Customer Reviews

The Decorations, Medals, Ribbons, Badges and Insignia of the United States Navy: World War II to Present

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A complete description of Decorations of the Navy DECORATIONS, MEDALS, RIBBONS, BADGES AND INSIGNIA OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY: World War II to Present. By James G. Thompson. Published by Medals of America Press. 124 pages. 17 color plates. Bibliog. Index. Available in both hard and soft cover. This new book is a stunning visual history of the Navy as told by its insignia, military medals, ribbons and badges. This is a complete easy to use guide on the subject and covers the period from World War II to the present. It features all the Navy decorations and service medals along with their history and award criteria. Each medal and ribbon is shown in full color and is identified and displayed in correct order with all attachments and devices. Included are special sections on badges as well as how to wear medals, ribbons and insignia; how to claim medals; how to display awards and detailed information on marksmanship and trophy badges. This concise book puts it all together for you and is a must for all naval personnel, veterans and collectors. Jim Thompson has written a book that is destined to become an instant collector's item. James G. "Jim" Thompson served as a regular officer in the United States Marine Corps in the early 1960's. His service included time as a Platoon Commander and Assistant S-4 in the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, as well as Assistant S-4 for Embarkation on the staff of the 2nd Marines. He served with the Navy, as the Executive Officer of the Marine Detachment aboard the USS Randolph (CVS-15). Mr. Thompson also sailed on the USS Wisconsin (BB-64) as a Midshipman and the USS Monrovia (APA-31) and the USS Okinawa (LPH-3) as part of the Fleet Marine Force. He is a retired Sales Manager formerly with Procter & Gamble and lives in Dunwoody, Georgia. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

The author has done great job bringing together a wealth of information previously not available in print. The sections on decorations and medals are outstanding and include full color pages on all medals and ribbons. The section on specialty marks is the most complete I have seen, with descriptions, drawings and historical background. The specialty marks not only include those in use today, but detail marks back as far as 1939. The sections on insignia are also good. The author has obviously drawn from many sources and has even gone to the trouble of utilizing line drawings on obsolete badges no longer in existence. There are also color pages clearly showing most of the badges and insignia used since World War II. This is an excellent book for current naval personnel and veterans.

this book is an extremely long overdue reference guide. It is one of the most complete and helpful books i have ever seen on awards and decorations. For someone who is looking for information concerning dates, places and reasons for an award or medal, this is the place to come.

Jim Thompson has done a superlative job by providing in-depth detail of each decoration, medal, device and rank/rate insignia of the U.S. Navy. This book is a must-have reference for anyone who has an interest in the Navy, or the armed services in general.

A complete description of Decorations of the Navy DECORATIONS, MEDALS, RIBBONS, BADGES AND INSIGNIA OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY: World War II to Present. By James G. Thompson. Published by Medals of America Press. 124 pages. 17 color plates. Bibliog. Index. Available in both hard and soft cover. This new book is a stunning visual history of the Navy as told by its insignia, military medals, ribbons and badges. This is a complete easy to use guide on the subject and covers the period from World War II to the present. It features all the Navy decorations and service medals along with their history and award criteria. Each medal and ribbon is shown in full color and is identified and displayed in correct order with all attachments and devices. Included are special sections on badges as well as how to wear medals, ribbons and insignia; how to claim medals; how to display awards and detailed information on marksmanship and trophy badges. This concise book puts it all together for you and is a must for all naval personnel, veterans and collectors. Jim Thompson has written a book that is destined to become an instant collector's item. James G. "Jim" Thompson served as a regular officer in the United States Marine Corps in the early 1960's. His service included time as a Platoon Commander and Assistant S-4 in the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, as well as Assistant S-4 for Embarkation on the staff of the 2nd Marines. He served with the Navy, as the Executive Officer of the Marine Detachment aboard the USS Randolph (CVS-15). Mr. Thompson also sailed on the USS Wisconsin (BB-64) as a Midshipman and the USS Monrovia (APA-31) and the USS Okinawa (LPH-3) as part of the Fleet Marine Force. He is a retired Sales Manager formerly with Procter & Gamble.

A complete description of Decorations of the Navy DECORATIONS, MEDALS, RIBBONS, BADGES AND INSIGNIA OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY: World War II to Present. By James G. Thompson. Published by Medals of America Press. 124 pages. 17 color plates. Bibliog. Index. Available in both hard and soft cover. This new book is a stunning visual history of the Navy as told by its insignia, military medals, ribbons and badges. This is a complete easy to use guide on the subject and covers the period from World War II to the present. It features all the Navy decorations and service medals along with their history and award criteria. Each medal and ribbon is shown in full color and is identified and displayed in correct order with all attachments and devices. Included are special sections on badges as well as how to wear medals, ribbons and insignia; how to claim medals; how to display awards and detailed information on marksmanship and trophy badges. This concise book puts it all together for you and is a must for all naval personnel, veterans and collectors. Jim Thompson has written a book that is destined to become an instant collector's item. James G. "Jim" Thompson served as a regular officer in the United States Marine Corps in the early 1960's. His service included time as a Platoon Commander and Assistant S-4 in the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, as well as Assistant S-4 for Embarkation on the staff of the 2nd Marines. He served with the Navy, as the Executive Officer of the Marine Detachment aboard the USS Randolph (CVS-15). Mr. Thompson also sailed on the USS Wisconsin (BB-64) as a Midshipman and the USS Monrovia (APA-31) and the USS Okinawa (LPH-3) as part of the Fleet Marine Force. He is a retired Sales Manager formerly with Procter & Gamble.

This book was published by The Medals of America Press, so it's not surprising that its main emphasis is on decorations, medals and awards. But it also intends, as the author writes, to be a "definitive" reference covering badges and rank insignia, and in this area it falls short. It's more of an overview than a definitive reference. The illustrations look piecemeal, as if borrowed from many different sources. Some look a little amateurish, for instance a hand line drawing combined with a computer graphic of a totally different style. There are many omissions and errors, and very few dates for when various insignia were authorized or changed.

The color plates are very nice, and the information for current insignia and medals is nice to have. But if an historian is looking for information for World War II, which is supposed to be within the book's scope, I'm afraid they might be disappointed.

Still, the book is worth the price for the medal information alone.