Basic mistake is assuming that the costume people for The Godfather actually knew what they were doing or cared that they got it right. The likeliest scenario is that some costumer read the script requirements, went to the wardrobe department, grabbed a bunch of ribbons, put them on a uniform, and asked someone who wasn't an expert if they were right.
One minor thing. The oak leaf clusters are used by the army and air force for additional awards. The navy and USMC typically use stars for additional awards. Great video!
As Regiments - yes - as far as I know. Marines were used to train Army Personnel in Amphibious Landings until the Army had enough experience that they didn't need them any more. However, all large American Naval Vessels - such as Battleships or Aircraft Carriers - had Marine Detachments. The men in these detachments would have gotten the same Campaign Medals as the ship's crew. They were part of the ship's crew. The purpose of these detachments goes back a thousand years or more. They could be used to board an enemy vessel - or - defend their own against borders. In modern times - the concern was being boarded by terrorists. Additionally - during the Age of Sail - it was common place for Ships to have Landing Parties of Sailors and Marines that would go ashore to attack an enemy fortification from it's landward side - or perform some other task - such as gathering food or wood for the health of the crew and maintenance of the ship. If there was need for the Shore Party to have security from say - hostile natives perhaps - that would be another job for the Marines. An additional purpose was to protect the Commander of the ship from mutiny. On some ships- there were secondary gun turrets manned by the Marine Detachment as an additional duty. These turrets had a small Eagle Glob and Anchor stencil painted on their outside. On the Battleship I saw the picture of - they manned a dual 5" 38 cal. turret. When I was last on an American Vessel - it had a Marine Detachment - but - these detachments were subsequently deleted in the Post Cold War Draw Down because of their cost. The Marines would periodically have security drills where, fully kitted out - they'd charge down the passageways and you better not get in their way as they were told to knock you aside if you did. Thus - any American Amphibious Landing during WWII would have had Marines there aboard ships - who might have been sent ashore for any number of security or logistical reasons. It would be a lot more likely that this was what he was doing in the Med - rather than some cloak and dagger thing with the Mafia. I was under the definite understanding that Michael had been kept out of the family business. I'm not sure how big the ship had to be to have a Marine Detachment. Carriers and Battleships - yes - Battle Cruisers probably - Cruisers ... I don't know. Destroyers and below - I doubt it. Then of course - all our Embassy's have Marine Guards. When Italy switched sides - they may have had an Embassy. Consulates may also have Marine Guards but I don't know. Their could have been a Consulate in Egypt. Small detachments of Marines have routinely been sent to all kinds of places to do all kinds of things. Of course they could have just screwed things up. When Michael is sent to assassinate that Police Captain and Mafioso - a Combat Veteran would probably not be as nervous as Michael was. It's hard to say. Being a non-vet Pacino didn't really know what it was like to be in the military - much less a Combat Veteran. .
well they had marksman on ship in operation neptune and overlord and some marines were involved in beach clearing and a small number were i belive kept on standby to assist the rangers at pont du hoc if the need arose.
There were small Marine detachments on the coast of France in 1945. Some Marines were killed when the Germans in the Channel Islands raided the coast. In addition it wouldn't have been impossible for a Marine officer who spoke Sicilian to be assigned by the Navy to assist in the landings in Sicily and later Salerno, though I suspect they would have kept him apart from the Army and the OSS.
In "Godfather II" Michael testifies to a Senate committee that he was awarded the Navy Cross. Yet when he appears for the first time in "Godfather I" the Navy Cross is nowhere to be seen.
MOH and Navy Crosses take a long time to adjudicate. It would catch up to him a year or so after the action cited. Standard in my war in Iraq and Afghanistan. So, it is accurate for him at time of demobilization immediately after the war. This movie had it right.
It is possible however that his Silver Star was upgraded to a Navy Cross some time between August 1945 (when we see him in uniform at Connie's wedding) and his Senate hearing in 1959. One of the guys who my Dad served with, Staff Sergeant Steffon Booker, received the Silver Star in 2003, but his award was upgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross in 2019, over 16 years later. So it wouldn't be unrealistic for this to happen with Michael as well.
@@jackschirmer9508 Or a more plausible explanation is that the part of being awardedthe Navy Cross was inserted during the filming of Godfather II and they forgot about the ribbon rack scene in Godfather I
I absolutely LOVE the headcanon and I am certain that Mario Puzo, who would happily torture his own writing to get it to work better with the projects of others, would approve and canonize this!
For those wondering: In WW2, and with the Marine's generally, fewer medals & awards were more common. Today, larger ribbon racks are more common. As an example, an Army soldier serving in the Iraq War (3 years of service, 1 combat deployment), may conservatively obtain 5 ribbons, nearly as many as the putative Corleone, and without seeing any real action or doing anything of note.
Exactly. Lets compare an average U.S. Army Infantryman in WW2 to an average U.S. Army infantryman in the 2000s. A guy who joined the Army in 1942, deployed to the European Theater and got out in 1945, without doing anything particularly special, would've left service with 3 medals. The ETO Medal, the American Campaign Medal and the WW2 Victory Medal. Whereas lets say hypothetically our GWOT soldier joins the Army in 2005, deploys to Iraq from 2006-2007, and gets out in 2009. He would at the very least, the NDSM, the Army Service Ribbon, the GWOT Service Medal and the Iraq Campaign Medal, and would likely have the Good Conduct Medal and Army Achievement Medal as well.
They give out ribbons for every deployment nowadays. Bronze Stars are handed out like candy. My father's (USMC) WW2 ribbons were in 2 rows, 5 ribbons with 4 battle stars.
Today you can have 16 ribbons and never see combat. I have so many useless ribbons from my 21 year years in the Coast Guard that I don't even no what most of them are.
A Peter Ortiz-like OSS style story with an Italian background instead of a French one would be ideal but the lack of a Parachutist Badge makes that unlikely. The Paul Hogan marker for Australia, pure class!
I was thinking the same thing. Instead of jumping into occupied Europe, in my head canon Michael went in by rubber boat from a sub off the coast of Italy.
@@TheCommandersVoiceAATW since he didn't have an American Campaign Medal, I thought it was plausible that he was already operating in the theater. However, he doesn't have an American Defense Medal and I vaguely remember him saying he enlisted after the start of the war in the movie.
@@ClaspsofCourage likewise, Peter Ortiz is a worthy candidate for an episode, but you'll have to jump into the crazy world of French medals. In preparation for your Casey Ryback extravaganza, the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard use gold stars for subsequent awards and not the oak leaf clusters of the Army and Air Force.
@ without looking at all the variables for qualifying service for the ACM, the most common way to earn it was service within the continental limits of the United States for an aggregate period of 1 year. We can create a plausible timeline where MC gets enlists after 7 DEC 41 but still lacks enough qualifying service for the ACM.
Actor Sterling Hayden was a Marine Corps officer who served in Europe, specifically on the islands and waters of the Adriatic Sea, with clandestine landings on the coast of German-occupied Yugoslavia to insert/extract agents, extract US flying personnel shot down but rescued by Partisans, and deliver weapons and other suppliers to said Partisans. Hayden was assigned to the OSS (Office of Strategic Services -- the forerunner of the CIA), which trained and employed men of all the US armed services, though its commander was an Army general, William "Wild Bill" Donavon. OSS men operating in the ETO would have earned the ENAME campaign medal if on the job there long enough. I expect there were other USMC personnel seconded to the OSS in Europe, but such service was a rarety compared to the vast majority of the Corps' manpower.
Not to be offensive to those individuals but they were essentially the same thing as any number of quasi-legal organizations from numerous countries. Brandenburgers, MI6, GRU, NKVD, SOE, SAS and a bunch of other organizations. If you're on the winning side then they were the good guys, if not then they were the bad guys. Partisans were also considered illegal and with good reason. For example the British (mostly Canadians) landed at a small French port called Dieppe in the summer 1942. The landing was repulsed as the Allies were retreating the SAS slit the throats of 20 something German Army POW's who had their hands tied behind the backs. Of course war crimes don't get any clearer than this one. Following on the heals of this, Hitler ordered that no more British commandos were ever to be taken prisoner again. That order was considered a criminal order but we would have done the exact same thing.
As a matter of fact, British agents staged revenge killings after the war throughout occupied Germany; their targets were former German officers of the Wehrmact and SS who had carried out executions under the terms of Hitler's so-called "Commando Order". Equipped with a V-8 Czech Tatra (very fast and with a hidden storage area for a dead body), a would track down previously located targets in the British, French and U.S. Occupation Zones, kidnap them at night, take them to an isolated area, have a German-speaking agent read them the Commando Order, then shoot them with pistols. Then the corpse was stowed in the Tatra, and driven to a different zone, where it was dumped to complicate investigation by any of the Occupation Authorities. Naturally, the whole operation was clandestine, and remained a secret until many years after the Occupation had officially ended. Sources differ as to the identity of the agents who made up the team, and just how many German ex-officers and men they killed. If I recall correctly, the killings only stopped when various investigators the affected zones began to talk to each other and compare notes -- realizing the cat might soon be let out of the bag, the assassinations ceased, and the agents involved were quietly transferred out of Germany. The commando/clandestine side of WWII and afterwards was very often straddled the lines between brutal and downright nasty.
@@richardgreathouse9702 Honestly, I haven't heard of this before I wouldn't be surprised at all if it were all true. Normally this information would come from someone like David Irving who they all hate because he tended to tell the truth a little too often for their liking. Irving did say that he tried to get into the Allen Dulles papers but that proved impossible because they are sealed in perpetuity at Princeton University. There was a story that appeared on TV back in the 1990s on the History Channel with Arthur Kents (the scud stud) about the US Army running torture camps in the American Southwest for enlisted men during WW2. No officers just enlisted men. I had it recorded but lost it to a backup drive failure. I've really to find that episode again but have been unable to re-locate it anywhere. Just how many series did Arthur Kent have on the History Channel? I also understand that there are secrets from the 1st World War that are still classified. My mother's 1st Cousin was an attorney that worked with the OSS during WW2. Of course nobody in the family has any details about that. What's struct about this finding out most Gestapo Agents in NS Germany were also attorneys. Go figure huh?
He could have been assigned to the OSS, which could explain his European Campaign Medal. Interestingly enough, Sterling Hayden, the actor who played the NYPD Captain that Michael shoots in the movie, was himself a Marine assigned to the OSS who served in the Balkans and Mediterranean. So they may have gotten inspiration from his career.
See, this is great. The first thing he says is to answer the question. Right off the bat we know what his medals are. Now I'm intrigue and CHOOSE to continue watching to get more details. Others need to do the same instead of forcing me to watch the whole vid to find out the answer. Great stuff. Keep it up.
Marines actually operated in the African and European theater. The narrator is simply spouting rubbish. He's too simple to even see that Michael Lee retired as Marine officer, with the rank of Captain, hence the two bars on his shoulders. This gave away how much nonsense his knowledge is.
That's how these general officers got their chests filled up with ribbons and battle stars. Only 1 in 12 American servicemen were in ANY kind of combat in WW2.
@@karlheinzvonkroemann2217 So what? What percentage of German, Italian, Canadian, Australian, Japanese and Russian troops saw any kind of combat? And who cares anyway. Entire British units were kept in England for "home defense" during the war. British military received individual service medals for service in Italy, France/Germany, North Africa, Bomber Command, Atlantic and Arctic campaigns, and a couple for just wearing the uniform. US military received one campaign medal for service in Europe and one for service in the Pacific. Wanna talk about medals? Seen a photo of the average WW2 Russian general?
Stuffed up nothing. Francis Ford Coppola is known for doing thorough research on all his movies. It's just the narrator running his nonsense mouth , too clueless to realize Michael is wearing the uniform of a captain. That's when you realize he's clueless and has to rely on making up scenarios.
When Sonny said "what do you think this is? the army where you shoot them from a mile away?" He was joking with Micheal but he's 100% right it's NOT the same thing
@@edwardpate6128Exactly right, any Marine who was decorated for action in the Pacific would be intimately familiar with close up violence and death, much more so than any mobster.
I'm going to speculate that, AS USUAL, Hollywood's costume designers had no idea what they were doing when they supplied the uniform. But . . . that's just me.
As previous comments said Occupation of Iceland in 1941 and OSS operations in France But 'Kudos' to the Sicilian backstory as this seems totally credible
I don't think it 's even remotely credible. Not at all. They didn't send enlisted men halfway around the world to give information on an area, Sicily, that they had no first hand knowledge about. I know we used the Mafia, the real big criminals from Sicily, to get information about the island from people who had actually lived and may still have had some connections there. That said, WHY would the US military take an American born and raised enlisted Marine deployed in the Pacific theater and ship him to Europe to get information which he couldn't possibly provide for them. That's just absurd. FYI, Mussolini had all of the Mafia locked up in prison. Only when we landed in Italy did the USA release all of these people back into Italian Society. Great Move!
What he's really missing is the American Campaign Medal which was awarded for twelve months cumulative service in the Continental U.S. as the easiest way to earn one. I've never known or seen a WWII veteran without one.
Strangely enough, in The Godfather Part II, he states that he was awarded the Navy Cross, but it wasn’t among his ribbons in GF1, so likely an error in GF2.
Some Marines served in a support role in the European campaign and North Africa campaign. It makes sense that was the case as there was significant naval presence and the Marines are the land forces of the Navy.
"Meanwhile, it was determined that weapons training was needed for U.S. Navy boat crewmen who would be involved in the Algerian portion of the landing as part of the Eastern Task Force. In September 1942, Marine Corps instructors were brought in from Londonderry and London to establish a three-week training camp at the naval base in Rosneath, Scotland. From Londonderry, Lieutenant Colonel Louis C. Plain and Captain William E. Davis led a detail of 25 enlisted Marines. The London Detachment sent First Lieutenant Fenton J. Mee and 15 enlisted men. At the end of the training period these three officers and 30 of the enlisted group were divided up into six teams and assigned to six different ships as a part of the landing force; the remaining 10 enlisted men returned to their base in Londonderry. On 31 October 1942, the Marine Detachment in London was disbanded and most of the unit transferred to Rosneath to establish a Marine Barracks there. Captain Thomas J. Myers, formerly a company commander with the unit in London, was placed in command. He was assisted by Lieutenants Frank R. Wilkinson, Horton J. Greene, Truman J. Lyford, and Alexander D. Cereghino. Lieutenant Weldon James was also present as a public affairs officer. Lieutenant Colonels Walter I. Jordan and John B. Hill visited Rosneath briefly before being reassigned to the States in November. Some key enlisted personnel remained in London on detached duty, to carry on their original assignments at ComNavEu. Command of the Western Naval Task Force (TF 34), for the landing in Morocco, was given to Rear Admiral Hewitt. It was comprised entirely of U.S. forces. Two of his key staff members were Marine officers - Lieutenant Colonel Homer L. Litzenberg, as assistant operations officer, and Major Francis Millet Rogers as assistant intelligence officer. Major General George S. Patton's Western Task Force provided the troops for the Morocco landings. Ships of the task force left from various east coast ports in late October 1942 and, once assembled in convoy, formed an armada of 100 ships, dispersed over the ocean in an area of some 20 by 30 miles. Yet it was said "that a flag hoist on Admiral Hewitt's ship, Augusta (CA 31), could reach the entire fleet in ten minutes." LtCol Homer L. Litzenberg Then-LtCol Homer L. Litzenberg served on the staff of Task Force 34 commander, RAdm H. Kent Hewitt, in Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. " (A DIFFERENT WAR: Marines in Europe and North Africa by Lieutenant Colonel Harry W. Edwards, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret))
Not in a support role. They were part of ships company who also manned some of the secondary guns. Some Marines were in the OSS. Also there were large Marine barracks in the UK. Marine Barracks at that time provided security at naval installations. There actually a couple landing craft manned by Marines in on of the Med/North African ops. but if I recall correctly they actually failed yo reach the beach .
@craigplatel813 You recall incorrectly, because a lot of them participated in support operations, while never attempting any large scale beach installation. The Marines are too small for that, they are essentially inserted support Naval Infantry, especially in the European and North African theatre.
@@frank-ko6de I didn't say that I thought they did large amphibious landings in Europe. I said they operated a couple landing craft in one of the operations, but thought that they didn't reach the beach.
Just a note, with respect to the USMC, USN, and USCG the denotation of a second award is a gold star attachment, and a silver star for 5 subsequent awards. Oak leaf clusters (bronze and silver) are used by the Army and Air Force.
Depends on the type of award. Some have a large Gold Star to note 2nd and additional awards. Some have a small Bronze Star to indicate additional awards and Silver Star to denote 5 awards.
@@patrickmccrann991 No not really unless you want to get time specific. In WW1 it is not uncommon to find a US Marine with a Distinguished Service Cross or Purple Heart with an oak leaf cluster. But by WW2 things had become far more standardised. USMC, USN and USCG personnel who were recipients of multiple valour awards would receive either Gold Stars (denoting one additional award) or Silver Stars (denoting five additional awards) measuring 5/16th inch in lieu of an additional medal. The US Army or Army Air Force (before the establishment of the USAF in 1947) would award a Bronze Oak Leaf (one additional award) or Silver Oak Leaf (five additional awards) cluster (both 5/16th inch size) in lieu of additional medals. Campaign or service ribbons and good conduct awards for the USN, USMC and USCG have either bronze (denoting one additional campaign) or silver star (denoting five additional campaign awards) measuring 3/16th inch in size as ribbon attachments. The only awards today that exclusively use oak leaf clusters to denote additional awards for all services of the US Military are the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and Defense Superior Service Medal. I do collect USN and USMC medals as my hobby so I'm reasonably well-versed in this topic.
There were US Marines in the ETO during DDay. The German troops thought that they were engaged with a Bn. when it was only 12 Marines. I don't remember what town it was in, but it has been documented.
That's a nice stretch for the European-African-Middle East campaign medal. More likely the studio just made a mistake. In Godfather II they change the Silver Star to the Navy Cross. They're not nffearly as attentive to these things as the BBC. In one episode of the West Wing, Admiral Fitzwallace's ribbon bar is upside down. I can read a lot of medals. A useful skill in the service. I always look for these things.
@@stevehicks8944 USMC units took part in North African and European campaigns in support of the U.S. Navy, while the land battles were fought by the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Air Corps. Learn to work on your understanding of history.
In the novel, when Michael is still being shielded from the family business he pleads his case by mentioning he (as a Marine) had be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. So...a little confusion there. It has happened obviously but I would think it so rare as to be simply writer's ignorance.
The whole thing was preposterous. The awards were never meant to be more than a prop. The Navy Cross is one level below the Medal of Honor - there were very few awarded outside of the Pacific Theatre.
Didn’t Puzzo make an actual service record for Michael? I’m pretty sure it’s exactly as you said in the video. Guadalcanal and Peliliu. Which are battles that the 1st Marine Division actually did take part in. I think Michael’s involvement in North Africa/Europe can be more easily explained by him just being put on sea duty after Guadalcanal than him doing intelligence/covert ops in Sicily. It makes even more sense when you consider that Vito was probably pulling strings to try and get him away from the front line (Not that serving on a ship in the Mediterranean was any less dangerous, but Vito probably didn’t know that.) Here is my guess. Michael fought at Guadalcanal, but his fathers influence got him separated from his unit and put on a ship post Guadalcanal. That also explains why he doesn’t have a medal for the battle of cape Gloucester, since he was miles away in the Mediterranean while it was happening. Eventually, Michael was able to get himself sent back to his unit in time for peliliu, where he fought before his father pulled more strings, resulting in his early return to the US in 1945 when The Godfather 1 begins. Bribing a doctor into Exaggerating his wounds just like you said. Which also accounts for his lack of participation in the battle of Okinawa. Really good analysis. I think you hit the nail on the head.
Subsequent Navy-Marine Corps medals are denoted with a silver or gold star (5 gold represented by a silver star device), not the oak leaf cluster, unless given by the Army.
As a Marine the fictional Michael Corleone would not have earned the Asian and African European medals unless he had been working for the OSS. In the second movie the character of Michael claims that he was awarded the Navy Cross as well. Very few Marines participated in European operations and there were no major Marine Corps units involved in Europe with the exception of the occupation of Iceland early in Americas involvement after December 7, 1941. They were withdrawn and sent to the Solomon Islands in 1942. Two Marines come to mind as an exception. Both were movie stars in their own right and exceptional Marines as well. One was Peter J Ortiz (Twelve O'clock High) and Sterling Hayden (Dr Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb). They were OSS operators. There were others such as a group of Marines who disrupted German operations behind the lines during the Normandy campaign. I'm thinking that the Continuity person on the set didn't know any better and didn't think audiences wouldn't either. Well, we do notice. Same as when Politicos lie to us. We notice.
@@stevenjohnson2063 Yes. There were Marines in the ETO. Just not large formations. There were Marines on all large ships such as cruisers and battleships. I think that this was simply a continuity error made by the producers of the film. In the book he tells his brother Sonny how he "killed Japs".
@@stevenjohnson2063 I was just kidding. Do you know what MARINE stands for? My ass rides in Navy Equipment. Navy. Never again volunteer yourself. Last and best. Why does the Navy have Marines on board ships. The Sailors need someone to dance with.
At the start of the first Godfather at his sister's wedding, Uggh! Doesn't it drive anyone batty 🦇 that his first rack of ribbons is not on straight? It looks like Pac-Man. My cousin was a Marine reservist in the 1990s, and my father was a sailor in the 1950s-both are the most organized and slightly OCD about everything. This is the prop master's job. Right?
Perhaps another source of the second medal might be assignment as a "Fleet Marine" on any one of 31 eight fleet battle ships, carriers or cruisers that each would have had @ 80 enlisted/NCO's and two or three officers. They were the on board police force, officers also served as part of the court martial system for serious offenses, On carriers this group would be different from any air units on board.
I always thought it was comical how the mobsters talked down to Michael about his going after Solazzo as if a mob hit was more violent and taxing than sustained combat in the WWII. One look at his fruit salad in the film and you know he’s no stranger to violence
Operations Torch, Husky and Dragoon had large USN, US Army and USAAF involvement. USMC involvement was very limited: DUKW operators and a detachment from capital ships eg. USS Philadelphia. But HQ staff, liaision and spec ops in Scicily and Italy certainly involved all services.
Here's a future episode. Ruger Hauger's character in Fatherland. (1994) There's really not a good shot of them but being in an alternate time line in England, should be interesting.
Would it be possible for you to do the Medals of Cole Phelps from LA Noire? There isnt a picture of him in USMC uniform, but we do know that he definitely has a Silver Star and Asiatic Pacific Campaign medals
Great video! And a great film! As my main interest is British medals it really interesting to look at some from overseas! Some of the Russian medals look interesting so it might be worth looking at starlins or one of the Marshall of the Soviets! Looking forward to your next offering. You have a great channel and I enjoy it immensely!😊
Thanks John, on the Russian /Soviet side I do have Captain Ramius from Hunt For Red October on my to-do list but might take a bit of research. In the future I will have a further look at real figures from history as well - Though if I did Marshal Zhukov judging by his medal awards it might be a 3 hour video!
Younger viewers may not know that "The Godfather" was a 1972 movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola and "Michael Corleone" was a fictional character in that movie. He was NOT a real person. Hence his military service was entirely fictional too.
Michael turned 25 in March 1945, so was not an unusually young captain. The USMC had a battalion CO less than a year older, and a 17 year old MoH awardee.
Theory; Captian Corlion enlisted after Peral Harbor. Attend OCS then attached 1st MCD for the Guadalcanal campaign. Awarded Silver Star for gallantry in action. Landed Cape Gloster, 1st MCD in 43. Wounded either campaign. Shipped back to the US for medical treatment somewhere on the east coast Naval Hospital. Although wounded, not wounded enough to be discharged. He was assigned to Ships company to a Battleship or Crusier. This takes him into 1944. The Lieutenant now in the ETO theater of operation. North Africa and Sicily were over. Leaves the Landings at Salerno, Anzio, Normandy and Southern France. Possibly Normandy and Southern France. I believe the USS Texas and New York were at both. I'm sure someone in RUclips land will fact check this. Then after The Allied Armies were established in Europe. The Navy was able to move ships to the PTO for the last of the Island hopping campaigns in 1945. Now Promoted Captian Corlion was discharged from the Marine Corps. Only missing his his discharge badge worn to signify that person, although discharged. Is still permitted to wear the uniform. Also missing. Rifle and Pistos shooting badges. Worn on Alpha dress uniforms. I think you might have went a bit too deep into the Mafia angle. As it was well noted that Michael was to be kept out of the family business.
Vito didn’t want Michael near the family business. He likely would have pulled strings to keep him out of action. He may have pulled strings to have him place in charge of a ship board marine detachment. That would explain the European African medal. After Michael may have used his own marine corp connections to land in the pacific.
And yet, when he testified before the Congressional subcomittee in The Godfather Part II, he testified that he had been awarded The Navy Cross, and made no mention of his lesser awards.
No, the movie was correct. The highest 2 medals in the US Naval Service, Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross, take a considerably long time to adjudicate and work its way through the system before awarding. It was standard in my wars (Iraq/Afghanistan) for those top medals as well as the Silver Star to not be awarded until long rotated back stateside. Often times, a written up MOH gets downgraded to a Navy Cross, a written Navy Cross to a Silver Star. As Michael was still in uniform, he had just returned from overseas, and had not been demobilized. So, expected that the highest awards had not yet reached him.
A Battle Star on USMC and Navy medals means a second award. So, a Purple Heart with a star means wounded twice. 2 stars means wounded three times. Unit commendation awards have the little oak leaves denoting second and so on awards. Individual awards get stars. Navy Crosses, like Medals of Honor, take a long time to adjudicate. Michael Corleone’s Navy Cross probably caught up with him 6 months after discharge, so the movie could certainly be accurate. As I recall, the Marines ballooned to 6 divisions in WW2. Not sure why you focused entirely on the 1st Marine Division only. Also, very highly doubtful that a single Marine participated in Guadalcanal, Peliliu, and Okinawa. Units reconstituted after every major campaign in the rear and rotated most Marines out. Also, the role you had him playing in the Italian Campaign seems ridiculously far fetched. Most likely, Michael was assigned to command a large ships Marine Detachment. Every flag ship of a numbered fleet usually had a MarDet. Also, though he “enlisted”, he would have been given an IQ test like all recruits. The score as well as his time at Yale would have had him immediately selected for OCS after boot camp. He likely spent the entire war as an officer having been commissioned prior to deployment overseas. I’m a 30 year Marine (9 years active duty, 21 years reserve). Albeit, I was an air wing Marine.
In Godfather II, he states that he was awarded Navy Cross. This claim was part of his statement to the Congressional committee. Not on his uniform at the wedding.
Yes I will add him to my list, thank you. I may also have a look at Sgt Wilson who was an artillery officer and claimed he was at Gallipoli I think but will have to do a bit more research into that. Colonel Pritchard might be interesting too
That was interesting, but there is a far easier idea - he was assigned to USS Boise. Boise was at Guadalcanal and was damaged at Cape Esperance, went to Philadelphia Navy Yard for repairs, then went to the Med for the Battle of Gela, as well as Taranto and Salerno. After that, back to the Pacific. Probably wasn't aboard the whole time, but this is an easier explanation then trying to make a Mafia connection to a character that famously wanted nothing to do with that side of the family until his father got shot.
You KNOW for a fact that he was transferred from the 1st Marine Division to a CL the USS Boise? For the specific reason to be sent to Europe to provide Info he couldn't possibly possess. I'm calling BS on that one but hey PROVE me wrong!
Michael, having graduated (and he had graduated) from a prestigious university, would have almost certainly become an officer upon enlistment. In a Marine Corps starved of officers I doubt he would have been given a choice. The Corleone Family was running a legitimate Italian food import business, not smuggling. Their illegal business was mostly run out of Brooklyn and in the northeast US and centered on loansharking, gambling and similar businesses. Michael was not involved with any of the family business prior to his killing of Solazzo and the police captain. That's why Solazzo foolishly agreed to meet with him to negotiate a truce. His value to the Navy for Sicily would have his rudimentary knowledge of Sicilian. We know he wasn't fluent because he had to use Fabrizzio as an interpreter in approaching Appolonia's family, thus exposing himself as an American. During his exile he seems initially unfamiliar with Sicily, which would not have been the case if he worked undercover. More likely he brought specialized knowledge and training from the Pacific Marines and was liaison during the landings with the natives. He probably wouldn't have been in much direct combat. After Salerno at the latest he would have returned east to the Pacific via the Suez Canal and Australia. That could have put him back in combat at Cape Gloucester and New Britain. Like other veterans of his Guadacanal unit he would then have likely be part of the horrendous Peleliu operation. The lack of the Navy Cross on his uniform at his sister's wedding, which occurs just after his return in the fall of 1945 (he would have been among the first released from service due to his early enlistment, his wounds and his combat record), is probably due to a continuity and costume error but can be explained if his citation was under review by the Pentagon and only approved shortly afterwards. I strongly doubt the Michael character would engage in, or allow, any John Kerry like skullduggery to get a medal.
Michael's ETO ribbon was likely an error made by the wardrobe dept of the movie as there was no way he would have gone from one theater to another in the middle of the war. the ribbon he SHOULD have been wearing was the American Campaign Medal for service for at least 6 months service in the continental US. this was usually awarded because training took place in the US prior to deployment overseas. and the movie starts in late 1945 and the WW II Victory medal wasn't designed until 1946, having been established in 1945. also the rainbow designs on the edges are actually miniature replicas of the World War I victory medal.
Perhaps, he first served in the European theater and then continued in the Pacific theater as the Pacific war took much longer after the European theater was ended. Far more people perished at a greater rate in the Pacific theater.
@@frank-ko6de unlikely. it was rare for someone to be involved in combat in one theater and then move to another theater in the middle of a war. yes, some ETO units did serve in the Pacific, but that was AFTER Germany surrendered in May 1945. and the Marines saw almost no open combat in Europe in WW II. it's just more likely the wardrobe department of the movie screwed up and put the wrong ribbon on Michael's uniform.
@apollo21lmp whether, it was likely a or not, it still happened. There was a reason the Michael Corleon character was deemed special, and written as exceptional in contrast to the other Corleon sons. Francis Ford Coppola did all his research and there was a reason he portrayed him that way. He was deemed as a war hero, and his father refused to take a picture without him , in the opening scenes of the movie, which highlighted his esteem wirhin the family. The narrator is simply running his mouth without knowing what he's talking about.
@@apollo21lmpIt was routine to move escaped POWs to a different theatre upon retrieval… Aircrews were similarly routinely redeployed at the end of each tour. Four years is a long time.
Michael, as born speaker, would be very likelly brought in to Itally as translator, but probably not as fighting men. He simply went from Marine to Army for the assigment. So its ok.
Michael Cprleone was ons serious badass. He probably regarded Sonny, his older brother, as somewhat of a buffoon. Guadalcanal was a siege more than an assault operation, hanging on while the USA mobilized. Pelilieu was a bucket of bloodiness second only to Iwo Jima a silver star from that means you looked at the devil himself at the very best.
Another interesting point, the US doesn’t order their campaign medals by the order they were earned. The Pacific campaign medal will always be worn before the European regardless of the order they were earned.
In both the book and the movie, when Michael Corleone joined the Marines, he was disgusted with his family business and sought to distance himself from its criminal activities. The character was a true patriot. Called upon to help the cause, he would have willingly used his connections in Sicily to assist victory, but he would not have wanted to settle into a cushy situation in Sicily. He would have enthusiastically gone and served wherever called upon, as even when he returned from the war, he was not a fan of his family's criminal activity. It was only when the other families began killing his kin that he became the Godfather.
Michael did not make his bones in Marine Corps. His family viewed his service almost with contempt. He was considered a sucker for going. His father used his connections to keep his brothers out of uniform. He made his bones in the eyes his family when he saved Vito’s life at the hospital and successfully killed the boss responsible as well as an untouchable police captain. Also there is no way in hell Michael was involved in Mafia activities at this stage in his life. Read the book. He was the rebellious son. He reluctantly got involved because he loved his father. He wanted nothing to do with criminal activities. As for his commission, you were eligible for OCS if you had two years of college and completed Basic training. Michael was qualified. As for him even being in Sicily? He was sent there after he committed murder in New York. He had to learn the Sicilian dialect and needed advice on local customs.
So many knowledgeable people on this post, thank you guys, I’m going through the marines actions in the pacific, during WW2 to listen to these humble men speak of their exploits is harrowing at times and then they had to try and settle into family life after being trained to fight and kill the enemy, truly a great generation
In defense of whether or not Michael earned the "European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal", keep in mind that there is proof that the U.S. Government did seek assistance from actual Mafiosos, such as Lucky Luciano, prior to the landings in Sicily and also to assist during the Italian campaign. Just saying that it's conceivable in the movie that Don Corleone might have been asked for help and referred them to his son. It all was a offer that nobody could refuse. Yeah. Conceivable.
So Michael Corleone was a highly decorated Marine combat infantry officer, yet he had to be instructed step by step on the use of a handgun to shoot Sollozzo and McCluskey in the restaurant?
He wasn’t being taught how to fire the gun. Clemenza was telling him the gun couldn’t be traced, and that the handle and trigger had special tape on it so Michael didn’t have to worry about fingerprints. Then Clemenza gave him pointers about the proper way to conduct the assassination and how to leave the restaurant, these being topics not usually covered in Marine firearm training.
The Democrats in the FDR White House pushed for Mafia collaboration because they had long been political allies in New York and New Jersey. There's no real indication it produced anything of real value to the war effort. The high British casualties in Sicily and their slow advance were the faullt of Montgomery and the donkeys of the British staff. Patton, despite being shoved off the primary road net for the convenience of the British, managed to defeat both the Germans and Italians while traversing most of the island and beating Montgomery to the coast opposite the mainland.
When did americans go from a bit more conservative ribbon bars to the madness they have now? Looking at MASH characters (some great characters there you could look at like Col Potter too) they have the smaller ribbons but less of them.
Apparently, you have never read the book “The Godfather” written by Mario Puzo. Michael was NOT involved in the family business before the death of Santino “Sonny”. This was by his father’s wishes.
Seriously ... what ribbon is conspicuous ly missing. One that every member that served in the ETO recieved from cook/baker to truck driver. Dad had 5, my uncle had 7. Yes, the BronzeStar for the campaigns at Normandy, NorthernFrance, Rhineland, Ardennes, and CentralEurope. Nicely fabricated story.
Please be careful when you talk about Under Siege; Steven Seagal is a terrible person and many people can't stand him. Thanks to you I did some research into Casey Rybeck's ribbons. On the whole they're ok, i.e., he doesn't have anything impossible and they are at least in the right order, but they do change between movies and his promotion from CPO to Lt. is inexplicable. I ordered your book, too!
Thank you for ordering my book, much appreciated. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for the info on Rybacks Ribbons, this channel is apolitical and focuses on the fictional character themselves not the actor or their lifestyle/political beliefs . Ryback is on the to-do list but not for a few weeks yet!
Doesn't matter about his ribbons/medals. He shot it all down with his faux pas. Look at Godfather (II?) when he is running to his dads hospital room after figuring out all the guards are gone. He runs like, well like, well.... what he doesn't run like is a Marine. He runs like the most effeminate guy in your gym class.
Another fictitious Character displaying a costume designer's idea of what a military uniform should look like . Most people don't have an idea what those ribbons are, or what they mean, and they do not really care .
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
Basic mistake is assuming that the costume people for The Godfather actually knew what they were doing or cared that they got it right. The likeliest scenario is that some costumer read the script requirements, went to the wardrobe department, grabbed a bunch of ribbons, put them on a uniform, and asked someone who wasn't an expert if they were right.
One minor thing. The oak leaf clusters are used by the army and air force for additional awards. The navy and USMC typically use stars for additional awards. Great video!
Thanks for sharing
US Marine Corps units were used in the occupation of Iceland. This was the only deployment of US Marine Corps units in the ETO.
Interesting, thanks for sharing
As Regiments - yes - as far as I know.
Marines were used to train Army Personnel in Amphibious Landings until the Army had enough experience that they didn't need them any more.
However, all large American Naval Vessels - such as Battleships or Aircraft Carriers - had Marine Detachments. The men in these detachments would have gotten the same Campaign Medals as the ship's crew. They were part of the ship's crew.
The purpose of these detachments goes back a thousand years or more. They could be used to board an enemy vessel - or - defend their own against borders. In modern times - the concern was being boarded by terrorists.
Additionally - during the Age of Sail - it was common place for Ships to have Landing Parties of Sailors and Marines that would go ashore to attack an enemy fortification from it's landward side - or perform some other task - such as gathering food or wood for the health of the crew and maintenance of the ship. If there was need for the Shore Party to have security from say - hostile natives perhaps - that would be another job for the Marines.
An additional purpose was to protect the Commander of the ship from mutiny.
On some ships- there were secondary gun turrets manned by the Marine Detachment as an additional duty. These turrets had a small Eagle Glob and Anchor stencil painted on their outside. On the Battleship I saw the picture of - they manned a dual 5" 38 cal. turret.
When I was last on an American Vessel - it had a Marine Detachment - but - these detachments were subsequently deleted in the Post Cold War Draw Down because of their cost. The Marines would periodically have security drills where, fully kitted out - they'd charge down the passageways and you better not get in their way as they were told to knock you aside if you did.
Thus - any American Amphibious Landing during WWII would have had Marines there aboard ships - who might have been sent ashore for any number of security or logistical reasons. It would be a lot more likely that this was what he was doing in the Med - rather than some cloak and dagger thing with the Mafia. I was under the definite understanding that Michael had been kept out of the family business.
I'm not sure how big the ship had to be to have a Marine Detachment. Carriers and Battleships - yes - Battle Cruisers probably - Cruisers ... I don't know. Destroyers and below - I doubt it.
Then of course - all our Embassy's have Marine Guards. When Italy switched sides - they may have had an Embassy. Consulates may also have Marine Guards but I don't know. Their could have been a Consulate in Egypt.
Small detachments of Marines have routinely been sent to all kinds of places to do all kinds of things.
Of course they could have just screwed things up. When Michael is sent to assassinate that Police Captain and Mafioso - a Combat Veteran would probably not be as nervous as Michael was. It's hard to say. Being a non-vet Pacino didn't really know what it was like to be in the military - much less a Combat Veteran.
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well they had marksman on ship in operation neptune and overlord and some marines were involved in beach clearing and a small number were i belive kept on standby to assist the rangers at pont du hoc if the need arose.
There were small Marine detachments on the coast of France in 1945. Some Marines were killed when the Germans in the Channel Islands raided the coast. In addition it wouldn't have been impossible for a Marine officer who spoke Sicilian to be assigned by the Navy to assist in the landings in Sicily and later Salerno, though I suspect they would have kept him apart from the Army and the OSS.
@@BrianMcCarthy-z9lThe OSS had marines assigned to it. Nominally they were assigned to London for service.
Just in time for the US Marine Corps 249th Birthday. Semper Fidelis!
In "Godfather II" Michael testifies to a Senate committee that he was awarded the Navy Cross. Yet when he appears for the first time in "Godfather I" the Navy Cross is nowhere to be seen.
MOH and Navy Crosses take a long time to adjudicate. It would catch up to him a year or so after the action cited. Standard in my war in Iraq and Afghanistan. So, it is accurate for him at time of demobilization immediately after the war. This movie had it right.
It is possible however that his Silver Star was upgraded to a Navy Cross some time between August 1945 (when we see him in uniform at Connie's wedding) and his Senate hearing in 1959. One of the guys who my Dad served with, Staff Sergeant Steffon Booker, received the Silver Star in 2003, but his award was upgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross in 2019, over 16 years later. So it wouldn't be unrealistic for this to happen with Michael as well.
Maybe it was upgraded.
@@jackschirmer9508 Or a more plausible explanation is that the part of being awardedthe Navy Cross was inserted during the filming of Godfather II and they forgot about the ribbon rack scene in Godfather I
@@ericericson3535 well of course that’s the most likely “real world” reason, but in terms of an in-universe explanation.
I absolutely LOVE the headcanon and I am certain that Mario Puzo, who would happily torture his own writing to get it to work better with the projects of others, would approve and canonize this!
For those wondering: In WW2, and with the Marine's generally, fewer medals & awards were more common. Today, larger ribbon racks are more common.
As an example, an Army soldier serving in the Iraq War (3 years of service, 1 combat deployment), may conservatively obtain 5 ribbons, nearly as many as the putative Corleone, and without seeing any real action or doing anything of note.
Agreed. Anything below an Army Commendation medal with V device is just a participation medal.
Looking like 3rd world military generals.
Agreed. Anything below an Army Commendation medal with V device is just a participation medal
Exactly. Lets compare an average U.S. Army Infantryman in WW2 to an average U.S. Army infantryman in the 2000s. A guy who joined the Army in 1942, deployed to the European Theater and got out in 1945, without doing anything particularly special, would've left service with 3 medals. The ETO Medal, the American Campaign Medal and the WW2 Victory Medal.
Whereas lets say hypothetically our GWOT soldier joins the Army in 2005, deploys to Iraq from 2006-2007, and gets out in 2009. He would at the very least, the NDSM, the Army Service Ribbon, the GWOT Service Medal and the Iraq Campaign Medal, and would likely have the Good Conduct Medal and Army Achievement Medal as well.
They give out ribbons for every deployment nowadays. Bronze Stars are handed out like candy. My father's (USMC) WW2 ribbons were in 2 rows, 5 ribbons with 4 battle stars.
Today you can have 16 ribbons and never see combat. I have so many useless ribbons from my 21 year years in the Coast Guard that I don't even no what most of them are.
A Peter Ortiz-like OSS style story with an Italian background instead of a French one would be ideal but the lack of a Parachutist Badge makes that unlikely. The Paul Hogan marker for Australia, pure class!
I was thinking the same thing. Instead of jumping into occupied Europe, in my head canon Michael went in by rubber boat from a sub off the coast of Italy.
Interesting, yes that could have been another potential angle.
@@TheCommandersVoiceAATW since he didn't have an American Campaign Medal, I thought it was plausible that he was already operating in the theater. However, he doesn't have an American Defense Medal and I vaguely remember him saying he enlisted after the start of the war in the movie.
@@ClaspsofCourage likewise, Peter Ortiz is a worthy candidate for an episode, but you'll have to jump into the crazy world of French medals.
In preparation for your Casey Ryback extravaganza, the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard use gold stars for subsequent awards and not the oak leaf clusters of the Army and Air Force.
@ without looking at all the variables for qualifying service for the ACM, the most common way to earn it was service within the continental limits of the United States for an aggregate period of 1 year. We can create a plausible timeline where MC gets enlists after 7 DEC 41 but still lacks enough qualifying service for the ACM.
Actor Sterling Hayden was a Marine Corps officer who served in Europe, specifically on the islands and waters of the Adriatic Sea, with clandestine landings on the coast of German-occupied Yugoslavia to insert/extract agents, extract US flying personnel shot down but rescued by Partisans, and deliver weapons and other suppliers to said Partisans. Hayden was assigned to the OSS (Office of Strategic Services -- the forerunner of the CIA), which trained and employed men of all the US armed services, though its commander was an Army general, William "Wild Bill" Donavon. OSS men operating in the ETO would have earned the ENAME campaign medal if on the job there long enough. I expect there were other USMC personnel seconded to the OSS in Europe, but such service was a rarety compared to the vast majority of the Corps' manpower.
Interesting, thanks for sharing.
There was 1 USMC Brigade in Europe.
Not to be offensive to those individuals but they were essentially the same thing as any number of quasi-legal organizations from numerous countries. Brandenburgers, MI6, GRU, NKVD, SOE, SAS and a bunch of other organizations. If you're on the winning side then they were the good guys, if not then they were the bad guys. Partisans were also considered illegal and with good reason. For example the British (mostly Canadians) landed at a small French port called Dieppe in the summer 1942. The landing was repulsed as the Allies were retreating the SAS slit the throats of 20 something German Army POW's who had their hands tied behind the backs. Of course war crimes don't get any clearer than this one. Following on the heals of this, Hitler ordered that no more British commandos were ever to be taken prisoner again. That order was considered a criminal order but we would have done the exact same thing.
As a matter of fact, British agents staged revenge killings after the war throughout occupied Germany; their targets were former German officers of the Wehrmact and SS who had carried out executions under the terms of Hitler's so-called "Commando Order". Equipped with a V-8 Czech Tatra (very fast and with a hidden storage area for a dead body), a would track down previously located targets in the British, French and U.S. Occupation Zones, kidnap them at night, take them to an isolated area, have a German-speaking agent read them the Commando Order, then shoot them with pistols. Then the corpse was stowed in the Tatra, and driven to a different zone, where it was dumped to complicate investigation by any of the Occupation Authorities. Naturally, the whole operation was clandestine, and remained a secret until many years after the Occupation had officially ended. Sources differ as to the identity of the agents who made up the team, and just how many German ex-officers and men they killed. If I recall correctly, the killings only stopped when various investigators the affected zones began to talk to each other and compare notes -- realizing the cat might soon be let out of the bag, the assassinations ceased, and the agents involved were quietly transferred out of Germany. The commando/clandestine side of WWII and afterwards was very often straddled the lines between brutal and downright nasty.
@@richardgreathouse9702 Honestly, I haven't heard of this before I wouldn't be surprised at all if it were all true. Normally this information would come from someone like David Irving who they all hate because he tended to tell the truth a little too often for their liking. Irving did say that he tried to get into the Allen Dulles papers but that proved impossible because they are sealed in perpetuity at Princeton University. There was a story that appeared on TV back in the 1990s on the History Channel with Arthur Kents (the scud stud) about the US Army running torture camps in the American Southwest for enlisted men during WW2. No officers just enlisted men. I had it recorded but lost it to a backup drive failure. I've really to find that episode again but have been unable to re-locate it anywhere. Just how many series did Arthur Kent have on the History Channel? I also understand that there are secrets from the 1st World War that are still classified. My mother's 1st Cousin was an attorney that worked with the OSS during WW2. Of course nobody in the family has any details about that. What's struct about this finding out most Gestapo Agents in NS Germany were also attorneys. Go figure huh?
This is a remarkable achievement, but I have to assume that this was just the filmmakers screwing up
He could have been assigned to the OSS, which could explain his European Campaign Medal. Interestingly enough, Sterling Hayden, the actor who played the NYPD Captain that Michael shoots in the movie, was himself a Marine assigned to the OSS who served in the Balkans and Mediterranean. So they may have gotten inspiration from his career.
See, this is great. The first thing he says is to answer the question. Right off the bat we know what his medals are. Now I'm intrigue and CHOOSE to continue watching to get more details. Others need to do the same instead of forcing me to watch the whole vid to find out the answer. Great stuff. Keep it up.
Thanks, much appreciated.
Marine detachments aboard major U.S. warships such as battleships in the European Theatre would have qualified for the EAME service medal.
Marines actually operated in the African and European theater. The narrator is simply spouting rubbish. He's too simple to even see that Michael Lee retired as Marine officer, with the rank of Captain, hence the two bars on his shoulders. This gave away how much nonsense his knowledge is.
That's how these general officers got their chests filled up with ribbons and battle stars. Only 1 in 12 American servicemen were in ANY kind of combat in WW2.
@@karlheinzvonkroemann2217 wow, always the nonsense running their nonsense mouths. My word.
@@karlheinzvonkroemann2217 So what? What percentage of German, Italian, Canadian, Australian, Japanese and Russian troops saw any kind of combat? And who cares anyway. Entire British units were kept in England for "home defense" during the war. British military received individual service medals for service in Italy, France/Germany, North Africa, Bomber Command, Atlantic and Arctic campaigns, and a couple for just wearing the uniform. US military received one campaign medal for service in Europe and one for service in the Pacific. Wanna talk about medals? Seen a photo of the average WW2 Russian general?
I think they just stuffed up and he was supposed to have an American Campaign Medal instead of the ETO one.
I think Michael would have initially gone through OCS after joining so the American Campaign would cover that period.
@@dlxmarksHe literally has captain bars. The narrator is just running his mouth and talking no sense like a typical Brit.
Stuffed up nothing. Francis Ford Coppola is known for doing thorough research on all his movies. It's just the narrator running his nonsense mouth , too clueless to realize Michael is wearing the uniform of a captain. That's when you realize he's clueless and has to rely on making up scenarios.
@@frank-ko6de Alright, calm down
@@Crissy_the_wonder Hit a very stinging nerve on a triggered , fragiled spine, have I not.....?????
Marine Corps officers & NCOs were also involved in the OSS and activity engaged in espionage and sabotage in Sicily, Italy and France.
A Marine in WWII who won a silver star and purple heart would not have been such a novice in the murder of Salozzo.
When Sonny said "what do you think this is? the army where you shoot them from a mile away?" He was joking with Micheal but he's 100% right it's NOT the same thing
@@AnthonyBlamthony That fighting on those Pacific Islands was up close and personal.
@@edwardpate6128Exactly right, any Marine who was decorated for action in the Pacific would be intimately familiar with close up violence and death, much more so than any mobster.
Wolud you do gunnery sergeant highway form heartbreak ridge?
I'm going to speculate that, AS USUAL, Hollywood's costume designers had no idea what they were doing when they supplied the uniform. But . . . that's just me.
At least as the narrator says there is a plausible connection between the ribbons, unlike other movies, maybe the costume department got lucky.
As previous comments said Occupation of Iceland in 1941 and OSS operations in France
But 'Kudos' to the Sicilian backstory as this seems totally credible
I don't think it 's even remotely credible. Not at all. They didn't send enlisted men halfway around the world to give information on an area, Sicily, that they had no first hand knowledge about. I know we used the Mafia, the real big criminals from Sicily, to get information about the island from people who had actually lived and may still have had some connections there. That said, WHY would the US military take an American born and raised enlisted Marine deployed in the Pacific theater and ship him to Europe to get information which he couldn't possibly provide for them. That's just absurd. FYI, Mussolini had all of the Mafia locked up in prison. Only when we landed in Italy did the USA release all of these people back into Italian Society. Great Move!
Should also reference the novel, which does discuss briefly his military service
What he's really missing is the American Campaign Medal which was awarded for twelve months cumulative service in the Continental U.S. as the easiest way to earn one. I've never known or seen a WWII veteran without one.
You delivered!
Strangely enough, in The Godfather Part II, he states that he was awarded the Navy Cross, but it wasn’t among his ribbons in GF1, so likely an error in GF2.
Some Marines served in a support role in the European campaign and North Africa campaign. It makes sense that was the case as there was significant naval presence and the Marines are the land forces of the Navy.
"Meanwhile, it was determined that weapons training was needed for U.S. Navy boat crewmen who would be involved in the Algerian portion of the landing as part of the Eastern Task Force. In September 1942, Marine Corps instructors were brought in from Londonderry and London to establish a three-week training camp at the naval base in Rosneath, Scotland.
From Londonderry, Lieutenant Colonel Louis C. Plain and Captain William E. Davis led a detail of 25 enlisted Marines. The London Detachment sent First Lieutenant Fenton J. Mee and 15 enlisted men. At the end of the training period these three officers and 30 of the enlisted group were divided up into six teams and assigned to six different ships as a part of the landing force; the remaining 10 enlisted men returned to their base in Londonderry.
On 31 October 1942, the Marine Detachment in London was disbanded and most of the unit transferred to Rosneath to establish a Marine Barracks there. Captain Thomas J. Myers, formerly a company commander with the unit in London, was placed in command. He was assisted by Lieutenants Frank R. Wilkinson, Horton J. Greene, Truman J. Lyford, and Alexander D. Cereghino. Lieutenant Weldon James was also present as a public affairs officer. Lieutenant Colonels Walter I. Jordan and John B. Hill visited Rosneath briefly before being reassigned to the States in November. Some key enlisted personnel remained in London on detached duty, to carry on their original assignments at ComNavEu.
Command of the Western Naval Task Force (TF 34), for the landing in Morocco, was given to Rear Admiral Hewitt. It was comprised entirely of U.S. forces. Two of his key staff members were Marine officers - Lieutenant Colonel Homer L. Litzenberg, as assistant operations officer, and Major Francis Millet Rogers as assistant intelligence officer.
Major General George S. Patton's Western Task Force provided the troops for the Morocco landings. Ships of the task force left from various east coast ports in late October 1942 and, once assembled in convoy, formed an armada of 100 ships, dispersed over the ocean in an area of some 20 by 30 miles. Yet it was said "that a flag hoist on Admiral Hewitt's ship, Augusta (CA 31), could reach the entire fleet in ten minutes."
LtCol Homer L. Litzenberg
Then-LtCol Homer L. Litzenberg served on the staff of Task Force 34 commander, RAdm H. Kent Hewitt, in Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. "
(A DIFFERENT WAR: Marines in Europe and North Africa
by Lieutenant Colonel Harry W. Edwards, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret))
Not in a support role. They were part of ships company who also manned some of the secondary guns. Some Marines were in the OSS. Also there were large Marine barracks in the UK. Marine Barracks at that time provided security at naval installations. There actually a couple landing craft manned by Marines in on of the Med/North African ops. but if I recall correctly they actually failed yo reach the beach .
@craigplatel813 You recall incorrectly, because a lot of them participated in support operations, while never attempting any large scale beach installation. The Marines are too small for that, they are essentially inserted support Naval Infantry, especially in the European and North African theatre.
@@frank-ko6de I didn't say that I thought they did large amphibious landings in Europe. I said they operated a couple landing craft in one of the operations, but thought that they didn't reach the beach.
Why would you assume that he was an enlisted marine, when he is clearly a captain?
He addresses this later in the video.
@@erics362 No, he did not. Stop it.
Just a note, with respect to the USMC, USN, and USCG the denotation of a second award is a gold star attachment, and a silver star for 5 subsequent awards. Oak leaf clusters (bronze and silver) are used by the Army and Air Force.
Thanks for sharing
Depends on the type of award. Some have a large Gold Star to note 2nd and additional awards. Some have a small Bronze Star to indicate additional awards and Silver Star to denote 5 awards.
@@patrickmccrann991 No not really unless you want to get time specific. In WW1 it is not uncommon to find a US Marine with a Distinguished Service Cross or Purple Heart with an oak leaf cluster. But by WW2 things had become far more standardised. USMC, USN and USCG personnel who were recipients of multiple valour awards would receive either Gold Stars (denoting one additional award) or Silver Stars (denoting five additional awards) measuring 5/16th inch in lieu of an additional medal. The US Army or Army Air Force (before the establishment of the USAF in 1947) would award a Bronze Oak Leaf (one additional award) or Silver Oak Leaf (five additional awards) cluster (both 5/16th inch size) in lieu of additional medals. Campaign or service ribbons and good conduct awards for the USN, USMC and USCG have either bronze (denoting one additional campaign) or silver star (denoting five additional campaign awards) measuring 3/16th inch in size as ribbon attachments. The only awards today that exclusively use oak leaf clusters to denote additional awards for all services of the US Military are the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and Defense Superior Service Medal. I do collect USN and USMC medals as my hobby so I'm reasonably well-versed in this topic.
There were US Marines in the ETO during DDay. The German troops thought that they were engaged with a Bn. when it was only 12 Marines. I don't remember what town it was in, but it has been documented.
If this was canon, then the next Godfather movie should be Micheal's WWII experience.
With today’s technology with the use of CGI they could make a movie of Michael Corlione in his time during WW2 before making his way back home.
In the novel it was said that Michael had earned the distinguished service cross which is not seen in the salad.
The uniform in the photo is that of a officer in the U.S. Army not worn by the Marines. Marine were not deployed to Europe except on Navy ships.
That's a nice stretch for the European-African-Middle East campaign medal. More likely the studio just made a mistake. In Godfather II they change the Silver Star to the Navy Cross. They're not nffearly as attentive to these things as the BBC. In one episode of the West Wing, Admiral Fitzwallace's ribbon bar is upside down. I can read a lot of medals. A useful skill in the service. I always look for these things.
Michael could have used some political connections to have his silver star upgraded to a Navy Cross.
@@MaxwellAerialPhotography If an upgrade was his intention, why stop with the Navy Cross? And what about Adm Fitswallace's decorations?
No major USMC units participated in the North Africa; many U.S. Army units took part in the combat in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.
@@stevehicks8944 USMC units took part in North African and European campaigns in support of the U.S. Navy, while the land battles were fought by the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Air Corps. Learn to work on your understanding of history.
In the novel, when Michael is still being shielded from the family business he pleads his case by mentioning he (as a Marine) had be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. So...a little confusion there. It has happened obviously but I would think it so rare as to be simply writer's ignorance.
The whole thing was preposterous. The awards were never meant to be more than a prop. The Navy Cross is one level below the Medal of Honor - there were very few awarded outside of the Pacific Theatre.
Didn’t Puzzo make an actual service record for Michael? I’m pretty sure it’s exactly as you said in the video. Guadalcanal and Peliliu. Which are battles that the 1st Marine Division actually did take part in.
I think Michael’s involvement in North Africa/Europe can be more easily explained by him just being put on sea duty after Guadalcanal than him doing intelligence/covert ops in Sicily. It makes even more sense when you consider that Vito was probably pulling strings to try and get him away from the front line (Not that serving on a ship in the Mediterranean was any less dangerous, but Vito probably didn’t know that.)
Here is my guess. Michael fought at Guadalcanal, but his fathers influence got him separated from his unit and put on a ship post Guadalcanal. That also explains why he doesn’t have a medal for the battle of cape Gloucester, since he was miles away in the Mediterranean while it was happening. Eventually, Michael was able to get himself sent back to his unit in time for peliliu, where he fought before his father pulled more strings, resulting in his early return to the US in 1945 when The Godfather 1 begins. Bribing a doctor into Exaggerating his wounds just like you said. Which also accounts for his lack of participation in the battle of Okinawa.
Really good analysis. I think you hit the nail on the head.
Subsequent Navy-Marine Corps medals are denoted with a silver or gold star (5 gold represented by a silver star device), not the oak leaf cluster, unless given by the Army.
If he had taken part in the physical invasions, in either theater, he would also have an arrowhead device on the campaign ribbon.
Wow ..excellent sir!!
As a Marine the fictional Michael Corleone would not have earned the Asian and African European medals unless he had been working for the OSS. In the second movie the character of Michael claims that he was awarded the Navy Cross as well. Very few Marines participated in European operations and there were no major Marine Corps units involved in Europe with the exception of the occupation of Iceland early in Americas involvement after December 7, 1941. They were withdrawn and sent to the Solomon Islands in 1942. Two Marines come to mind as an exception. Both were movie stars in their own right and exceptional Marines as well. One was Peter J Ortiz (Twelve O'clock High) and Sterling Hayden (Dr Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb). They were OSS operators. There were others such as a group of Marines who disrupted German operations behind the lines during the Normandy campaign. I'm thinking that the Continuity person on the set didn't know any better and didn't think audiences wouldn't either. Well, we do notice. Same as when Politicos lie to us. We notice.
However she going Marines on ships in the Mediterranean might have earned the Middle Eastern medal
@@stevenjohnson2063 Yes. There were Marines in the ETO. Just not large formations. There were Marines on all large ships such as cruisers and battleships. I think that this was simply a continuity error made by the producers of the film. In the book he tells his brother Sonny how he "killed Japs".
@@stevenjohnson2063 "She going Marines" are "special". 😏 Just kidding of course.
@@nosaltadded2530okay, my voice to text was not working properly. Seagoing Marines not she going Marines. . .
@@stevenjohnson2063 I was just kidding. Do you know what MARINE stands for? My ass rides in Navy Equipment. Navy. Never again volunteer yourself. Last and best. Why does the Navy have Marines on board ships. The Sailors need someone to dance with.
All us navy ships have marines on them , he could have been on as a mp. It's as easy as that
At the start of the first Godfather at his sister's wedding, Uggh! Doesn't it drive anyone batty 🦇 that his first rack of ribbons is not on straight? It looks like Pac-Man. My cousin was a Marine reservist in the 1990s, and my father was a sailor in the 1950s-both are the most organized and slightly OCD about everything. This is the prop master's job. Right?
If I remember right, the original book mentioned that he was an artillery officer
Perhaps another source of the second medal might be assignment as a "Fleet Marine" on any one of 31 eight fleet battle ships, carriers or cruisers that each would have had @ 80 enlisted/NCO's and two or three officers. They were the on board police force, officers also served as part of the court martial system for serious offenses, On carriers this group would be different from any air units on board.
I always thought it was comical how the mobsters talked down to Michael about his going after Solazzo as if a mob hit was more violent and taxing than sustained combat in the WWII. One look at his fruit salad in the film and you know he’s no stranger to violence
I remember seeing those rugs in kandahar Airfield in the rare occasions I got to enjoy the big bases. Where did you get yours?
Corleone could have been with the Fleet Marine Force in the Med or Atlantic.
Have to point out the incorrect spelling of George Patton in the strategic overview slides.
Would love to see an episode on the late governor of NSW Sir Roden Cutler VC, AK, KCMG, KCVO, CBE.
Operations Torch, Husky and Dragoon had large USN, US Army and USAAF involvement. USMC involvement was very limited: DUKW operators and a detachment from capital ships eg. USS Philadelphia. But HQ staff, liaision and spec ops in Scicily and Italy certainly involved all services.
Throwing in the crocodile Dundee picture on Australia. 😂
Here's a future episode. Ruger Hauger's character in Fatherland. (1994)
There's really not a good shot of them but being in an alternate time line in England, should be interesting.
@5'35" LT GEN George PattEn ....thta s a real newbie !
Would it be possible for you to do the Medals of Cole Phelps from LA Noire? There isnt a picture of him in USMC uniform, but we do know that he definitely has a Silver Star and Asiatic Pacific Campaign medals
Great video!
And a great film!
As my main interest is British medals it really interesting to look at some from overseas!
Some of the Russian medals look interesting so it might be worth looking at starlins or one of the Marshall of the Soviets!
Looking forward to your next offering. You have a great channel and I enjoy it immensely!😊
Thanks John, on the Russian /Soviet side I do have Captain Ramius from Hunt For Red October on my to-do list but might take a bit of research. In the future I will have a further look at real figures from history as well - Though if I did Marshal Zhukov judging by his medal awards it might be a 3 hour video!
Younger viewers may not know that "The Godfather" was a 1972 movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola and "Michael Corleone" was a fictional character in that movie. He was NOT a real person. Hence his military service was entirely fictional too.
They glazed the Mafia so hard in this film by making Michael such a gigachad war hero and youngest USMC Captain
Michael turned 25 in March 1945, so was not an unusually young captain. The USMC had a battalion CO less than a year older, and a 17 year old MoH awardee.
Theory; Captian Corlion enlisted after Peral Harbor. Attend OCS then attached 1st MCD for the Guadalcanal campaign. Awarded Silver Star for gallantry in action. Landed Cape Gloster, 1st MCD in 43. Wounded either campaign.
Shipped back to the US for medical treatment somewhere on the east coast Naval Hospital. Although wounded, not wounded enough to be discharged. He was assigned to Ships company to a Battleship or Crusier. This takes him into 1944. The Lieutenant now in the ETO theater of operation. North Africa and Sicily were over. Leaves the Landings at Salerno, Anzio, Normandy and Southern France. Possibly Normandy and Southern France. I believe the USS Texas and New York were at both. I'm sure someone in RUclips land will fact check this. Then after The Allied Armies were established in Europe. The Navy was able to move ships to the PTO for the last of the Island hopping campaigns in 1945. Now Promoted Captian Corlion was discharged from the Marine Corps. Only missing his his discharge badge worn to signify that person, although discharged. Is still permitted to wear the uniform. Also missing. Rifle and Pistos shooting badges. Worn on Alpha dress uniforms.
I think you might have went a bit too deep into the Mafia angle. As it was well noted that Michael was to be kept out of the family business.
Vito didn’t want Michael near the family business. He likely would have pulled strings to keep him out of action. He may have pulled strings to have him place in charge of a ship board marine detachment. That would explain the European African medal. After Michael may have used his own marine corp connections to land in the pacific.
The American Campaign Theatre Medal was missing.
And yet, when he testified before the Congressional subcomittee in The Godfather Part II, he testified that he had been awarded The Navy Cross, and made no mention of his lesser awards.
Great video. One small point. I think you meant “banzai” rather than “bonsai”
They made a mistake in the film......he won the navy Cross not the silver star
Continuity mistake
No, the movie was correct. The highest 2 medals in the US Naval Service, Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross, take a considerably long time to adjudicate and work its way through the system before awarding. It was standard in my wars (Iraq/Afghanistan) for those top medals as well as the Silver Star to not be awarded until long rotated back stateside. Often times, a written up MOH gets downgraded to a Navy Cross, a written Navy Cross to a Silver Star.
As Michael was still in uniform, he had just returned from overseas, and had not been demobilized. So, expected that the highest awards had not yet reached him.
A Battle Star on USMC and Navy medals means a second award. So, a Purple Heart with a star means wounded twice. 2 stars means wounded three times. Unit commendation awards have the little oak leaves denoting second and so on awards. Individual awards get stars.
Navy Crosses, like Medals of Honor, take a long time to adjudicate. Michael Corleone’s Navy Cross probably caught up with him 6 months after discharge, so the movie could certainly be accurate.
As I recall, the Marines ballooned to 6 divisions in WW2. Not sure why you focused entirely on the 1st Marine Division only. Also, very highly doubtful that a single Marine participated in Guadalcanal, Peliliu, and Okinawa. Units reconstituted after every major campaign in the rear and rotated most Marines out.
Also, the role you had him playing in the Italian Campaign seems ridiculously far fetched. Most likely, Michael was assigned to command a large ships Marine Detachment. Every flag ship of a numbered fleet usually had a MarDet.
Also, though he “enlisted”, he would have been given an IQ test like all recruits. The score as well as his time at Yale would have had him immediately selected for OCS after boot camp. He likely spent the entire war as an officer having been commissioned prior to deployment overseas.
I’m a 30 year Marine (9 years active duty, 21 years reserve). Albeit, I was an air wing Marine.
In Godfather II, he states that he was awarded Navy Cross. This claim was part of his statement to the Congressional committee. Not on his uniform at the wedding.
Top awards take a long time to adjudicate. MOH and Navy Crosses would take a year from the action cited. The movie is accurate.
I know The History Chap already did this, but could you do Private Godfrey from “Dad’s Army”?
Yes I will add him to my list, thank you. I may also have a look at Sgt Wilson who was an artillery officer and claimed he was at Gallipoli I think but will have to do a bit more research into that. Colonel Pritchard might be interesting too
That was interesting, but there is a far easier idea - he was assigned to USS Boise. Boise was at Guadalcanal and was damaged at Cape Esperance, went to Philadelphia Navy Yard for repairs, then went to the Med for the Battle of Gela, as well as Taranto and Salerno. After that, back to the Pacific. Probably wasn't aboard the whole time, but this is an easier explanation then trying to make a Mafia connection to a character that famously wanted nothing to do with that side of the family until his father got shot.
You KNOW for a fact that he was transferred from the 1st Marine Division to a CL the USS Boise? For the specific reason to be sent to Europe to provide Info he couldn't possibly possess. I'm calling BS on that one but hey PROVE me wrong!
how would you like to give a rundown of genial Jan Smuts on your channel
Michael, having graduated (and he had graduated) from a prestigious university, would have almost certainly become an officer upon enlistment. In a Marine Corps starved of officers I doubt he would have been given a choice.
The Corleone Family was running a legitimate Italian food import business, not smuggling. Their illegal business was mostly run out of Brooklyn and in the northeast US and centered on loansharking, gambling and similar businesses. Michael was not involved with any of the family business prior to his killing of Solazzo and the police captain. That's why Solazzo foolishly agreed to meet with him to negotiate a truce. His value to the Navy for Sicily would have his rudimentary knowledge of Sicilian. We know he wasn't fluent because he had to use Fabrizzio as an interpreter in approaching Appolonia's family, thus exposing himself as an American. During his exile he seems initially unfamiliar with Sicily, which would not have been the case if he worked undercover. More likely he brought specialized knowledge and training from the Pacific Marines and was liaison during the landings with the natives. He probably wouldn't have been in much direct combat. After Salerno at the latest he would have returned east to the Pacific via the Suez Canal and Australia. That could have put him back in combat at Cape Gloucester and New Britain. Like other veterans of his Guadacanal unit he would then have likely be part of the horrendous Peleliu operation.
The lack of the Navy Cross on his uniform at his sister's wedding, which occurs just after his return in the fall of 1945 (he would have been among the first released from service due to his early enlistment, his wounds and his combat record), is probably due to a continuity and costume error but can be explained if his citation was under review by the Pentagon and only approved shortly afterwards. I strongly doubt the Michael character would engage in, or allow, any John Kerry like skullduggery to get a medal.
The proper description the Navy/Marine Corps medal description is a foul anchor, not a fouled anchor.
Yes that's correct, slip of the tongue on my part.
Thank you for the in-depth analysis of Michael Corleone's medals.
Michael's ETO ribbon was likely an error made by the wardrobe dept of the movie as there was no way he would have gone from one theater to another in the middle of the war. the ribbon he SHOULD have been wearing was the American Campaign Medal for service for at least 6 months service in the continental US. this was usually awarded because training took place in the US prior to deployment overseas. and the movie starts in late 1945 and the WW II Victory medal wasn't designed until 1946, having been established in 1945. also the rainbow designs on the edges are actually miniature replicas of the World War I victory medal.
Perhaps, he first served in the European theater and then continued in the Pacific theater as the Pacific war took much longer after the European theater was ended. Far more people perished at a greater rate in the Pacific theater.
@@frank-ko6de unlikely. it was rare for someone to be involved in combat in one theater and then move to another theater in the middle of a war. yes, some ETO units did serve in the Pacific, but that was AFTER Germany surrendered in May 1945. and the Marines saw almost no open combat in Europe in WW II. it's just more likely the wardrobe department of the movie screwed up and put the wrong ribbon on Michael's uniform.
@apollo21lmp whether, it was likely a or not, it still happened. There was a reason the Michael Corleon character was deemed special, and written as exceptional in contrast to the other Corleon sons.
Francis Ford Coppola did all his research and there was a reason he portrayed him that way.
He was deemed as a war hero, and his father refused to take a picture without him , in the opening scenes of the movie, which highlighted his esteem wirhin the family. The narrator is simply running his mouth without knowing what he's talking about.
@@apollo21lmpUS Navy units (and their associated marine detachments) served in the Pacific, Mediterranean and Atlantic.
@@apollo21lmpIt was routine to move escaped POWs to a different theatre upon retrieval…
Aircrews were similarly routinely redeployed at the end of each tour.
Four years is a long time.
Michael, as born speaker, would be very likelly brought in to Itally as translator, but probably not as fighting men.
He simply went from Marine to Army for the assigment. So its ok.
Michael Cprleone was ons serious badass. He probably regarded Sonny, his older brother, as somewhat of a buffoon. Guadalcanal was a siege more than an assault operation, hanging on while the USA mobilized. Pelilieu was a bucket of bloodiness second only to Iwo Jima a silver star from that means you looked at the devil himself at the very best.
Would not the US ships cruiser and above carried a marine guard unit eg USS Texas at Torch landings
Another interesting point, the US doesn’t order their campaign medals by the order they were earned.
The Pacific campaign medal will always be worn before the European regardless of the order they were earned.
Thanks for sharing
In both the book and the movie, when Michael Corleone joined the Marines, he was disgusted with his family business and sought to distance himself from its criminal activities. The character was a true patriot. Called upon to help the cause, he would have willingly used his connections in Sicily to assist victory, but he would not have wanted to settle into a cushy situation in Sicily. He would have enthusiastically gone and served wherever called upon, as even when he returned from the war, he was not a fan of his family's criminal activity. It was only when the other families began killing his kin that he became the Godfather.
Where's the Navy Cross?
Michael did not make his bones in Marine Corps. His family viewed his service almost with contempt. He was considered a sucker for going. His father used his connections to keep his brothers out of uniform. He made his bones in the eyes his family when he saved Vito’s life at the hospital and successfully killed the boss responsible as well as an untouchable police captain.
Also there is no way in hell Michael was involved in Mafia activities at this stage in his life. Read the book. He was the rebellious son. He reluctantly got involved because he loved his father. He wanted nothing to do with criminal activities.
As for his commission, you were eligible for OCS if you had two years of college and completed Basic training. Michael was qualified. As for him even being in Sicily? He was sent there after he committed murder in New York. He had to learn the Sicilian dialect and needed advice on local customs.
So many knowledgeable people on this post, thank you guys, I’m going through the marines actions in the pacific, during WW2 to listen to these humble men speak of their exploits is harrowing at times and then they had to try and settle into family life after being trained to fight and kill the enemy, truly a great generation
In defense of whether or not Michael earned the "European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal", keep in mind that there is proof that the U.S. Government did seek assistance from actual Mafiosos, such as Lucky Luciano, prior to the landings in Sicily and also to assist during the Italian campaign. Just saying that it's conceivable in the movie that Don Corleone might have been asked for help and referred them to his son. It all was a offer that nobody could refuse. Yeah. Conceivable.
Looking forward to seeing the stories behind the medals of a lowly, lowly cook 😂😂
OR a mistake was made putting the Atlantic theater medal on his uniform by the costume department.
So Michael Corleone was a highly decorated Marine combat infantry officer, yet he had to be instructed step by step on the use of a handgun to shoot Sollozzo and McCluskey in the restaurant?
He wasn’t being taught how to fire the gun. Clemenza was telling him the gun couldn’t be traced, and that the handle and trigger had special tape on it so Michael didn’t have to worry about fingerprints. Then Clemenza gave him pointers about the proper way to conduct the assassination and how to leave the restaurant, these being topics not usually covered in Marine firearm training.
The Democrats in the FDR White House pushed for Mafia collaboration because they had long been political allies in New York and New Jersey. There's no real indication it produced anything of real value to the war effort. The high British casualties in Sicily and their slow advance were the faullt of Montgomery and the donkeys of the British staff. Patton, despite being shoved off the primary road net for the convenience of the British, managed to defeat both the Germans and Italians while traversing most of the island and beating Montgomery to the coast opposite the mainland.
When did americans go from a bit more conservative ribbon bars to the madness they have now? Looking at MASH characters (some great characters there you could look at like Col Potter too) they have the smaller ribbons but less of them.
Can you please to maverick off top gun please.
An excellent suggestion, thank you. I will add it to my to-do list.
Apparently, you have never read the book “The Godfather” written by Mario Puzo. Michael was NOT involved in the family business before the death of Santino “Sonny”. This was by his father’s wishes.
Seriously ... what ribbon is conspicuous ly missing. One that every member that served in the ETO recieved from cook/baker to truck driver. Dad had 5, my uncle had 7. Yes, the BronzeStar for the campaigns at Normandy, NorthernFrance, Rhineland, Ardennes, and CentralEurope.
Nicely fabricated story.
Seems you forget his Navy Cross ...
If i had to guess the oss( predecessor to the CIA) figured out who his father was and brought him to Sicily.
They were Animals... !
He was a “ civilian” until he got involved after they tried to kill his father….the only weak point of the history… otherwise cool video.
This was a movie, not real life. This person never existed
He didn't speak enough Italian to be useful in Sicily. Plus the USMC had zero involvement in the ETO other than garrison at Iceland.
The pronunciation “seh-CON-ded” as opposed to “SEH-con-ded” threw me a bit… I suppose I am an unenlightened colonial. 😊
Please be careful when you talk about Under Siege; Steven Seagal is a terrible person and many people can't stand him. Thanks to you I did some research into Casey Rybeck's ribbons. On the whole they're ok, i.e., he doesn't have anything impossible and they are at least in the right order, but they do change between movies and his promotion from CPO to Lt. is inexplicable. I ordered your book, too!
For fictional recipients of the Navy Cross, I vote for Thomas Magnum over Casey Ryback. 😆
Thank you for ordering my book, much appreciated. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for the info on Rybacks Ribbons, this channel is apolitical and focuses on the fictional character themselves not the actor or their lifestyle/political beliefs . Ryback is on the to-do list but not for a few weeks yet!
Doesn't matter about his ribbons/medals. He shot it all down with his faux pas. Look at Godfather (II?) when he is running to his dads hospital room after figuring out all the guards are gone. He runs like, well like, well.... what he doesn't run like is a Marine. He runs like the most effeminate guy in your gym class.
Yes, or like an actor who has never been in the service!
Another fictitious Character displaying a costume designer's idea of what a military uniform should look like . Most people don't have an idea what those ribbons are, or what they mean, and they do not really care .
Michael Corleone's Italian was crap.
Can you say that in Italian?