I thank you for making reference to this.
I have wondered about this Bronze Star in officers with a direct commission issue for a long time. My background: I never served a day in uniform (but all my family before me have served...guess I'm the original snowflake...).
Nevertheless, I've always been fascinated by military history and I have had the opportunity/hobby to tour battlefields all over the US and Europe. If I could restart life's clock, I'd like to be a military history professor. That said, I'm extremely fortunate in my job to be able to talk to military veterans ranging from combat generals to buck privates and I'm humbled to be in the presence of them all.
But I've noticed this phenomenon over the years: A LOT of politicians seemed to have had direct commissions-particularly lawyers who served in the JAG corps--and have these Bronze Stars on their record. I realize this represents meritorious service in noncombat (and very essential) roles in the military. However, I'm also aware from history that some politicians seem to tout these awards with a lot of enthusiasm (as opposed to the many decorated vets I've known who went through the hell of combat without EVER acknowledging their decorations from combat valor--I've personally met many with Bronze Stars with a V device, Silver Stars, Navy Cross, etc., as well as one MOH recipient).
Most, if not all, vets with combat service won't open up about their experience unless you do them the favor of expressing some familiarity with what they were exposed to (I never say something like "Oh, you served in Vietnam? That's nice..." I try to open up the conversation with statements like, "Sir, I see you were in Hue during the Tet Offensive in 1968, and you have a combat infantry badge on your hat. What an amazing victory that was never properly presented in the Media. What was it like fighting in the Old City?" Then the veteran will slowly open up about his experiences...even then they usually say something nondescript like "well, the food really sucked" or "my gas mask smelled like shit and it was a real pain in the ass putting hot rubber on your face in 130 degree weather..." and later you find out from family that they were wounded saving their platoon or something similar.
On the other hand, it seems every time I see a Cunningham ad, out comes the prominent display of the Bronze Star. It harkens to Lyndon Johnson's "combat medals"--awarded under controversy--in some ways. I have no real place to question his service, since as I've said, I'm the original snowflake. But I am curious about the opinions of the real veterans on this forum regarding the Bronze Star phenomenon in rear echelon officers.
So for those vets on this forum, can someone explain to me why I see so many Bronze Stars awarded for service in the JAG corps? What types of lawyerly service earn this recognition? My feeling is that Cal walking around like Audie Murphy with his Bronze Star wouldn't earn much other than stony silence from airborne troops, those in a VFW, still hospitalized in Walter Reed, or other places. Thanks in advance for commenting...