Betty Ginette
Watch the medals on a soldier’s chest in the opening minutes of Saving Private Ryan, or a dress-uniform scene in Band of Brothers, and you are looking at something a prop department argued over for weeks. War films live or die on small truths, and few details draw sharper scrutiny than the ribbons and decorations pinned above a character’s pocket. Get them wrong and a veteran three rows back notices before the scene ends. Get them right and the uniform tells you who this person is before they say a word.
Key Takeaways
- The Medal of Honor is the highest US military decoration, awarded by the President of the United States in the name of Congress for valor at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.
- The Purple Heart grew from George Washington’s Badge of Military Merit and honors service members wounded or killed in action.
- Ribbons are worn in a fixed order of precedence, highest award at the top and toward the wearer’s right.
- Screen-accurate decorations use the same die-striking, enamel, plating, and woven-ribbon methods as real awards.
What Are the Top 10 Military Medals Film Crews Study?
When a costume designer builds a period-accurate uniform, they work from the order of precedence, the ranking that decides which decorations outrank which. These are the ten seen most often on screen, highest to lowest.
- Medal of Honor, the highest award of the United States Armed Forces.
- Distinguished Service Cross, the United States Army’s second-highest award for extraordinary heroism in combat.
- Navy Cross, the equivalent for the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.
- Air Force Cross, the equivalent for the United States Air Force.
- Silver Star, awarded across the services for gallantry in action.
- Legion of Merit, for exceptionally meritorious conduct.
- Distinguished Flying Cross, for heroism or achievement in aerial flight.
- Bronze Star, for heroic or meritorious service in a combat zone.
- Purple Heart, for those wounded or killed in armed conflict.
- Air Medal, for meritorious achievement during aerial operations.
The three service crosses at positions two through four sit at the same tier. A soldier earns the Distinguished Service Cross, a sailor or Marine the Navy Cross, an airman the Air Force Cross. Films set across branches need the right one, and mixing them is a common on-screen error. This was done really well in Lucky Strike, a WW2 movie with historically accurate dress and props. I am impressed.
What Does the Medal of Honor Look Like?
There are three designs, one per service department, and all three hang from a light blue neck ribbon dotted with white stars. The United States Army version is a gold five-pointed star framed by a green laurel wreath, with the head of Minerva at its center. The United States Navy version, worn by sailors and Marines, is a bronze star suspended from an anchor. The United States Air Force version sets the head of the Statue of Liberty inside a star and wreath. It hangs at the throat rather than the chest, so any close-up reveals every detail.
Medal of Honor vs Purple Heart
These two decorations sit at opposite ends of what a medal can mean, and films use both to tell very different stories.
The Medal of Honor recognizes personal acts of valor, gallantry, and intrepidity in combat against an enemy of the United States, in military operations involving conflict with an opposing force, or while serving with friendly foreign forces. The standard is deliberately steep: the act must involve risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. It was established during the Civil War under President Abraham Lincoln. Jacob Parrott, a Union soldier and one of Andrews’ Raiders, is recognized as its first recipient in records held by the National Archives. Dr. Mary Walker, a Civil War surgeon, remains the only woman ever awarded it. Later recipients include Theodore Roosevelt, for his charge up San Juan Heights, and General Douglas MacArthur, for the defense of the Philippines. Because it is conferred by the President in the name of Congress, it is often called the Congressional Medal of Honor.
The Purple Heart works differently. It goes to any service member wounded or killed by enemy action, and eligibility is a matter of record rather than nomination. Its lineage runs to 1782, when George Washington created the Badge of Military Merit, and it took its modern form in 1932 with Washington’s profile on the front. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society and the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor preserve the stories behind these awards. Its roster holds names film fans know: Charles Bronson, wounded as an aerial gunner in World War II; James Garner, who earned two in Korea; Kurt Vonnegut, captured at the Battle of the Bulge; and Oliver Stone, who drew on his Vietnam service and Bronze Star to make Platoon. John F. Kennedy carried one from his PT-109 rescue.
One mix-up is worth clearing up. Pat Tillman, the NFL player who left the game to serve, received the Silver Star and Purple Heart rather than the Medal of Honor. Screenwriters get this wrong often.
How Accurate Replica Decorations Get Made
The medals in a serious production are rarely bought off a shelf. They are made with the same techniques as the real awards.
It starts with die-striking. A steel die is engraved with the medal’s design, then a metal blank is stamped under enormous pressure, forcing metal into every line and curve. Enamel color is added next, hand-filled into the struck recesses and fired or cured so the finish sits flush and is durable. Plating follows, whether gold, silver, nickel, or an antiqued finish. The ribbon is its own discipline: the moire patterns are woven on jacquard looms rather than printed, which is why an authentic ribbon catches light the way a photo of one never quite does.
The reason productions go to this trouble is the audience. Veterans watch closely, and groups like the United Service Organizations (USO) and the American Gold Star Mothers tie the stories on screen to the families who lived them. The same die-striking, die casting, and enameling that produce a faithful screen replica are how organizations commission custom medals today, from unit awards to recognition and event programs. The makers like Monterey Company and others, who do it well, tend to be long-running specialists with US-based support staff who can carry a design from sketch to finished strike.
None of this shows up in a review. No one leaves a theater praising the plating on a Bronze Star, and that is the point. Done right, the decorations disappear into the character and earn the trust of the people most qualified to doubt them.
How Do You Get a Medal of Honor?
There is no way to apply for one. A recommendation starts in the field and moves up the chain of command, gathering sworn eyewitness statements at each level. The standard of proof is high, and final approval rests with the President. Because combat is chaotic, awards are sometimes made years or decades later, once the record is complete.
Military Ribbons in Order: What the Colors Mean
On a daily uniform, service members wear ribbon bars rather than the full medals. Each ribbon stands for an award, and its color pattern is its signature. The Medal of Honor ribbon is light blue with white stars; the Purple Heart ribbon is purple bordered in white. A military ribbons chart, published in official order-of-precedence references, lays out every pattern in sequence.
Arrangement follows strict rules. Ribbons sit in rows, the highest precedence in the top row and, within each row, toward the wearer’s right, which is the viewer’s left. Small devices add meaning: a bronze letter V marks an award for valor, while oak leaf clusters or stars show the same decoration earned more than once. For a costume department, the ribbon order is a biography in miniature that a veteran can read at a glance.
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Top 10 Military Medals and Film Accuracy
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How prop teams recreate the Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, and military ribbons for war films, and how real decorations are made.
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