends when his squad is ambushed, two of his men die, and he is seriously wounded. Garcia tells us about the irony of receiving a Silver Star with Valor for his actions in that ambush. "I was given a Silver Star for failing to read an ambush. I was responsible for my squad members being wounded or killed because I failed to read that ambush. .... I was responsible for our walk into that mess and I was only trying to get us out. It was a mistake, not valor."
In the end Garcia throws his Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, Army Commendation Medal, Vietnamese Cross of gallantry, and Purple heart on to the lawn of the White House. I witnessed a similar act in ...
http://www.aclassicvoicefilms.com/amateurmilitaryfilms.htm
MSG Ricardo A. Garcia. Served 7th Cav, and later the Americal. Fought in The battle of the Ia Drang Valley with LTC Hal Moore. Richard earned a Silver Star with valor,was badly wounded there. Served three tours in Nam. He never really came home
The Silver Star
Establishing Authority
The Silver Star was originally established at the direction of President Woodrow Wilson as a "citation star," as provided in section 5 of War Department General Orders Number 6 on January 12, 1919. It was modified slightly and affirmed as an Army decoration by Act of Congress (Public Law 193, 65th Congress) approved July 9, 1918. The Silver Star medal was created in 1932 and was extended to the Navy and Marine Corps by Act of Congress (Public Law 702, 77th Congress) approved August 7, 1942.
Effective Dates
No initial qualifying date was set for either the Silver Star Medal or its predecessor, the Silver Citation Star. Since the earliest action for which a Silver Star was ultimately issued was during the Civil War, Members of the Army have therefore been eligible to receive the Silver Star for qualifying acts from April 15, 1861 to the present. Members of the Navy and Marine Corps have been eligible to receive the Silver Star for qualifying acts from December 6, 1941 to the present, with certain provisions for retroactive awards prior to that date.
Criteria
The Silver Star may be awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the Armed Forces of the United States, is cited for gallantry in action;
(1) against an enemy of the United States;
(2) while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or,
(3) while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.
The required gallantry, while of a lesser degree than that required for the award of a Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, or Air Force Cross, must nevertheless have been performed with marked distinction.
Order of Precedence
The Silver Star is worn after the service Distinguished Service Medal and before the Defense Superior Service Medal.
Devices
Army and Air Force
Additional awards are denoted by oak leaf clusters.
Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard
Additional awards are denoted by gold stars five-sixteenths of an inch in diameter.
Designer
The Act that created the Silver Star specified that it was to be "a silver star three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter." The Silver Star Medal, which was authorized in 1932, was designed by Rudolf Freund (1878-1960) of Bailey, Banks and Biddle.
First Recipient
Silver Star Medal number #1 (with six oak leaf clusters) was issued to General Douglas MacArthur in August of 1932
Description and Symbolism
Obverse
The overall design of the medal is a five-pointed star (point up) one and three quarters inches in circumscribing diameter, finished in gilt-bronze. In the center of this star is a smaller five-pointed star (point up), three-sixteenths of an inch in circumscribing diameter. The silver star is centered within a wreath of laurel tied at its base by a bow. The center lines and rays of both stars coincide. The top of the medal has a rectangular-shaped metal loop, .35 inch in length and .45 inch in width (outside finished dimensions), with rounded corners. This loop is struck as part of the pendant.
The small silver star in the center of the medal is the "silver [citation] star" prescribed by the original legislation. The laurel wreath alludes to achievement, and the larger gilt-bronze star is symbolic of military service.
Reverse
The reverse is plain except for the inscription (in raised letters) at the top of the medal, FOR GALLANTRY IN ACTION, that denotes the purpose of the medal. The space below is for engraving the recipient's name.
Ribbon
The ribbon has a center stripe of red flanked on either side by a stripe of white of equal width. The white stripes are flanked by equal blue bands having borders of white with blue edging. These are the colors of the National flag.
Source: http://www.foxfall.com/fmd-common-ss.htm
Note that the "V" device is not an authorized device because receiving the medal itself requires valor. The only authorized devices are bronze oak leaves or gold stars which denote MULTIPLE AWARDS!!
If you Kerry apologists are going to show up here making claims at least try to get the facts straight. Just because you can come up with a couple of citations from an Internet search does not prove anything. Remember those books were written by journalists, who, being mostly liberal Democrats, routinely get things military back *ssward. Oh but I repeat myself. You're a Democrat too, so you're not interested in facts or the truth either. Why don't you go pester Kerry to release all his military records (all 100 pages), instead of annoying us here. Then maybe we could see what a really big brave hero "cut 'n run" John really is!
Kerry was awarded the following silver star, and the distinguishing "V" device stood for "vat."
To bad they don't award the "Combat V" with Purple Hearts, that way we can distinguish between true heros and fools that simply blow themselves up like Kerry and Cleland.
That Zot graphic rocks!
i'm telling you, something is happening that is HUGE...in addition, W supporters are starting to come out of the closet!!
that is cool!
Ha. Ha. Ha.
The Kerry camp has already stated that the Silver Star "V" was a typo.
That's one helluva long article for a moot point.
Perhaps the V device was awarded by the Viet Cong.
Here is a funny thought. If this investigation finds he received the purple hearts due to 'clerical error', will Kerry have to finish his time he should have served :)
John Shablack was a hero,soldier,true patriot.Probably deserved MORE than what he was awarded.
Kerry on the other hand does not deserve a damn thing he was awarded.Alot of people (including many on this site) believe he deserves to be recognized for his service.I say,horse sh*t.He deserved to be stripped of his awards,his commission and his citizenship.He should of been tried,convicted and shot.He dishonored himself,the military and this country.
Enemys of this country never swore an oath of alliegence to this country. John Kerry did.Then intentionally and willfully violated that oath.He deserves NO awards,NO recognition and he certainly doesn't deserve my respect or support.
He was not a soldier,patriot or hero.Hell he wasn't even an halfa** citizen.
Ya'll can give him what cudos ya want,but he don't get squat from me.
No I wasn't in "Nam" but I was an Era Vet.Marine Corps and Army.I trained em for war.I know that and 75 cents will get ya a cup of coffee at Denny's.
Well...it just felt good to get that off my chest.
you ASK for it... you GOT it... ZOT!!!
Shot:George - Yield:225 Kilotons - First Thermonuclear Test
they didnt seem to have any problem shooting fleeing American kids in the back......
Though a Silver Star was not merited ..imo...the so called 'Vietnamese Child"...is pure BS
Almost every one of my 11B enlisted grunts at or below the rank of E4 were 19 yrs old and we had a couple of 18 yr olds..
The VC we encountered were as young as 14...when we would assault a ville by air or by river and they were caught by surprise they would run...before they ran they would hide their weapons hoping to be able to talk their way out of a jam if taken prisoner...and also to save the weapon if they sucessfully E & E's US troops....they could sneak back for it later...or their buddies could use it..They did not want to loose weapons to us...
If Kerry shot a 17 yr old unarmed escaping VC in the back..more power to him...the act would ultimately save the lives of my guys...who were all ground pounders in that same AO...
Is Kerry a liar...oh yeah...did he deserve a Silver Star for the act...hell no....if he did I had a buddy in my platoon who earned at least 10 of them that way...and more as he offed a few face to face with their weapons hot and active...
Every time I hear this punk VC that Lt (jg) Kerry shot in the back as a fleeing Vietnamese child I wanna barf....
Knock it off ...please
other than that I dont care how much voltage you use on this troll...
Gee, I'm getting so old I forgot about that one!
I know a few guys that have silver stars....they dont come with Vs any more than the Medal of Honor comes with a Combat V...
Silver Stars are only awarded for combat...so they dont need no steenking Veeze
Well, moron, if you would have done your homework, you would have known that ALL of the links you posted as "evidence" were about men awarded the Silver Star with V who served in the Army or Marines, NOT the Navy. I know it gets confusing sometimes when you leftists try to figure out which part of the military our service men and women serve in, so I might give you a pass. Then again, maybe not!
Let me try to break it down for you, little Stalin. According to what I have read, John sKerry served in the Navy. They are the ones with all the big boats, OK? Now, since he is known by you leftists to be the single greatest war hero since the country was formed, he COULD have served in the Marines AND the Army, but just not told anyone, much like his Christmas dinner by the river in Cambodia with the CIA or special forces or whoever he was with. Those of us with more than a pea-sized brain know the truth, but we'll let you live in your little fantasy world, considering how bad your week has gone.
Now, ZOTTED moron, I know you leftists hate the military and all, but you may want to study up on the different branches of the service before making a complete a$$ of yourself! Granted, I can see where you might confuse the Marines and Navy since they are so closely intertwined. Besides, we all know how much you hippies hate the military (even though they make it possible for your maggot-infested arse to exist in this country), but even a cursory check on the internet would have shown you that they are, in fact, two separate branches of the service.
Well, this concludes your lesson in Military Basics 101 for the week. Now, run along and find some other out of work protester to play with.
Oh, by the way, have fun in ZOT land.... MORON!
Personally I believe the Viking Kitties deserve a medal with a combat V.
Uhh.. nice try.
The Silver Star is awarded for Valor.
Sticking a 'v' device on it would be redundant.
Of course, you trolls don't understand what redundancy is.
Man, you're gone, zotte, history!
Before we could bring happiness to you like telling you that CNN/Time has GW with a 11% lead.
For more good news wait until Zell's speech and GW's get factored in this weekend.
Have a nice weekend spinning your lies.
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