Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Competitive Shooting "Distinguished Medals"

I think the others have done alot to share how significant the Distinguished awards are in the competitive shooting world. I'll try to add to that.

Your dad earned his awards during a time when competitive shooting was much bigger than it is now, and the military was involved to a much larger degree than they are today. As a result, it was significantly more difficult to earn a distinguished badge back then than it is today. The CMP Database indicates that he did it as a civilian which adds a further degree of difficulty to his awards.
Here's the link to the CMP Database. Interestingly, I found him in the Pistol list, but not the Rifle list and not the "Multiples" listing. The CMP databse is by no means complete and I'm sure they would love for you to fill in their blanks on your father's awards.
http://clubs.odcmp.com/cgi-bin/report_distinguished.cgi

Here are links to some articles about the history and significance of the Distinguished Awards;
http://www.odcmp.com/Competitions/Distinguished_History.pdf
http://www.odcmp.com/Competitions/In_Distinguished_Company_Culver_2000.pdf

Here are some pics of badges from the 1920's and one from the current era for comparison (plated, not solid gold!). Notice the engraving style on the back of the old one (similar to your dad's?), and the pins that affix the enameled target to the badge. (Jeff, I don't think they numbered badges until much later. idahochukar2, I also believe the "rifle" badges were labeled "Distinguished Marksman" on the front until a few decades later).