The oversight itself is outright disgusting. Although the deaths are sad, they're unfortunately not unexpected; my Grandfather fought in WWII and died from cancer in '98 as did many other veterans. My Grandfather was losing many of his friends before they lost him around the same time.
I may or may not have mentioned this before, but my Grandfather was actually eligible for a Purple Heart, but he turned it down. Satisfied that he had escaped with his life, he essentially told his higher-ups that he had no interest in any medals. If you prefer the quote that I remember him using years ago, he told his higher-ups that they could "keep their stupid medal." I don't know if it was awarded posthumously, but if it was, my Uncle Tom would be the one who has it. Basically, he has all of my Grandfather's possessions from the war, include the parachute he used on the mission that made him eligible for the aforementioned Purple Heart.
The other thing that really irritates me actually has to do with my Grandfather's grave. The mausoleum that houses his remains is beautifully marked, and he has a prime spot in it to boot. There's just one flaw; one of the markings on his tomb is historically inaccurate, and this really eats at me. There's a medal affixed to the tomb with a seal for the U.S. Air-Force, which is a branch of the military that didn't exist during WWII. At the time of WWII, air combat was handled by the U.S. Army Air Corps.; they were the forerunner to the USAF, and as their name implies, a branch of the ARMY.
What essentially happened was that the military was completely unprepared for an influx of deceased WWII veterans who had fought in a branch of the military that hadn't existed for decades. As a result, they just began issuing USAF medals to all deceased Army Air Corps. members, because there weren't any Army Air Corps. medals for them to issue to deceased soldiers for use on their tombs. Eventually, it was pointed out that the Army Air Corps. and the USAF were two different things with two different logos, and the military began producing Army Air Corps. medals for deceased WWII veterans. Those who died after the change was made have the correct markings on their tombs by default. Those who died before the change was made can have a family member contact the USAF and request that the proper medals be affixed to the tomb of their loved ones. (If I'm not mistaken, the current procedure is to affix both an Army Air Corps. and USAF medal to the tombs of WWII soldiers to signify the branch that they served under as well as its current iteration.) For some reason, no one in my family has bothered to contact the USAF and have them correct the error on my Grandfather's grave. (I really should try to get my mother to do this since it's her father whose tomb is inaccurate.)
Sadly, it seems that these oversights when it comes to our veterans are far more common than they should be. The very least we can do is make sure that the right people receive the right medals, and make sure that the medals that their tombs are accurately marked. I'd like to see more steps taken to actually take care of our living veterans as well, but that's another comment entirely.
I may or may not have mentioned this before, but my Grandfather was actually eligible for a Purple Heart, but he turned it down. Satisfied that he had escaped with his life, he essentially told his higher-ups that he had no interest in any medals. If you prefer the quote that I remember him using years ago, he told his higher-ups that they could "keep their stupid medal." I don't know if it was awarded posthumously, but if it was, my Uncle Tom would be the one who has it. Basically, he has all of my Grandfather's possessions from the war, include the parachute he used on the mission that made him eligible for the aforementioned Purple Heart.
The other thing that really irritates me actually has to do with my Grandfather's grave. The mausoleum that houses his remains is beautifully marked, and he has a prime spot in it to boot. There's just one flaw; one of the markings on his tomb is historically inaccurate, and this really eats at me. There's a medal affixed to the tomb with a seal for the U.S. Air-Force, which is a branch of the military that didn't exist during WWII. At the time of WWII, air combat was handled by the U.S. Army Air Corps.; they were the forerunner to the USAF, and as their name implies, a branch of the ARMY.
What essentially happened was that the military was completely unprepared for an influx of deceased WWII veterans who had fought in a branch of the military that hadn't existed for decades. As a result, they just began issuing USAF medals to all deceased Army Air Corps. members, because there weren't any Army Air Corps. medals for them to issue to deceased soldiers for use on their tombs. Eventually, it was pointed out that the Army Air Corps. and the USAF were two different things with two different logos, and the military began producing Army Air Corps. medals for deceased WWII veterans. Those who died after the change was made have the correct markings on their tombs by default. Those who died before the change was made can have a family member contact the USAF and request that the proper medals be affixed to the tomb of their loved ones. (If I'm not mistaken, the current procedure is to affix both an Army Air Corps. and USAF medal to the tombs of WWII soldiers to signify the branch that they served under as well as its current iteration.) For some reason, no one in my family has bothered to contact the USAF and have them correct the error on my Grandfather's grave. (I really should try to get my mother to do this since it's her father whose tomb is inaccurate.)
Sadly, it seems that these oversights when it comes to our veterans are far more common than they should be. The very least we can do is make sure that the right people receive the right medals, and make sure that the medals that their tombs are accurately marked. I'd like to see more steps taken to actually take care of our living veterans as well, but that's another comment entirely.
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