flag/medal shadow box for dad

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Location
Oliver Springs, TN
My dad retired from the Army with 21 years service. He served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He was a military policeman most of the time. He passed away 3 years ago this October. I've been wanting to build a display for his flag for a while, and finally felt it was time. I still have several things to put in that my mom is looking for. The wood is curly maple.

God bless those who serve and all those who have.
 

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Very nicely made and well deserved! Your Mom must be pretty pleased to see her serviceman honored so appropriately.

cheers
 
Thanks guys for the nice comments. Mom has had a rough go after dad passed. They were married for 56 years. This brought a few tears.

Dad has 5 brothers, they all served. 4 Army, 1 Air Force, 1 Marines. Four retired from service. Combined they served close to 100 years.
 
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Well done - very attractive. The LOML and I built one some years ago (no flag) for her dad and I know from that experience how much a gift like this is appreciated.
 
You did a great job John. :thumb: It may have brought your mom a few tears, but I'll bet it also brings warm memories, too.
 
Great to acknowledge those who fought for freedom

Really great flag box you have there. My Dad is still alive at 91 and while visiting about 2 years ago, he brought all his and the family medal collections for my son to keep in the future.

Had to get cracking and build a cabinet with a glass front in a hurry. So please excuse the imperfections. One day I will build one with some really nice wood and have proper engraved placks made for all the medals.

Dad served in the Royal Navy from the time he was 13. Retired after the war. Quiet a long story but he still keeps in touch with German survivors of a historical battle he took part in. Sinking of the German Battleship Bismarck. Here is a picture of the Medal case and Dad at 89 in front of it. (2006)

Made from Poplar and stained in a hurry. Hand cut dovetail joints on the side but with huge gaps.

Satisfied Dad that they were not going to be left in a closet somewhere and forgotten. We see them everytime we go up and down the stairs and are reminded of him.
 

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Rob, that's great. I've already had a request to make one for my BIL for his dad. My wife's grandparents were both in WWII, one in Europe and the other in the Pacific. I'd like to get theirs and make a box for both to give to my son one day.
 
Mr. Keeble: The gift of making a medal box to honor yours fathers service is worth 100 times the price of any box he could have bought no matter how perfect it was.(in my opinion)
Gifts that originate from the heart are incredibly priceless to people, no matter how many "imperfections" the creator feels he/she made.
btw, those are fine looking display boxes and quite a good looking array to be proud of.
You and Mr. Dougherty should be quite proud of the work.
 
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John, I really like your design. I have my grandfather's WWII army air corps dress uniform hat and I've been wanting to make a case for it.

Can you talk about how you mounted the items inside the case?

Many thanks,
-dan
 
Dan, the back is made from 1/2 inch ply with foam display board I got from staples attached using 3M spray adhesive. On top of that I attached 2 layers of felt using the same adhesive. The ribbons are like push pins that I just jabbed into the foam board. The medals have pin clasps that are run through the felt and closed.
 
The maple was not my first choice. Curly maple around here in in the 9 to 10 bucks a board foot range with not much curl. I was very seriously considering walnut.

We have a flea market near buy every Saturday. I like to go looking for old tools and such. About a month ago a guy was there with a load of wood. He had several species. I was digging through and found two curly maple boards with great figure. I asked how much and he let me have them for 20.00. I decided to use them for the case. I figured it up and they were 2.00 a board foot.
 
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