Thanks! Love those ideas/tags. Any more or srs version is fine! That post inspired me asking a bit – just wondering how the situation might be handled.
All service people who served between 12/7/41 and 12/31/46 received a WW2 Victory Medal; the other designations would’ve depended on how his death was classified – if was classified as KIA outright most likely a Purple Heart would’ve awarded posthumously (perhaps he would’ve received an Oak Leaf cluster in lieu, considering he most likely received one for his capture/wounds received in Azzano – each subsequent injury from military service is awarded an Oak Leaf to wear in concert with the original Purple Heart). Also he most likely received a commendation for bravery for his work with the Commandos; considering the level of commitment and the delicacy of their missions most likely a Silver Star for bravery or the Distinguished Service Cross (I’d go with the latter, as his work with with Cap would’ve most likely fallen under “extreme bravery/risk of life in military posthumously as well.
I doubt he would’ve received a Medal of Honor outright? But depending on who lobbied for him (i.e. Peggy/Phillips) he may have been awarded one posthumously once more information about the Commando’s actual work was released. MoH is THE MOST distinguished bravery commendation given.
I c&p’ed your replies to read easily in one go. This is SUPER informative/valuable! You are the BEST. ♥♥♥
I feel compelled to explain what they are so that those who might be writing fanfictions or doing roleplays will know what these medals mean and imply.
Presidential Unit Citation Badge: This is awarded to a unit for gallantry and determination in accomplishing…
Wonder if he’s gotten other medals since then. I’d say he’d get at least the Medal of Honor for that final Red Skull mission right?
I’m just going to do this, because I spent a couple of months reading up on US military awards when I was writing for A-Team and for god’s sake I may as well put that to use.
1: Yeah, he’s probably got the Medal of Honor. He deliberately sacrificed his life to ditch a monstrous Nazi flying wing that was going to destroy New York City. That’s basically how you earn one.
In fact you can read through the names of US service personnel recipients and the deeds for which they were awarded the Medal of Honor on the Army’s website: http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/recipients.html
Once you get started reading that, it is actually hard to stop. This, my friends, is a list of stone-cold balls-to-the-wall heroism. The lesser actions are humbling. The greater ones are jaw-dropping.
2: I wouldn’t be surprised if the DOD does in fact have a protocol for people who turn out not to be dead to receive previously posthumous awards (I mean, it’s a line of work where it could conceivably happen), but I don’t know what it is and am not dedicated enough to look it up. But a fic where he had to go through a ceremony where he was recognized with one long-delayed medal after another, turning progressively redder with self-consciousness, would be pretty darned hilarious.
Medals and awards he might have earned (all the medals and awards Steve would definitely have for his service in the WWII European theater, plus basically a systematic list of awards granted for being a big damn hero):
Medal of Honor (I’m betting)
Distinguished Service Cross (possibly: extraordinary acts of heroism or merit which don’t qualify for the Medal of Honor; if they didn’t give him the Medal of Honor for raiding that facility and saving 40+ Allied POWs, they might have given him this)
The Silver Star (possibly; awarded for gallantry in action that doesn’t qualify for the Distinguished Service Cross, so if they didn’t give him the Distinguished Service Cross, they almost certainly gave him this)
The Soldier’s Medal (possibly; acts of heroism not involving conflict with an enemy, e.g. rescuing a comrade from a burning building)
The Bronze Star (probably, possibly multiple times; acts of heroism, merit, or meritorious service in a combat zone)
In order of precedence, the Purple Heart goes here
Army Commendation Medal (probably, and probably with oak clusters for multiple awards; for heroism, meritorious achievement or service ranking below the Bronze Star; otherwise known as ‘Steve’s average day’)
Army Good Conduct Medal (can you doubt?—in wartime, awarded for one year of good service, unsullied by marks against your record—although ironically he probably doesn’t have this in comics continuity, because he was always deliberately getting into minor trouble in order to get into costume and hero up)
World War II European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (definitely; awarded for active service in these theaters of war)
World War II Victory Medal (definitely; awarded for active service in WWII)
The Howling Commandos may have also received other unit awards, awarded for various exceptional services and deeds. As a member, Steve would have these as well. (Unit awards are worn on the right breast; individual awards on the left.)
Now, there’s the question of whether he’s technically still in the service of the US military after he wakes up. SHIELD, while it existed, was a UN operation (probably; maybe; kinda-sorta?). In the real world, the UN has no standing troops of its own. Personnel are ‘loaned’ by member nations. So…is he a SHIELD operative, or an active US Army officer operating under SHIELD’s command?
If he’s still in the service of the US Army, then he’s got a few additional retroactive medals coming his way, and the potential to earn more. These include:
Defense Meritorious Service Medal (possibly; this is what they’d give him for heroism beyond the call of duty for military service with SHIELD or…god knows how the Avengers rate)
Joint Service Commendation Medal (possibly, if he’s awarded for exemplary military service with SHIELD)
National Defense Service Medal (definitely, if he’s still considered US Army active service)
Army Service Ribbon (he would’ve been awarded this retroactively after he woke up, assuming he’s still on active duty)
Army Overseas Service Ribbon (retroactive, assuming he’s still on active duty)
OH THANK GOD FOR YOU. Because I KNEW that Steve’s current dress uniform NOW would have more medals than the picture shows up (understandable, because that’s a photo taken in Steve’s career).
I honestly think he’s still active U.S. Army, just loaned out to SHIELD, since SHIELD, actually, is the new SSR.
A few things I’m imagining in this scenario:
a. Somebody more knowledgeable than me has said that Steve, whether or not he’s currently active US Army in the canon MCU ‘verse, should have gotten several promotions over the years he’s been MIA. So unless I’m wrong, Steve’s actual rank now is Colonel? Possibly higher? (Hi, Hannibal! – not the serial killer cannibal dude, i mean the A-Team guy) I’m betting they just call him “Captain Rogers” since “Colonel America” doesn’t have the same ring to it.
b. So basically, I need to write yet another fic (I know there are others out there), in which Steeb needs to get his medals sorted out and he’s EMBARRASSED AS ALL HELL because he’d really, REALLY rather not have all this fuss and maybe BUCKY guilts him into it, only for BUCKY to have the tables turned on him because, basically, due to the fact that’s he’s really the country’s longest-held POW and all the shit he’s been through? He also deserves a few medals (plus his own promotions) of his own!
c. The fact that Steeb is active US Army amuses the HELL out of me. And basically, who among the brass is going to ATTEMPT to put the whole chain of command thing on Steve? Can you imagine Ross trying to go toe to toe with Steve regarding the Hulk? Steve’s going to unleash epic hell on him for that one. (Oh dear Lord, what if Steve’s actual rank now is really General or if they attempted to bump him up to that but he initially refused but then decided to agree, if only because it would protect Bruce from Ross? Especially if Steve gets more stars than Ross does?)
An essay about why 10/10, Steve Rogers should have probably stopped by that lab before he became Captain America.
A short list of things Steve did without actually knowing if he could do them:
chase a taxi going at least 40mph
do a running leap over an explosion and certain death to get to bucky
crash through a window and fall probably 20 stories with a vibranium shield to break his fall
get shot like three times while on his way to save millions of innocent lives
grab and pull down a helicopter actively trying to take off
There’s probably more but here’s all we know that Steve knows, at least in Captain America: The First Avenger. It sounds like Dr. Erskine gave Steve a crash course in super soldier serum. We only get about half a sentence of it when Steve says he can’t get drunk. His cells can regenerate at an accelerated rate–it sounds like every chemical reaction in his body is just cranked up to 11.
So basically, Steve has no fucking clue what he’s capable of until he does it.
I bet running a few exercises in that lab in Jersey is sounding pretty good right now, eh Steven?
Star-struck Interviewer: “You must miss the good old days.”
Steve Rogers: “I grew up in a tenement slum. Rats, lice, bedbugs, one shared bathroom per floor with a bucket of water to flush, cast iron coal-burning stove for cooking and heat. Oh, and coal deliveries – and milk deliveries, if you could get it – were by horse-drawn cart. One summer I saw a workhorse collapse in the heat, and the driver started beating it with a stick to make it get up. We threw bricks at the guy until he ran away. Me and Bucky and our friends used to steal potatoes or apples from the shops. We’d stick them in tin cans with some hot ashes, tie the cans to some twine, and then swing ‘em around as long as we could to get the ashes really hot. Then we’d eat the potato. And there were the block fights. You don’t know what a block fight was? That’s when the Irish or German kids who lived on one block and the Jewish or Russian kids who lived on the next block would all get together into one big mob of ethnic violence and beat the crap out of each other. One time I tore a post out of a fence and used it on a Dutch kid who’d called Bucky a Mick. Smacked him in the head with the nails.”
Seriously, why did they take this scene from the final cut? It is so very important! And not only to explain why Steve lacked the cowl in the end of the movie, but because this tiny moment is extremely important to Steve’s development as a character. He came to be seen as a fascist, as exactly that which he fought to destroy. Captain America, who sought to fight bullies his whole life, is now seen as one. Imagine the impact that had on his head. The meaning of his actions after he saw this. Steve began to give up the Captain America identity right here. This is why in Civil War he has no problems giving up the shield. He and Captain America have long been drifting apart. In fact, they were never one to begin with:
Steve went through his whole life trying to show people he wasn’t what they thought of him. Becoming Captain America was one way to do it, and giving this identity up is another one.
Steve isn’t unaware of the symbolism Captain America entails. For good and for bad. In The First Avenger he uses the symbol in his favour, transforming it. In The Winter Soldier he owns the symbol he became, working in favour of the greater good through his public image. However, in Civil War he has to give the symbol up, for it has come to represent something he is not.
When Tony tells him he doesn’t deserve the shield, Steve is tired of having to “prove” that his actions are those of Captain America. People put Captain America in a box that doesn’t fit Steve Rogers. Tony tells him he is not worthy of being Captain America, of carrying the shield his father made, as if he had betrayed what Howard Stark worked for, as if somehow Howard was responsible for the making of Captain America, and Steve became unworthy to be part of Howard’s legacy. This is just one way people created a general idea about who Captain America is, forgetting the man behind the shield.
Steve will be that which he has to be. That which he feels in his heart and head to be his duty, the right thing. He became Captain America for that reason, and for that same reason he threw cowl and shield aside.
Sorcerer’s Stones: 76,944 Chamber of Secrets: 85,141 Prisoner of Azkaban: 107,253 Goblet of Fire: 190,637 Order of the Phoenix: 257,045 Half-Blood Prince: 168,923 Deathly Hallows: 198,227
Word count in the LOTR Series:
The Hobbit: 95,022 Fellowship of the Ring: 177,227 Two Towers: 143,436 Return of the King: 134,462
“There’s a lot to be said for making people laugh. Did you know that that’s all some people have? It isn’t much, but it’s better than nothing in this cockeyed caravan.”
Why do people think because Steve’s name is Captain America that he automatically loves America? Because he doesn’t like at all. Steve Rogers does not represent America, he represents what America should be.
People: Captain America won’t approve of you slandering America!
Steve, on the run because he disapproved of the government making policies that would take away people’s rights: Please don’t smear my name like that
hannahbelleeeebackup 