is there a general listing of medals given out? (purple hearts, etc.)
what about members of invasionary landings? (storming normandy, battle of the bulge).
any other methods to locate a member who has served?
starting from scratch: army service, but don't know the unit(s).
thanks for any info, general or specific.
There are some websites that list medal recipients, but they are not all complete. I checked a few just now that didn't list my father for two different medals he received. But I know I found a site that did list him several years back. Still, if you do a search on those sites and can find his name listed, they might provide you with more information, such as what unit he was assigned to. Then you could do searches for those specific units. Do you have any idea whether he served in the European or Pacific theater for instance? If you don't know whether he received any awards, but he saw a lot of combat, you might start by looking under Recipients of the Bronze Star.
I thought my father's medals had been lost for years, but found them under a shelf that had collapsed at mom's house where the roof had been leaking. There was some water damage to the display case from the leak, but the medals are still intact. Father's records are quite complete. He had copies of his honorable discharge, etc.
Edit to add pic I shot of the medals with my phone after I found them.