Soldiers take pride in their commitment to service, even long after that service is complete. Usually, veterans relish the opportunities to come together and tell their stories of youth and glory. So, why do these same veterans forego opportunities to share their stories with a larger audience? At a recent reception in Washington DC found myself surrounded by a cluster of military officers from Central Europe. Some of them were still active, and some were not, but all of them had a chest full of ribbons, medals and accolades attesting to their days of service since past. It occurred to me that I had seen more deployments than some of them and more combat than all of them. So why was I the only one not wearing any military decorations?
It may seem strange that a soldier, who spent his years in service overachieving for as many medals possible, will bury those same medals deep in his closet as soon as he is discharged. The relationship between the American soldier and the public is a complicated one. There is no federal law which describes the method of wearing military medals and decorations with civilian clothes for veterans, although regulations state that veterans may wear medals on civilian clothing on Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, and Armed Forces Day, as well as at "formal occasions of ceremony and social functions of a military nature." Yet, even if validly authorized, there are essentially three reasons that a veteran would rather not display his medals in public.
