[Diddley]

He was getting ready to run for President. He needed to burnish his record even more. I think he is really nuts or obsessed. He must see himself as the incarnation of Audi Murphy. In reality, he is a fraud.

Indeed.

As I have posted before, a person can throw away his physical medals (ribbons) all he wants, but he can't throw away the official, recorded citations.

Throwing away "medals" is a symbolic gesture..
The physical medals can be purchased at base or military stores. The citations are not "erased" if one "throws away" his physical medals, thus there is no need to "re-apply" for them.

[kabar]

The physical medals can be purchased at base or military stores. The citations are not "erased" if one "throws away" his physical medals, thus there is no need to "re-apply" for them.

You can't buy all of the medals at the PX, e.g., the Silver Star. There are some commercial outfits you can buy replicas, but they are not the official medals in their case. You can apply for replacement medals. Your official records will show that you earned them.