Having served in the military is an extremely notable sacrifice, any medals earned during the time in the service should be properly preserved. When the military medals are properly cared for, they can be shared by future generations who want to proudly showcase their families history. One added benefit to preserving the militarily medals is they can also be used as a military archive, helping future generations to appreciate what was going on with the military and their ancestors.
Here is what you need to do to preserve military medals;
Framing the Military Medals
Proudly displaying the military medals behind glass in a frame is a wonderful way for the recipient to show off all their accomplishments. Rather than hide them away in a drawer, the framed shadow boxes bring the pieces to life, and will allow anyone to hold the pieces without damaging them. Depending on the number of military medals, they can be arranged behind the glass in a number of artful ways. The shadow boxes usually have felt backgrounds, allowing the military medals to be pinned in place so they will not move.
Whether pinning awards or medals, or taping military patches on the felt, the frames serve a dual purpose. These frames help to showcase the military awards while at the same time keeping them free from dust and other contaminants. Keeping the frames out of the direct sunlight will reduce the chance of the patches or ribbons fading.
Utilizing Plastic Sleeves
Those who collect baseball or trading cards know that they can keep those fragile pieces protected for years by making use of plastic sleeves. These trading card sleeves can then be placed in binders for added protection, allowing the family to keep the binder out on a coffee table or on a dresser. Once the awards, patches, or medals are secure inside the plastic sleeves, they will be resistant to pet dander, dust, and damage. They make any number of size sleeves, from the size of a trading card all the way up to a full size sheet of paper.
Keeping the military medal in plastic and in a binder is a great way to preserve them while still letting them see the light of day when family or friends are visiting.
The Storage Box
When placing the military medals in a storage box, extra precautions should be used. Before just lying them inside the storage box loosely, place each individual award in acid-free tissue paper, it will prevent each medal from brushing up against each other and becoming worn.
Preserving military medals today will allow the veteran to proudly display their accomplishments, while helping to protect our history in a way that can tell future generations to stories of how our brave men and women protected our freedoms.