When I began my research into my uncle Sylvan's time as glider pilot I had my grandmother's scrapbook of letters, photos and official papers, a few saved items like the flag from his coffin, and a small box of medals. For some reason, understanding the small pins my glider glider pilot wore was one of my first pursuits. They were a mystery to most people, even those in the research areas of aviation museums. The easy one to identify was the ETO medal with the Africa/Europe colors on the bar. But I had only the colored bar with three little stars on it. When we visited the Utah Beach museum in June 2008, on our memorial trip, my husband asked a clerk if they sold the ribbon. A very nice person made a great effort to search high and low in the storeroom. My husband spoke to her in French about Sylvan landing his Horsa in Normandy on D-Day and she was so charmed, she gave the medal to him.
When I scanned the medal I placed it on a blue silk scarf surrounded by Belgian lace. I bought the lace in 1981 in Belgian, a country liberated by the Allies. I am not sure why there were three stars on the the bar. Sylvan was in two groups (313, 316, and temporarily the 438th) as a glider pilot and was stationed in Africa, Sicily, England and flew missions in Normandy and Holland. If anyone knows what the stars mean, I would appreciate hearing from you.
Ms Hilber; The clasps on the European Theater of Operations represent the major campaigns from D-Day to the end of resistance. There were 5 stars issued for Europe. Your uncle evidently participated in 2 of these. As a pilot in Troop Carrier I participated in all five. The "human" stories best represents the dash, bravery and youthful antics round out the formal description of their feats revealing them to be not only brave but lively representatives of those who choose to take their youth into danger but refused to give up the antics that made that them an ever present memory. ex-Capt. Marvin Litke 434th Troop Carrier, 71s Troop Carrier Squadron
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