Official US Sept.11 medal

[mott5ranch]

The first named 400 were delivered to the Pentagon. Here is what they look like.

http://www.gracoind.com/index.asp?cat=33602

[Mike Dunn]

They need to find some new designers. Mike

[ccj]

Yeah,

I always thought most US medals were unattractive and plain but this one wins the prize for bad.
This cannot be a US issue medal. I just don't think it true. Why doesn't the seller show better images? Are they selling them already?

[Dirk]

Pentagon Medal

Yes, it is what they look like. Ugly maybe, but seven of my fellow office workers received these and it made them feel a bit better. Sadly, although many have physically healed they still suffer the emotional scars from the attack.

[ccj]

Well,

I will admit it shows that the victims are remembered by the US Gov't but I would think a better medal, in both quality and symbolism would be issued.

[Ken Jasper]

I would have been honored to receive one no matter what it looks like.

[jeremiahcable]

Think about it

Come on Gary, we are talking about Tomball. The city was named after the founder Tom Ball. That should tell you something. The medal is a great idea and it is an honor to receive it, but it is ugly. I have a Humanitarian Service Medal from picking up Cuban boat people. The ribbon is beautiful, but the medal is a disc with an open hand showing it's palm. Just plain ugly. I agree that we really need to work on the designs.

Jeremiah

[Newlyn]

Pretty poor

Simply a poor design, just no visual impact.

[Ed_Haynes]

This has little do do with the events of 11 September except as a coincidence -- not without symbolism, to be sure -- of the moment of creation. This is a kind of civilian Purple Heart for government employees who get wounded in any service.

OK, ugly. But the U.S. Department of Transportation abomination is worse!

So far, no campaign award.

See my:

http://faculty.winthrop.edu/haynese/...han/fifth.html

Ed Haynes

[mott5ranch]

Jeremiah,
All US medals are lacking in comparison to the rest of the world. There is little or no serious craftmanship, enamel inserts, or professional polishing. The only US medal with any grace is the Legion of Merit series. Tombal, Texas has many left over hard die cast machines from the old oil industry. They were easy to convert into medal making machines. The defense rests your honor, I didn't design them or make them, I just pointed them out.

[Dez H]

In this case, due to the pressing need for the timely presentation of these awards, Graco Awards, Inc. completed the entire job, including hand-cutting stamping dies, weaving the ribbon, and manufacturing the complete medal sets, in an unprecedented 7 days.

This really shows in the finished product, even a design with an enamelled centre would have been nice.

[mott5ranch]

These medals fell into the typical American system of low bid and quick delivery.

"OK, OK, we want a medal, red white and blue ribbon, throw in an eagle....on the back use the words....uh, hmmm? Oh yeah, from a grateful nation! That will work!
Low bid with the quickest delivery gets the job. You have 24 hours to submit a proposal. "

I wonder how many bidders there were?

[Rick Research]

God, that's just an AWFUL design. I had to look really hard to even SEE the "eagle" which looks like a cross between car body rust flaking, Wheaties poking through milk in a bowl of cereal, and that grotesque road-kill chicken the Bundestag had covering one wall of their chamber in Bonn.

Dreadful.

Must be the same people who have seen our stamp designs go down the drain.

Embarassing!

And probably made out of that light crud metal with the "staybrite" flashed on finish too. Yuck!

An award that means something should have: dramatic design, and instrinsic value. It should stand out for what it represents. Especially on decorations, there is no reason not to use silver, for God's sake.

This... thing... is shameful looking. It's in a "class" with those flat, lifeless, banal U.N. disks with their generic bowling league trophy ribbons and the cardboard-punchouts Australia has been inflicting on its uniformed personnel for going on 30 years. Yuckkkkk!

[Chris Boonzaier]

Rick, you have taken some low blows in your life, insulted all the Zinc collectors, made fun of the imperially impaired..... but comparing anything to Australias medals really takes the cake. I retract my open invitation to come around anytime you are in the area. Even I love America to much to compare her medals to those of down under...

[Ed_Haynes]

Again, please realize that this is NOT an award for September 11.

And it is, of course, worse than something from a Cracker Jacks box! And from the Institute of Heraldry people in DoD! Would love to see who sets their designs for them.

So:
- still no US campaign award for 11 Sept - but why?
- still no US campaign award for 5th Afghan War - most others have one

How long for something for Gulf War III?

Ed Haynes