[Graphic] Snapshots from the 464th Bombardment Group.
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The 464th Bomb Group in WWII - Flak

464th BG Citations and Medals

      Copies of two citations received by the 464th Bombardment Group during WWII are offered for free download, here. These copies are offered by courtesy of Robert Hoskinson (778th) and Greg Krenzelok.

GenOrder4096.pdf (46.5 kb)
issued 22 October 1944. 		GenOrder3507.pdf (156 kb)
issued 14 July 1945.
      The 464th BG members were awarded a variety of medals during WWII. The 464th received it's first "Distinguished Unit Citation" (later renamed "Presidential Unit Citation") for the mission of 8 July '44 to Florisdorf Oil Refinery, Vienna. The second DUC (PUC) was awarded for the mission of 24 August '44 to Pardubice, Czech.
[The images, below, are also courtesy of Robert Hoskinson (778th)]


[Photo] Presidential Unit Citation award.     The Distinguished Unit Citation was awarded to units of the Armed Forces of the United States and allies for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy on or after 7 December 1941 (the date of the Attack on Pearl Harbor and the start of American involvement in World War II).
    The unit must display such gallantry, determination, and esprit de corps in accomplishing its mission under extremely difficult and hazardous conditions so as to set it apart from and above other units participating in the same campaign.
    The degree of heroism required is the same as that which would warrant award of the Distinguished Service Cross to an individual.
    The Army citation was established as the Distinguished Unit Citation on 26 February 1942, and received its present name of the President's Unit Citation on 3 November 1966.
    All members of the unit may wear the decoration, whether or not they personally participated in the acts for which the unit was cited. Only those assigned to the unit at the time of the action cited may wear the decoration as a permanent award. For the Army and Air Force, the emblem itself is a solid blue ribbon enclosed in a gold frame.
    For the Army and Air Force, the emblem itself is a solid blue ribbon enclosed in a gold frame. As with other citation decorations, the Army's is in a larger frame that is worn above the right pocket.
[Photo] The Distinguished Flying Cross as awarded to the members of the 464th.
Go to a larger image. 		    The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in combat in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918."
    The decoration may also be given for an act performed prior to that date when the individual has been recommended for, but has not received the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross, or Distinguished Service Medal.
    The Distinguished Flying Cross, was authorized by an Act of Congress of July 2, 1926, an act amended by Executive Order 7786 on January 8, 1938.
    It was awarded first to Herbert Dargue, and not Charles Lindbergh as many believe.
    During wartime, members of the Armed Forces of friendly foreign nations serving with the United States are eligible for the D.F.C. It is also given to those who display heroism while working as instructors or students at flying schools.
[Photo] The Air Medal as awarded to the members of the 464th.
Go to a larger image. 		   The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States which was established by Executive Order 9158, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, on May 11, 1942. The Air Medal is retroactive to September 8, 1939.
    The Air Medal is awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity in or with the Armed Forces of the United States, shall have distinguished himself/herself by meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.
    Awards may be made to recognize single acts of merit or heroism, or for meritorious service.
    Award of the Air Medal is primarily intended to recognize those personnel who are on current crew member or non-crew member flying status which requires them to participate in aerial flight on a regular and frequent basis in the performance of their primary duties.
    However, it may also be awarded to certain other individuals whose combat duties require regular and frequent flying in other than a passenger status, or individuals who perform a particularly noteworthy act while performing the function of a crew member but who are not on flying status.
    These individuals must make a discernible contribution to the operational land combat mission or to the mission of the aircraft in flight.
[Photo] The World War II Victory Medal as awarded to the members of the 464th.
Go to a larger image. 		    The World War II Victory Medal is a decoration of the United States military which was created by an act of Congress in July 1945. The decoration commemorates military service during the Second World War and is awarded to any member of the United States military, including members of the armed forces of the Government of the Philippine Islands, who served on active duty, or as a reservist, between December 7, 1941 and December 31, 1946.
   The World War II Victory Medal was first issued as a ribbon,
and was referred to simply as the "Victory Ribbon." By 1946, a full medal had been established which was referred to as the World War II Victory medal.
   There is no minimum service time limit for the issuance of the World War II Victory Medal, and the National Personnel Records Center has reported some cases of service members receiving the award for simply a few days of service.
    As the Second World War ended in August 1945, there are also cases of service members, who had enlisted in 1946, receiving the decoration without having been a veteran of World War II. The reason for this late date is that President Harry S. Truman did not declare an official end of hostilities until the last day of 1946.
[Photo] The American Campaign Medal as awarded to the members of the 464th.
Go to a larger image. 		    The American Campaign Medal was a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created in 1942 by order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
    Originally issued as the "American Theater Ribbon," the decoration was intended to recognize those service members who had performed duty in the American Theater of Operations during the Second World War.
    To be awarded the American Campaign Medal, a service member
was required to either perform one year of consecutive duty within the continental borders of the United States, or perform 30 days consecutive/60 non-consecutive days of duty outside the borders of the United States but within the American Theater of Operations.
    The American Theater was defined as the entirety of the United States to include most of the Atlantic Ocean, a portion of Alaska, and a small portion of the Pacific bordering California and Baja California.
[Photo] The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal as awarded to the members of the 464th.
Go to a larger image. 		    The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal is a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created in 1942 by Executive Order of President Franklin D.
Roosevelt.
    The decoration was intended to recognize those military service members who had performed military duty in the European Theater (to include North Africa and the Middle East) during the years of the Second World War.
   Originally known as the "EAME Ribbon," the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal is awarded for any service performed between December 7, 1941 and March 2, 1946 provided such service was performed in the geographical theater areas of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East.
    For those service members who participated in multiple battle campaigns, service stars are authorized to the decoration with the arrowhead device awarded for any airborne or amphibious operations performed.
[Photo] The Good Conduct Medal as awarded to the members of the 464th.
Go to a larger image. 		    The Good Conduct Medal is one of the oldest military decorations of the United States military.
    The Navy Good Conduct Medal was first issued 1869, followed by a Marine version in 1896.
    The Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal was issued in 1923 and the Army Good Conduct Medal in 1941.
    The Air Force was the last service to create a Good Conduct Medal in 1963 and the first to discontinue it, which it did in February, 2006.
    The Good Conduct Medal was issued for exemplary conduct, efficiency and fidelity during three years of active enlisted service with the U.S. Air Force.
[Photo] The Purple Heart was awarded to the members of the 464th who were wounded.
Go to a larger image. 		   The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after 5 April 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in Newburgh,
New York.
    The original Purple Heart, designated as the Badge of Military Merit, was established by George Washington – then the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army – by order from his Newburgh, New York headquarters on 7 August 1782.
    The Badge of Military Merit was only awarded to three Revolutionary War soldiers and fell into disuse following the War of Independence. Although never abolished, the award of the badge was not proposed again officially until after World War I.
    The first Purple Heart was awarded to MacArthur. During the early period of American involvement in World War II (7 December 1941-22 September 1943), the Purple Heart was awarded both for wounds received in action against the enemy and for meritorious performance of duty. With the establishment of the Legion of Merit, by an Act of Congress, the practice of awarding the Purple Heart for meritorious service was discontinued.
    By Executive Order 9277, dated 3 December 1942, the decoration was extended to be applicable to all services and the order required that regulations of the Services be uniform in application as far as practicable. This executive order also authorized award only for wounds received.
    During World War II, the Purple Heart was often awarded "on or at the spot," with occasional entries made into service records, but this was often not the case. In addition, during the mass demobilizations that followed each of America's major wars, it was a common occurrence for the Purple Heart to be omitted from service records, due to clerical errors, once the service record was closed upon discharge.


Additional information regarding each medal, or award, above was provided in part by:
military.usmedals.com, pentagon.mil, en.wikipedia.org, www.answers.com, and www.about.com
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