Commendations

Step 1: Figure out what all of this means

I had two boxes of medals that I couldn’t make any sense of and so I turned to Reddit for a bit of help. It wasn’t until a little later that I found his discharge papers in among the box my Grandma gave me that helped me figure things out.

Jack W. Lawton received the following commendations: Purple Heart, American Area, Pacific Area (aka Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 4 bronze stars, Air Medal with 1 gold star (which I believe means a total of 5 Air Medals), Philippine liberation… — Jack W. Lawton received the following commendations: Purple Heart, American Area, Pacific Area (aka Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 4 bronze stars, Air Medal with 1 gold star (which I believe means a total of 5 Air Medals), Philippine liberation with 2 bronze stars and the Distinguished Flying Cross with 1 gold star (in this case meaning 2 x D.F.C.’s).

The Distinguished Flying Cross awarded during the attack on Convoy 4804. His flight log entry claims he sunk an 8,000 ton ship when in reality it was more like a 5,300 ton vessel.

Purple Heart awarded for wounds received in action against an enemy of the United States on 15 October 1944. His flight log shows that he was in the air just 20 minutes and returned after action with the enemy. It should be noted that he ended up do… — Purple Heart awarded for wounds received in action against an enemy of the United States on 15 October 1944. His flight log shows that he was in the air just 20 minutes and returned after action with the enemy. It should be noted that he ended up doing missions on October 18th and 2 on October 25th of that same month.

I have several variations of these medals but I believe this is the “final” tally based on the limited research I was able to do.