Medals and Ribbons Earned
by USS Rainier (AE-5)
1941 to 1970
Meritorious Unit Commendation
"For valorous or meritorious achievement
or service that renders the unit
outstanding as compared to
other units performing the same service.
National Defense Medal
World War Two Victory Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnam Campaign Medal
China Service Medal
United Nations Service Medal
Korean Presidential Unit Commendation
Korean Service Medal
Asia-Pacific Campaign Medal
American Campaign Medal
Philippine Liberation Medal
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Navy Occupation Service Medal
OK- All you "Sea Lawyers", Listen Up ! --does the Rainier and its crew qualify for the new "E" medal or the Combat Action Ribbon? 
We got our share of Battle Efficiency "E"'s in the 60's.
Do we get the medal or are we stuck with those little embroidered "E"'s on our sleeves ??? Do we
or the ship qualify for the CAR? It was established in 1969.
As to both, the answer seems to be "no." The "E" medal was authorized for those
who earned the "E" after 1974. The CAR is a personal
award (i.e. not awarded to entire units, but possibly
to every member of a unit) and requires return fire in
a combat situation. I know of no such situation in the Vietnam
period 1965 to 1970, but since the ribbon is retroactive
back to 1941, many individuals may qualify. Spanky Temple,
in his book about Rainier, says there was such a "fire-fight" in 1967.
Does anyone have any other info?
To find out more about these medals, check out the Naval Historical Branch's Medal Index where They Have Details on Qualifications for Each Medal and Ribbon and For Some, the Ships Entitled to Bear the Medals. Another great source for medal info and a lot of other interesting Navy stuff is the GRUNT page
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