re: Military Shadow Boxes, anyone had one done?

quote:

---

My old Gunny made mine.

---

Did he include an entry and exit representative of a round from a ND?

My mom had one made for me and her brother containing my grandfathers medals from ww2 and Korea. Some of them were in bad shape so she was able to order replicates (pretty cheap I think). I will post the place she had it done when I talk to her later today.

quote:

---

It has the American Flag folded in one corner and the Marine Corps Flag folded in the other corner.

---

I thought the folded american flag deal was only for folks that passed away?

I'd like to have one made with my navy stuff. Can get a list of medals and stuff from DOD, actually I think its on my DD 214 as well. Would be cool to get patches from different cruises and stuff.

Also made one for my grandmother with some of my grandfather's stuff. Everything in there was from stuff she found after he passed away. The only thing he didn't have was his ribbons and medals. I sent a request to the archives for his paperwork and a duplicate set of medals. The medals in the shadow box are the ones they sent.

And before anyone gets confused... yes he is in an army uniform and those are AAF patches. He served in the Army at a time when the AF was becoming it's own branch. He was SCARWAF (Special Category Army Reassigned With Air Force). He built runways in Korea.

Yeah I did one that sits in my office. I wasn't highly decorated. I spent more time in college than I did on Army stuff so I only attained an E-4 rank but I'm proud of serving my country in a very small capacity. I bought my box from Hobby Lobby, I ordered all of my ribbons and medals for free through the records website and they were delivered to me.

I personally love this one. You could get a set of his fatigues and put them in the box and other military memorabilia he may have around the house.

Edit: On the top of the box, you could have every rank he held, his name, branch of service, and the time frame he served carved into the lid.

Thanks very much to him for his service. I personally honor him and I am personally very grateful for the wonderful example he set for people like me who later went into military service.

Can you show pictures on here. This sounds like something I want to do for my old man who was in the corps.

I have one for my grandfather, who served in the USAAF in World War II. I have his original medals, which I keep safe, and used the replacement medals from the government in the shadow box. At least that way, if some scumbag robs the house and steals them, he won't have the originals. Mine has the flag from my grandfather's funeral at the top, with the medals and a photo along the bottom. I got it at Hobby Lobby.

It is easy to order the replacement medals. However, it took about six months, and unfortunately you do not have that kind of time. It may be a consideration for the future, however. All you need is a copy of his DD-214 and complete the application which can be downloaded from the National Archives. In addition to my grandfather's medals, I was able to get replacements of my great-grandfather's medals from World War I and my father's from Vietnam, all at no cost. It is actually good of the government to provide this, even to the next of kin. In contrast, I'm in the process of getting the medals of another great-grandfather who served in the British Army in World War I. The British government doesn't provide this service, so I have to purchase replicas.

If you decide to create it yourself with one from Hobby Lobby, I didn't find it too difficult to do. The people at Hobby Lobby may do it with a charge, but I don't know how much. They may give you some tips, anyway.

Good luck!