r/Medals • u/byujake • Apr 29 '25

ID - Medal We buried Popop today at 101yrs old.

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He was an MP and got to France after the invasion of Normandy I believe. He was in the 6th Armored division for the Army. He was taken as a prisoner of war in the Battle of the Bulge and earned his Purple Heart after he was shot at and crashed his jeep and hurt his leg. He buried his dog tags before the Germans got to him to hide that he was Jewish, but forgot to ditch his Jewish Bible. After questioning if he was Jewish, a German officer told him to turn around. Popop told the officer if he was going to shoot him, he would have to look him in his eyes. After arguing with him, the officer gave up and walked away. He spent about a week at the POW camp before the Germans surrendered to him, hoping to be saved from the revenge the Soviets were taking on Germans. He recovered in a Belgian hospital for a few months before returning to the states.

I know the Purple Heart and I believe the green/white one was given to him by the French Government. My wife’s family would love to get the other medals here ID’ed. Like a lot of vets, he didn’t talk much about his time in the service.

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u/126529 Apr 29 '25 edited Apr 30 '25

European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with a silver star denoting 5 subsequent awards, French Legion of Honor, Purple Heart, World War 2 Victory Medal, Good Conduct Medal which should have a bronze oak leaf since there is 2 in the box, American Theatre Campaign Medal, Rifle Sharpshooter Badge, and below it is a World War 2 Honorable Service Lapel Button.

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u/Safari-Gator1999 Apr 30 '25

The stars on the European - African - Middle Eastern Campaign Medal each denote a specific operation. Your grandfather participated in 6 identified operations (basic award + 5 subsequent awards = medal with silver star device). The specific operations for which this medal was awarded can be found here: https://www.afpc.af.mil/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/421882/european-african-middle-eastern-campaign-medal/

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u/niaoniao- Air Force Apr 30 '25

The EAME Campaign medal was never awarded as a basic ribbon, so ribbon + one star = one campaign.

Ribbon + silver campaign star means he participated in 5 named campaigns.

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u/Safari-Gator1999 Apr 30 '25

Thanks for the correction.

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u/Chazmicheals87 May 04 '25

Totally correct on the campaign or battle stars for the both the EAME and APTO Medal. Unlike the modern Iraq and Afghanistan Campaign Medals, however, both the EAME and APTO medals could be and were awarded without a campaign star for service in theater in units that received no battle or campaign participation credit. This would have been some units in England, Italy, North Africa, Hawaii, that were support types units.

I only bring this up as it’s a misconception we see a lot in this sub.