Does everyone need something "shiny" to make themselves stick out from other branches/services?

That is why the Marines got rid of patches on our uniforms.

Uh the load master has seen this and he ain't no leg.

I think it is good. A patch, badge or pin lets me know what you do. In aircraft maintenance, we have our badge, dirty boots. If I see a guy with greasy, stained steel toe boots, I know he is a flightline hero. I remember seeing the 1st CAV guys install their Stetsons one afternoon. I was like " fuck yeah". Then I was disappointed to learn they don't wear it into combat. What a sight that would be.

nope

A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon.
-Napoleon Bonaparte

No not at all. Maybe a USMC Tattoo on your forehead will do. What do you think? The military as K-Mark or Disneyland?

When I joined the Air Force the constellation of badges (in those days not shiny - the shiny stuff means the same thing, but it looks cheap, in my opinion) was the various aviator wings and badges for two specialties who qualified as combat jobs, the pocket rocket of the missileers (ICBMs and BOMARCs) and the badge of weapons controllers (now air battle managers) - if you were on a combat crew you wore the combat crew member badge for the duration of your assignment and qualification as operationally ready. I was very proud of being a weapons controller and being charged with employing tactical aircraft, air defense missiles, and nuclear weapons in the defense of my country. The badge was distinctive and meant that I was a war fighter. Then the Air Force decided that the badge would improve morale by indicating your career field. With all due respect (and it is a lot of respect) to maintainers, security police, air traffic controllers, fuels folk, chaplain's assistants, etc., I think we lost something - if everyone has a badge, wearing a badge that looks like all the other badges unless you are up close, makes the badge just another piece of the uniform. Rather than making you stick out, the universality means no one is distinctive.

Should I just give up and move on? One piece of "shiny" I would like to display is the Soldiers Medal. I was recommended for it in 1974 by my platoon leader, 1LT Andrew Stilley, but the recommendation never went through. No idea how far up the chain it went but it was denied for lack of witnesses.

Late July 1974 my unit, C Trp, 1/2ACR, was taking part in a large exercise near the Czechoslovakian border. Might have been a REFORGER, I don't recall. At the time of the exercise my troop had been manning the two border camps in the sector as the forward reaction force in case of attack by the communists, so our vehicles were fully combat loaded with live ammunition. Our main vehicle in the troop was the M551 Sheridan Armored Reconnaissance/Airborne Assault Vehicle, a 17 ton aluminum and steel tracked vehicle with a 152mm main gun.

The Sheridan's main gun was capable of firing conventional type tank rounds, and the Shillelagh infra-red guided missile. Each missile had a warhead containing a 15lb shaped charge of Octol, an extremely high explosive. There were eight missiles stored horizontally in racks in the driver compartment of the vehicle.

We had stopped for the night and formed a defensive perimeter on the eastern edge of the tiny town of Inzendorf, about 15km ENE of Amberg near the Czech border. Around 0300 on the morning of the 25th I was awakened by a loud "whoosh". Still have asleep and not sure if I had actually heard any thing, I went right back to sleep. Then I heard it again. I stood up in the TC hatch and pulled the poncho back that was covering the open hatch to trap the heat from our heater and stuck my head out. I was horrified to see flames shooting out of all the hatches of the Sheridan in the middle of the field and could see someone struggling to get out of the driver's hatch.

I stuck my head back in the hatch and screamed "FIRE" as loud as I could, then climbed out and jumped off my vehicle and began running towards the one on fire. The person in the driver's compartment had managed to get out and was running in a small circle directly in front of the vehicle, still very much on fire and moaning loudly. I still had the poncho and hit him with a flying tackle, extinguishing his flames. I picked him up and gave him a good shove in the general direction of the road, then started running around the side of the vehicle where the outside handle for the fire suppression was while looking for signs of other crewman. About that time there was another loud "whoosh" and flames shot out of the hatches like jet engines. I did a 90 degree turn and ran as fast as I could toward a low split-rail fence I spotted in a large depression about 25 yard from the vehicle.

Just as I was diving over the fence there was a massive blast and I was sent tumbling. I landed on my back and could see a huge ball of flames going up and pieces of tank flying around. I laid there until the cases of small arms ammo burning in the field stopped cooking off and a couple of the Sheridans turned their searchlights on. When I got back to the road I saw SSG Brow standing in front of a jeep wrapped in a wool blanket, his clothes nearly burned completely off and his skin burned charcoal black. It was him I had tackled. Took awhile to get a helicopter out there because they thought we were simulating an accident as part of the exercise, but he was eventually flown out and I learned about 25 years later from my former platoon leader that SSG Brow was sent to a burn center in Texas and survived his injuries. In 2002 I was urged by my PTSD counselor to file a claim and I did, receiving a 70% rating and classified permanently and totally unemployable.

I recently had this coin made for myself.

Back in the day, the border Cav units in Europe (2ACR, 11ACR....) wore the black beret. Now everybody in the Army is wearing them. We thought we were pretty bad-ass and we caught a lot of flack for it from other units, higher echelon, and the like. 40+ years later I still have that feeling of pride for having worn it.

There is no greater honor to wear the uniform of any branch of the United States Military. We all have our missions in the great scheme of things in the defense of our nation. I think that the rivalries between the services and units within those services are a good thing. Being a Marine, I feel that I am part of the finest military branch in the world. We, as Marines, are very proud of our heritage and the roll we have played in our great nations history. "Semper Fi" isn't just a buzz phrase; It has deep meaning to Marines. I have many friends from the various military branches that believe they are part of the best units in the world...as they should. My father-in-law served in Vietnam and was a member of the 5th of the 7th Cavalry (Gary Owen!). Every two years his unit has a reunion in various parts of the country. I have attended 8 of those reunions. As 1 of only 2 Marines at the reunion, I catch a lot of shit (I instigate a bunch of it)...and love every minute of it. I love those old solders and am proud to be a part of their reunion. They feel, and with good reason, that they are the best unit in the U.S. Army...they lived and died in some pretty bad ass battles. My children have grown up with them and we stay in contact throughout the year. Marines talk a whole lot of trash about sailors...always have, always will (they give as good as they take too). I have a total of 1 year sea duty, we went on liberty with our sailors and they were always taken care of by us at all times. There is no squid more respected than the "Doc"...a Navy Corpsman. I like military people...all military people. At one time in there lives they took an oath to do a job and take responsibility for the safety and well being for our nation. They all deserve respect...even "sailors named Lawrence".