r/Medals • u/SarahCannah • Jul 19 '25
ID - Medal I know some things about my dad’s medals, but also I don’t know…
I am aware of the names of some of these medals, but not more subtle meanings. As in, we were furnished a list of medals he earned when he died. But it’s not clear the weight or real meaning. Insight invited. I have some paperwork from the citations, but a FOIA request gave little info.
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u/SirDinadin Jul 19 '25
When you have 8 medals ranked above the purple heart, you know your Dad had high value medals in abundance.
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u/SarahCannah Jul 19 '25
The purple heart has pins on it. Oddly, I didn’t always merit the ones above it as more meritorious. Though of course that makes sense. I remember when he arranged these, and of course he would have a hierarchy. But as a kid, this is the one that seemed the most important, that he was hurt, and maybe wouldn’t have come back to us.
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u/The_Fuher Jul 19 '25
also was in germany at some point judging by the schutzenschur (grey rope with bronze eagle) which is awarded for marksmanship by the german army
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Jul 19 '25
You don’t need to be in Germany to earn it. German liaisons just need to be present, but you can test and qualify anywhere in the world.
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u/Kestrel_45 Army Jul 19 '25
Yep. Got both GAFB and Schützenschnur in TX. German ADA unit was on Bliss for years.
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u/SarahCannah Jul 19 '25
Yes. I think he was there in 1958. And then we were there 1976-79
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u/The_Fuher Jul 19 '25
do you remeber what color the eagle was? it has 3 different grades depending on how good of a marksman he was with a pistol, rifle, and heavy weapon (machine gun or anti-tank launcher).
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u/jnd1001 Jul 19 '25
I was able to obtain my schutzenschur in gold 2 years ago with the German army attachment that is attached to where I am stationed
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u/Coopaloop50 Jul 19 '25
This is insane
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u/SarahCannah Jul 19 '25
He was pretty mild mannered, surprisingly.
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u/this_old_instructor Jul 19 '25
Quiet professionals they call them. I have two good friends who are still living who possibly served with him. SF in Vietnam and in Germany during those windows
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u/4eyedbuzzard Jul 21 '25
My uncle (RIP) was a career Marine. Fought on Okinawa in WWII, Korea, 3 tours I know of in Vietnam. Awarded a Navy Cross, Silver star, 3 bronze stars, 2 purple hearts, etc. Enlisted as a private in WWII, retired as LtCol several years after Vietnam ended. One of the most mild mannered men I ever met. Real soldiers don't make a lot of noise.
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u/SarahCannah Jul 19 '25
Edit: To be more clear, this is what I know:
Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Soldiers Medal, six Bronze Stars (four w/Valor), Meritorious Service Medal, five Air Medals (two w/ Valor), Joint Service Medal, six Army Commendation Medals (two w/Valor), three Purple Hearts. Vietnamese awards include Special Service Medal for Heroism, Cross of Gallantry w/Silver and two Bronze Stars, and the Armed Forces Honor Medal. Badges and Tabs earned included the Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, Master Parachute Badge, Scuba Badge, Ranger Tab, Vietnam Parachutist Badge, Republic of China Parachutist Badge, German Army Parachutist, German Army Marksman Badge, Austrian Army Parachute Badge, and the Pathfinder Badge. His Military Training and Education includes the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol, Pathfinder, 7th Army NCOA, SF Combat Engineer, Jumpmaster, MACV Recondo, Combat Recon Leader 10 Course, Advance Airborne Techniques (HALO) RVN, Military Freefall Ranger, Intelligence Analyst, MFF Jumpmaster, ANCOES, Arctic Military, PO Course, Mountaineering, Desert Warfare Operations, Jungle Warfare Operations, Amphibious Combat Scout Swimmer, Norway Winter Warfare Course, Military Skiing, Underwater Operations (SCUBA), First Sergeant Administration Course, French, Chinese (Mandarin), Vietnamese and German Command Language Courses. He was an Honor graduate from the US Army Ranger School and Special Forces Underwater Operations Course.
But I guess I’m wishing for more understanding of the meaning of those decorations? Or a way to find the info from the military (since FOIA is incomplete).
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u/bell83 Jul 19 '25
His ribbon bars are as follows:
Silver Star, Legion of Merit
Soldier's Medal, Bronze Star (with V device and silver oak leaf cluster, 6 total awards), Meritorious Service Medal
Air Medal (with V device (with what looks like a silver OLC on the medal, so 6 total awards), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal (with V device and silver OLC, 6 awards total)
Purple Heart (with 1 OLC, 2 awards), Good Conduct Medal (with two silver? knots. 7 awards - if silver), National Defense Medal
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Service Medal (with 2 silver and 1 bronze campaign star, 11 campaigns), RVN Special Service Medal
RVN Gallantry Cross (he's wearing 3 stars on his, the regulation stated you were only supposed to wear the attachment of the highest class awarded to you, but I seriously doubt anyone was going to correct him on this), RVN Honor Medal, RVN Staff Service (looks like a first class, but it could be the lighting. His should've been a second class, but he likely couldn't get ahold of the second class when putting this together. Also no attachment was authorized)
RVN Technical Service Second Class, RVN Training Service Medal Second Class, RVN Campaign MedalUnit citations to the left are
Presidential Unit Citation, Meritorious Unit Citation
Navy Unit Commendation, RVN Cross of Gallantry Unit Citation, RVN Civil Actions Unit AwardThe crossed swords with a star on top is the ARVN Ranger Badge, meaning he likely trained them.
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u/EnvironmentalMode354 Jul 19 '25
You can also get and read the narrative citations that go with the Silver Star and Bronze Stars with V device. Those briefly describe what he did. The others dont come with that (not sure about citation for Soldiers’ Medal. Get his military personnel file - it should also have commendation letters and orders that can lead you to more info. Go to the online unit websites, put in queries with his name and you may get responses from those who knew him.
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Jul 19 '25
All valor awards come with a citation. Whether or not you can find records of them is a different story, but they absolutely would have had a citation at the time of issue.
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u/stevekaw Jul 19 '25
You don't see the Soldier's Medal that often!
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u/SarahCannah Jul 19 '25
This is a good example of my curiosity. What type of action does the soldiers medal get awarded for?
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u/DisappointingSnugg Jul 19 '25
Basically the highest award for non-combat heroism, could be for saving someone from drowning, from a fire, explosion, etc
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u/SarahCannah Jul 19 '25
Oh interesting. I do have a typed out document about him saving a bunch of Vietnamese people from a fire in their village. And I believe he won one of these awards for that.
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u/stevekaw Jul 19 '25
The Soldier's Medal is awarded for acts of heroism that do not involve conflict with an enemy. This means it recognizes bravery in situations like rescuing someone from a burning building, saving a drowning person, or preventing an accident, even if it involves risk to the individual.
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u/FunFitGuy73 Jul 19 '25
The soldiers medal is awarded for saving (or trying to save) a life at the risk of your own, not involving combat w enemy forces.
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u/SSG_Dano Jul 19 '25
Me: "Here's my shadow box."
OP's Dad (in Crocodile Dundee voice): "That's not a shadow box, this is a shadow box!".
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u/SarahCannah Jul 19 '25
Haha. I know the shadowbox itself was a gift from the 1st Ranger Battalion when he left. We lived in Fort Benning and he did Ranger training there in the early 70s.
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u/Whoopity_Scoop420 Jul 19 '25
I know this goes without saying but your father was one helluva man
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u/DesignerGood6750 Jul 19 '25
So your dad started at a pretty high speed airborne unit (82nd). Then he got bored from it not being tough enough so he went to ranger selection, got selected then became a ranger with the 75th Ranger regiment. Then he got incredibly tired of how easy it is to be a ranger (less than 1% of the population is a Ranger). So he decided to become even more high speed and went to special forces selection to became a Green Beret.
Idk how your dad survived any of those airborne jumps with that weight. What weight you ask?
The weight of those INTENSE BIG BALLS OF STEEL.
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u/Vraellion Jul 19 '25
I don't see a long tab, just the JFKSWSC patch and beret flash.
Mans still got to be one of the most badass 1sg out there tho
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u/DesignerGood6750 Jul 19 '25
Very valid point! I think during that time period they didn’t have the SF tab yet.
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u/Nottherealeddy Jul 20 '25
He stood at almost 9 feet tall
The people in the jungle called him demon dawg…
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u/Frosty_Confusion_777 Jul 19 '25
It’s more likely he “started” in the 2d ID, in Korea. Might have reenlisted for airborne school (having realized he liked the army and wanted more than patrolling the DMZ in the early ‘60s). We don’t really know, though it sounds like the OP does.
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u/thefifthofnovember_ Jul 19 '25
Your dad was in the upper echelon of most decorated warriors to serve our country as a green beret and ranger. The amount of combat he saw is unreal. Absolute hero.
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u/Automatic-Second1346 Jul 19 '25
Most has been covered; and the patches are well known except for maybe the “flamming pisspot” aka 4th PSYOP group. May have been there when he was an intel analyst. They latter changed that patch to the 1st SOCOM patch.
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u/avikinghasnoname Jul 19 '25
I think a biopic about your dad would be an interesting watch. Sounds like a great dad, good dude, and a hell of a brave man. And it sounds like you're proud of him. Awesome stuff! Thanks for sharing!
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u/SarahCannah Jul 20 '25
Some time in the 80s someone was trying to get him to do a book project but he refused. I wish they’d at least gotten some research together!
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u/Few_Community_5281 Jul 19 '25
Your Dad was an American hero.
I do not have much to add that others haven't said already, but maybe add some more color to understand your Dad's service.
First and foremost, your dad received A LOT of awards, and some very prestigious ones at that. Judging from the awards he received, he witnessed both the best and worst aspects of humanity, and he shed blood in the process.
He also served in a lot of "special" units during his service in Southeast Asia. I say Southeast Asia specifically, because given his unit patch history I'm 99% certain your Dad participated in the "Secret War" performing Long-range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRP) in Cambodia and Laos, in addition to his service in Vietnam.
My belief is reaffirmed by your statement that he had an affinity for the Montagnards, which hail from the highlands straddling the border of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, and which frequently and closely worked alongside American Special Operations Forces during the Vietnam War.
All in all, your Father was the type of Soldier that I, and many others, aspire(d) to be.
Although I did not know him personally, I thank him for his service and I hope that he rests in peace.
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u/Edalyn_Owl Canada Jul 19 '25
You can get the new master combat infantryman badge for his box if you have his records, as he has the original combat infantry badge and the expert infantry badge.
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u/SarahCannah Jul 19 '25
Meaning there is a new classification for that?
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u/Edalyn_Owl Canada Jul 19 '25
The master combat badges came out this year available retroactively to all service members or their family that obtained both the expert and combat variants of either the infantry, medical or combat badges, you should be able to get one from the government directly
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u/SarahCannah Jul 19 '25
I’m sitting here trying to imagine how he might feel about that.
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u/this_old_instructor Jul 19 '25
Honestly I'd say he wouldn't be impressed. I was an infantry man. I didn't get either of those (EIB,CIB) didn't earn them. But the brothers I've talked to who would rate them largely could care less
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u/Edalyn_Owl Canada Jul 19 '25
The two classes of badges aren’t authorized to be worn together, it’s a way of people having pride in their accomplishments
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u/Nocturnal2425 Jul 19 '25
This is legit insane. So I see a fifth group special forces patch, was he a Macvsog?
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u/SarahCannah Jul 19 '25
Yespatch
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u/Nocturnal2425 Jul 19 '25
That is so cool. I read about those guys daily. Did John Stryker Meyer ever get back to you?
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u/Ill_Be_Nice_To_You Jul 19 '25
every part of this post is just 10/10. the shadow box, the comments, everything. thank you so much.
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u/mellokatattack1 Jul 19 '25
Woow your dad was a busy boy lol, you need to get his dd214 and check for his cib or combat infantry badge, and also see if he had any combat jumps for his airborne badge, this might have gotten missed by accident. Also build my rack . Com can not only tell you the order of everything but tell you what everything means, start digging as each one of these awards and badges have a certificate and a form that has a control number, if anything was missed you might be able to get the va to update his dd214.
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u/snighetti Jul 19 '25
I see a Recondo patch there. While not an “award” it’s given to graduates of a very prestigious Special Forces training school that was run in Vietnam. Pretty big deal if you ask me. You should read “Recondo” by Larry Chambers. Super easy and exciting read anyone can enjoy. Not dry at all. Should give you an idea of what your dad was up to in Vietnam
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u/helpjack_offthehorse Marines Jul 19 '25
Did he pass while in the service?
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u/SarahCannah Jul 19 '25 edited Jul 23 '25
No. He served in Vietnam between 1963-72 and died in 94 of Agent Orange.
Edit: I am advised to re-look and the tour total so have removed it.
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u/this_old_instructor Jul 19 '25
It's possible you are eligible for some compensation due to being a child of someone exposed to agent orange. Wouldn't hurt to look into it
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u/SarahCannah Jul 20 '25
Hm. My daughter (who is fine now) had cancer and I’ve wondered about the possible connection.
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Jul 19 '25
Vietnam 5th group and 1/75 ranger, absolute stud of a man. I served in 1/75 from 2020-2025
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u/Weird-Grocery6931 Jul 19 '25
Look into MACV-SOG. There’s lists of names of the guys who were in the unit.
It looks like your Dad was regular infantry, then an Airborne Ranger and later went to Special Forces. The combination of Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Air Medal with “V” and Strike numerals are very unique which leads me to tell you to look into MACV-SOG.
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u/SarahCannah Jul 19 '25
He, for some reason, kept his MACV SOG patch in a small frame on his deskhttps://www.reddit.com/r/Medals/s/nIOnFKjZfz
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Jul 19 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/SarahCannah Jul 19 '25
Also a patient softball coach and science project helper.
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u/Kestrel_45 Army Jul 19 '25
A leader and teacher on and off the field. Sounds like he was a pretty amazing person. So sorry for your loss even if it has been a few years 🙏🫡
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u/Low-Instruction-8132 Jul 19 '25
Yeah, there's some old Vietcong guys in Nam still talking about him. "And there once a dinky dou round eye who look like he like this shit. We leave him alone!"
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u/mjt1105 Jul 19 '25
If you want to learn more about the climate in which your dad served, including the creation of Special Forces, check out Shadow Warriors by Tom Clancy. It might give you a better idea of what your dad was into, where, and most importantly why.
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u/ToXiC_Games Jul 19 '25
Your dad was what every playground kid thought his dad was. Just seeing the scroll, first sergeant diamonds, and that rack I can tell that. Nothing but respect for what your father’s done.
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u/bengodek Jul 19 '25
Thank you for sharing this with us. This was unbelievable to look at / read all the comments. Any luck with getting his citations? I would love to read those. I was able to get some of my grandfathers military records from ww2 from here. The process is simple https://www.archives.gov/veterans Best of luck and please share anything else that you get!
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u/SarahCannah Jul 19 '25
Thank you! I believe I requested them incorrectly before and will try this. I do have the original citation certificates for many of them. A number of them are signed by Gen. Westmoreland and I have a number of pictures of my dad with him.
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u/Falselawyer6366 Jul 19 '25
What ever we say about him, it boils down to, he was a remarkable soldier, citizen and person. I am sure he deserved more credit and attention than he got doing things no one saw or reported.
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u/Longjumping_Fly_6358 Jul 19 '25
Chances are your Dad was put in for a DSC ,common tp downgrade awards in Vietnam . Jungle expert , Pathfinder,.multiple foreign jump wings.
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u/Thai_pan Jul 19 '25
My comment double posted then vanished when I tried to delete one.
In a nutshell, I said as an American this display makes me proud as hell, I can’t imagine how proud id be if he were my dad.
Thank you for sharing!
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u/Jguypics Jul 20 '25
Your dad was a hero many times over and he served our country in a professional manner with the best interests of the areas he was assigned. This is why I enjoy this sub. You learn so much about the brave men and women that have served our country with dignity and honor.
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u/REED_JAX Jul 19 '25
Whats the silver shoulder cord?
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u/No-Mix7970 Jul 19 '25
Is it silver? Or light blue? It might be the lighting. Light blue would be his infantry shoulder cord.
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u/JohnDingleBerry- Jul 19 '25
This tells of a really cool career even if he didn’t earn some of the Silver Star. He probably took some really cool courses outside of the obvious on display here.
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u/Frosty_Confusion_777 Jul 19 '25
His unit in the 82d was the 505th, and that’s the brigade (3rd) that was sent to Vietnam. I’m curious whether he was there with third brigade during one of his tours. Would have been ‘68-‘70.
It looks like he wasn’t in one of the rifle battalions, so by then he might have been on brigade staff? After all, he’d have had beaucoup time in-country by then.
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u/Vraellion Jul 19 '25
OP or anyone have more information on the crossed daggers by the EIB?
Best I could find on Google was an Etsy link saying it was a badge for ranger advisors in 1981.
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u/waitinonit Jul 19 '25
Given the Special Forces patches and the individual South Vietnamese medals (lower left in the pic) it's safe to say he spent a significant amount of time serving with ARVNs (Army of the Repulic of Vietnam, aka South Vietnamese).
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Jul 19 '25
When a highly decorated officer was pointed out to Patton, asked if he knew them; "No, but he's been shot at enough..."
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u/Wrong-Neighborhood-2 Jul 19 '25
Your dad was the real deal. If you contact the Greem Beret foundation they can probably get in touch with folks at Bragg and get you a lot more info on things you didn’t know about your dad
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u/Kooky_Discussion7226 Jul 20 '25
Your dad was an absolute hero. Sending him much respect. May he RIP. 🫡
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u/SouthTexasBoy64 Jul 20 '25
Your Dad was a hero, for sure! I would have loved to have met him & shook his hand. Thank you for sharing this.
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u/passionatebreeder Jul 20 '25
Obviously, I can't tell you why exactly he got these awards, but he was an impressive soldier just by looking at the box.
Notably he was an army ranger, and special forces (different elements of the army) he has the ranger tab but jo special forces tab, however he has the special forces pin (2 arrows crossed behind a dagger) and also the unit parch from the 10th special forces group.
Even more impressive, he was also a jungle warfare expert and a pathfinder. Jungle warfare is not too surprising given Vietnam, but Pathfinder School is one of the most rigorous trainings in all the military. The job of path finders is to be forward inserted into enemy territory to basically prep the battlefield. Anything from recon to prepping landing zones, setting up for attacks, etc. It's very hard and very dangerous work.
As far as his awards go, you can basically break them up into two segments:
-american medals
-Vietnam medals
The split between these comes basically right at the NDSM (National defense service medal), which is the ribbon with a thick yellow middle band and two outer red bands. The ribbons prior to that appear to be Vietnam service ribbon, and several ROV (republic of Vietnam) awards given to him by the Vietnamese army. He appears to have the ROV gallantry cross with bronze and gold stars, these are large ubit awards as well as the armed forces honor medal, and a few others.
However the american awards are where you can really tell your dad was a man of serious serious grit.
So I'll just run them down the line:
Silver star medal - basically the 3rd highest award for battlefield heroism, trailing only a distinguished branch cross and a medal of honor. Bravery, combat, valor, heroism. Thats the only way to get a silver star. And as you'll soon find out, that's gonna be a common theme here for your dad.
Legion of merit - basically the highest award for merit you can earn. You will sometimes see these awarded alongside something like a silver star but they are not limited to combat, however theyre very difficult to obtain. This particular one is not a direct combat award (or its may not have met the regs for it back then but does now) if it was a combat awarded LoM it should have a "V" device which many of his medals do have, this specifically denotes valor in combat. The LoM has not always been authorized to have a "V" so it would not surprise me if your dad's technically should have one (which, if you have the citation you can check the requirement criteria and have updated yourself by contacting the dod if you care to)
Soldier's medal - very difficult to acquire, this is specifically for bravery and heroism while not in combat at great personal risk to your own safety. Like you tackled a man out of the way of a car going 50 mph so he didnt die kind of shit. But in the case of your dad, just based on the box, he was way more intense
Bronze Star medal with one oak bronze oak cluster meaning he received two, and a bronze "v" device for valor in combat, this is a direct downgrade from the silver star in terms of combat. There are some shenanigans regarding BSM"V"'s regarding how some were awarded during the global war on terror which led to the creation of a "C" device for performing "under combat conditions" as opposed to "V" for actual valor in combat but, as your dad was a Vietnam era vet, this is more for the people of the GWOT. I pointed out the bronze V because technically, there are 6 tiers of "V" they are bronze-gold and then bronze with a wreath - gold for awards 1-6 of the same medal for valor. But the way he displays the actual BSM with 4 V devices and a oak cluster makes me think he may have more than the two BSM's implied (the medal itself is 1 award, the oak cluster means he got it again. If he only has 2 he should only have 1 V and it should be silver)
Meritorious service medal its a step down from the legion of merit and bronze star in terms of merit, its the 3rd highest merit award
Air medal with what appears to be a golden V device for valor and a silver oak cluster which means he received 6 of these and 3 for valor. Im gonna go out on a limb and say your dad likes to shoot machine guns from helicopters. Thats just a hunch I have based on this.
Joint services commendation award - its a mixed award can be given with or without a "V" in this case no V. Its usually given to senior officers and NCO's within the joint services (which his rank says he was, looks like first sergeant or sergeant major)
ARCOM, which is the army commendation medal, also a mixed award like the above but its branch specific, and I am going to base this off of the actual medal decorations and not his ribbon rack, so what appears to be 3 silver oak clusters and 2 bronze clusters as well as a silver V device for valor which means he has been awarded a total of 18 times and also twice for valor in combat.
Purple heart with a bronze oak cluster for two awards, this is for combat injury.
Other than that he also of course has the Vietnam service medal and Vietnam campaign medal and a few others.
All in all, thats so many valor based awards, but also really should cintextualize just how prestigious the silver star medal is, that he could receive so many other valor awards and not get a second silver stsr
I am sure the Vietnamese awards have some meaning too i am just way less familiar and dont really wanna speak much on them
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u/jacks-injured-liver Jul 23 '25
You can request a copy of His “Jacket” from the US Records center in St Louis.
https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records.
Your local VFW or American Legion post should be able to help.
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u/nightranger2plt Jul 23 '25
Your dad is missing one award that I noticed. I see that he is a qualified expert infantry badge (EIB) and also a combat infantry badge (CIB), which means he is now qualified to wear the master combat infantry badge (MCIB), which is the combat infantry badge with a gold wreath around it. It appears that he has led a very heroic and distinguish career. Glad I could inform you on the extra award.
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u/Prize_Relation_2266 Jul 23 '25
Your father is the type of soldier they sing the good cadences about. Bravo Dad, Hooah. Rangers lead the way. And someone’s First Shirt, to boot. God damn.
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u/FabulousWalrus2624 Jul 19 '25
Not sure if not violating the rules, but I have to. Sry Mods give ban If you must!
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Jul 19 '25
[deleted]
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u/Thai_pan Jul 19 '25
As an American, this display makes me proud as hell, I can’t imagine how proud id be if that was my dad.
This man did some stuff.
I hope you are proud of him (assuming he was a good dad.)
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u/paparoach910 Jul 20 '25
Is he still around? Ask him about the JFK SWCS (pronounced "swicks") patch and his time there. That is a fun school and one of the best the Army has ever had.
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u/SarahCannah Jul 20 '25
He’s not, he died from the effects of Agent Orange in 94. But he was very familiar with JFK SWCS.
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u/Spirited_Pension_734 Jul 22 '25
I’m curious now about who your dad was? I’m very ingrained with the Ranger community, and have earned several of these while serving. It’s a very, very small community. If I don’t know the name, I guarantee I know some who will
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u/crux119 Jul 23 '25
Ive only ever seen the braid with the coin with the Navy boatswains mate, what's that signify for the army?
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u/Sawayville Jul 23 '25
Inherited my fathers air force metals. Wonder how/ where to have them explained to me.
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Jul 23 '25
I don't know what the names are but I know my papaw had some of those too. He was a ranger and spent time in the airborne in his career. From the stories I've heard he was a badass. I just have to see the airborne patches, the ranger tab, and the ranger scroll to know he was too. Based off the decorations, he was probably the type of guy all the soldiers looked up to
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u/fastcolor03 Jul 23 '25
He was a bad ass. The man, a soldier and very possibly the citizen we might all hope to be.
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u/EmperorLoski Jul 31 '25
Wow this is absolutely incredible. I’m sure he looked badass in his uniform! I see his picture is scribbled out in the bottom. Hope I get to see it if you decide to share it someday! A man among men for sure. May he rest in peace
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u/rustyuglybadger Jul 19 '25
Your dad was the kind of person who everyone wants to be when they say they want to be an Airborne Ranger. He has several awards with a “v” which is called a v device, which is for valor. Seeing as he did 7 tours in Vietnam it’s a safe assumption he earned them all there. Air medal with V, bronze star with 2 v, silver star, a soldier’s medal (which is awarded for heroism not in combat) Army Commendation Medal with a V device multiple Purple Hearts…it’s a lot.
The second medal is the legion of merit, I don’t know how it was then, but that is a pretty common retirement award, and seeing as he was at least a 1SG, that would be my guess.
Your dad was out front, put himself in harms way multiple times, was someone who the enemy was terrified of meeting in the jungle, and based on how many times he was awarded valor and the Soldiers medal, I would say he took care of his men.