This is in regards to Albert Cain....I looked up the history of the two ships that Cain's records reflect he was on from 67 thru 69. Neither ship was never even near Vietnam. So how could he rate ANY Vietnam ribbons at all as reflected in his records from St Louis.  Here is the history of those ships:

 

CAINS SHIPS AKA THE CAIN MUTINY

MONROVIA (AP-64) was laid down as MC hull 152 by Bethlehem-Sparrows Point Shipyard, Inc., Sparrows Point, Md., 26 March 1942; launched 19 September 1942; sponsored by Mrs. John M. Carmody; and commissioned 1 December 1942, Capt. C. D. Leffler in command. Reclassified APA-31 on 1 February 1943, MONROVIA conducted shakedown and amphibious training exercises in Chesapeake Bay through the winter months of 1943. On 10 May, she departed Norfolk with Army passengers for the Mediterranean and her first assault assignment. After hurried conversion to accommodate equipment needed by a flagship, accomplished in 2 weeks by repair ship DELTA (AR-9) at Mers-el-Kebir, she took on Army nurses as passengers for transport to Algiers. There, on 20 June, Vice Admiral Hewitt and his staff came on board, and were joined 10 days later by Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, Jr. On 6 July, she departed for Sicily where she served as the command ship of the Western Task Force for operation "Husky." Arriving off the assault area on the 10th, she suffered slight damage to her engine room on the 11th when a Stuka loosed bombs, which straddled the vessel with two near misses. After repairs at Algiers, she returned to the United States with Italian POWs, mooring at Portsmouth, Va., 4 August. Reassigned later in the month, the attack transport took on marines and headed for the Pacific. On 9 October, she arrived at Wellington, New Zealand, departing on the 27th, for Efate, the staging area for the Tarawa assault. By 20 November, she stood off that atoll as flagship of TransDiv 18. Afterward, with casualties, elements of the remaining units of the 2d Marine Division, and several POWs, she returned to Hawaii. During December and January 1944, she conducted training exercises in the Hawaiian area with Marine and Army personnel. On 22 January, she sailed for her third amphibious operation, Kwajalein, participating in the assault there on the 31st, and returning casualties and POWs to Pearl Harbor in February. She then sailed on to San Diego, arriving 17 February for availability and 2 months of training off southern California. Underway for the combat area again in June, she participated in the assault on Saipan, again landing personnel of the 2d Marine Division, in spite of reefs, mortar fire and aerial resistance. After the Battle of the Philippine Sea, she once more transported casualties and POWs to Hawaii, whence she sailed 9 July for Guam with units of the 77th Infantry Division. Arriving on the 22d, she remained in the assault area for 7 days before returning, with casualties, to Pearl Harbor for a brief availability. In September, with 96th Infantry troops embarked, the transport sailed west again, arriving at Manus, the staging area for the upcoming Philippine offensive, 3 October. By dawn, 20 October, she was off Leyte. Unloaded by 1800 on the 21st, she got underway in time to clear the gulf before the arrival of Japanese naval units en route from the Sulu Sea. Heading southeast, she steamed to New Guinea, whence she lifted elements of the 11th Airborne Division to Leyte. She then sailed to New Britain, took on units of the 40th Infantry Division and returned to Manus to stage for the assault on Luzon. Departing 31 December, she encountered aerial resistance in Lingayen Gulf 9 January 1945, and, on the 10th, enabled a Japanese suicide swimmer to join his ancestors before departing for Leyte to take on 1st Cavalry Division troops for transport to the Luzon beaches. MONROVIA then returned to the Solomons, took on units of the 6th Marine Division, and, as flagship, TransDiv 36, conducted amphibious exercises in preparation for operation "Iceberg," the invasion of Okinawa. From the Solomons, she proceeded to Ulithi to join other ships assigned to TF 53, the northern attack force, and headed for the Hagushi beaches. By dusk on 1 April, she had landed all her marines, but, because of nightly retirements, did not complete discharging her cargo until the 5th. She then steamed eastward, arriving at Portland, Oreg. on the 28th for overhaul. MONROVIA returned to the western Pacific after the Japanese surrender and immediately commenced transporting occupation troops and supplies to China and Japan, returning to the United States with battle weary veterans. She continued to transit the Pacific, between the west coast and Japan, as a cargo and personnel carrier until the spring of 1946, when she was ordered to the east coast for inactivation. On 31 July 1946, she reported to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, at Norfolk, decommissioning there 26 February 1947. Following the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, MONROVIA was recalled to active service. Re-commissioned 30 November 1950, she joined the Atlantic Fleet's Amphibious Forces the following spring, 1951, to train for fall operations off Greenland. On 27 December, she departed Norfolk for the first of her annual deployments to the Mediterranean, which continued, with few interruptions, until 1967. Assigned to PhibRon 8, she carried fleet marines while deployed with the 6th Fleet and conducted amphibious exercises with them while operating along the east coast and in the Caribbean. The maintenance of a defensive readiness throughout this period enabled her to react positively during the many intervening crises such as occurred at Beirut, Lebanon, July 1958; Cuba, October, 1962; and the Panama Canal Zone, January 1964. In 1968, MONROVIA was again ordered deactivated. Decommissioned 31 October, she was struck from the Naval Register the following day and was sold for scrap.
MONROVIA earned seven battle stars during World War II.
Given to the USS MONROVIA ASSOCIATION BY James Sottile USMC 1956

USS CADMUS

A character in Greek mythology, the Phoenician prince Cadmus was said to have introduced the alphabet into Greece, and founded Thebes.
Amphion Class Repair Ship: Laid down, 30 October 1944 as a Maritime Commission type (C2) hull under a Maritime Commission contract at Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Inc; USS Cadmus (AR-14) was launched 5 August 1945 by Tampa Shipbuilding Co. Inc., Tampa, Fla.; sponsored by Mrs. B. P. Ward and commissioned 23 April 1946. Captain J. M. Connally in command.
Specifications: Displacement 6,266 t.; Length 492'; Beam 69' 6": Draft 27' 6"; Speed 16kts; Complement 921; Armament two single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount.
Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet since commissioning, USS Cadmus operated from her home port at Norfolk, Va., as a repair ship. Calls to East Coast ports, and cruises in the Caribbean, are part of a schedule which calls for service to the Fleet during major exercises. On 3 September 1957, the repair ship cleared Norfolk on her first Atlantic crossing. After taking part in NATO exercises with TF 88 out of Rothesay, Scotland, she visited ports in Scotland, France, and Spain. Through the first half of 1958 she sailed with TF 63 in replenishment missions during fleet exercises in the Mediterranean. From her return to Norfolk on 7 May 1958 through 1960, Cadmus has continued her program of east coast and Caribbean operations.
In 1964, the USS Cadmus moved her homeport to Newport,RI.
Decommissioned, 4 September 1971; Laid up in the Reserve Fleet; Struck from the Naval Register, 15 January 1974; Sold under the Security Assistance Program to Taiwan, 22 April 1974; Final Disposition, fate unknown.

Gentlemen,

 

 

 

The photograph provided to me of Mr. Al Cain clearly shows he is wearing numerous ribbons that ARE NOT substantiated by the records contained in the FOIA report.  We are not looking at a DD-214 but a synopsis of his official records, the FOIA report, which indicates the following:

 

 

Of particular note are ribbons and badges Mr. Cain was photographed wearing that are not authorized for wear by ANY Navy Personnel, to include:

 

                       1.  Marine Security Guard Ribbon

                       2.  Marine Rifle Expert Badge

                       3.  Marine Pistol Expert Badge

 

Additionally, the following ribbons seen in the photograph are not inclusive in the listing released in the FOIA report nor do they appear in the final DD-214 (if room is insufficient to list all awards, they are normally continued in block 18. Remarks of that same DD-214):

 

                       1.  Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V"

                       2.  Presidential Unit Citation

                       3.  Navy Unit Citation

                       4.  (2nd Award) Meritorious Unit Citation

                       5.  Navy Reserve Unit Citation

                       6.  Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (not authorized for Vietnam Service Medal recipients)

                       7.  Humanitarian Service Medal

                       8.  Arctic Service Ribbon

                       9.  Philippine Presidential Unit Citation

                      10. Vietnam Cross of Gallantry (Individual Award -- no frame or Palm device appears in photo)

 

The above amounts to a total of THIRTEEN unauthorized/undocumented ribbons/badges that Mr. Al Cain is observed to be wearing in the photograph provided.  I personally find that to be far from accidental or simple misunderstanding as to what this individual rated to wear.  Many of us call that being a "Wannabe". 

 

Given Al Cain's duty stations during the Vietnam War, it is questionable why is claims the Marine Corps EGA device for wear on a Vietnam Service Ribbon.  He was not assigned to the FMF during that time frame, a requirement for that device.  His stations included:

 

*  USNTC Great Lakes (15Feb66 - 02Sep66)

 

*  USS Monrovia  (APA-31) (16Mar67 - 16Apr68)

Re-commissioned 30 November 1950, she joined the Atlantic Fleet's Amphibious Forces the following spring, 1951, to train for fall operations off Greenland. On 27 December, she departed Norfolk for the first of her annual deployments to the Mediterranean, which continued, with few interruptions, until 1967. Assigned to PhibRon 8, she carried fleet marines while deployed with the 6th Fleet and conducted amphibious exercises with them while operating along the east coast and in the Caribbean. The maintenance of a defensive readiness throughout this period enabled her to react positively during the many intervening crises such as occurred at Beirut, Lebanon, July 1958; Cuba, October, 1962; and the Panama Canal Zone, January 1964. In 1968, MONROVIA was again ordered deactivated. Decommissioned 31 October, she was struck from the Naval Register the following day and was sold for scrap.

SHIPS HISTORY DENOTES NO RECORD OF SERVICE IN VIETNAM.

see:  http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/03031.htm

 

*  USS Camdus (AR-14) (16Oct68 - 31Oct69)

Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet since commissioning, USS Cadmus operated from her home port at Norfolk, Va., as a repair ship. Calls to East Coast ports, and cruises in the Caribbean, are part of a schedule which calls for service to the Fleet during major exercises. On 3 September 1957, the repair ship cleared Norfolk on her first Atlantic crossing. After taking part in NATO exercises with TF 88 out of Rothesay, Scotland, she visited ports in Scotland, France, and Spain. Through the first half of 1958 she sailed with TF 63 in replenishment missions during fleet exercises in the Mediterranean. From her return to Norfolk on 7 May 1958 through 1960, Cadmus has continued her program of east coast and Caribbean operations. In 1964, the USS Cadmus moved her homeport to Newport,RI. Decommissioned, 4 September 1971; Laid up in the Reserve Fleet; Struck from the Naval Register, 15 January 1974; Sold under the Security Assistance Program to Taiwan, 22 April 1974; Final Disposition, fate unknown. SHIPS HISTORY DENOTES NO RECORD OF SERVICE IN VIETNAM.  See:  http://www.usscadmus.com/Main.html Second Enlistment  Naval Reserve, at Lubbock, TX., on 28July87 as an HM2;   *  Navy & Marine Corps Reserve Center, Lubbock, TX., (28Jul87 - 24Jun88) *  Navy Reserve - Bethesda, NRRC Detroit, MI. (25Jun88 - 30Sep88) *  Navy Reserve 4thMarDiv 1/24, NRRC Detroit, MI (1Oct88 - 01Mar89) *  Navy Reserve 4th MarDiv 1/24, NRRC Detroit, MI (17Mar89 - 13Jan1990)   HISTORY OF 1/24 taken from: http://www.mfr.usmc.mil/4thmardiv/24thMar/1stBn/history.htm   1962 In July of 1962, the City's Marines became Headquarters & Service Company of the 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment when the 4th Marine Division was reactivated. 1990 As part of 1/24, the City's Marines were mobilized in support of Operation Desert Shield in December of 1990.   Third Enlistment Naval Reserve, at Detroit, MI., on 14Jan90.   *  Navy Reserve 4thMarDiv 1/24, NRRC Detroit, MI (14Jan90 - 06Jul90) *  USMCR Center, Detroit, MI.  (06July90 - 21July90) *  Persupp Det, Detroit - Mt Clemens, MI., (09Dec90 - 10Dec90)      To Active Duty:  (9Dec90 - 24Jan92)   *  I MEF FMFPac SDCD, CamPendleton (11Dec90 - 2July91) *  Navy Reserve Reduction Center, Detroit, MIL, SHDCD  (2July91 - 24Jan92)      Released from Active Duty:  24Jan92   ALL OF THE ABOVE fail to reflect service in Vietnam, yet note of such service is contained on the FOIA report (pasted above - top) and the DD-214 that Al Cain presents.  I have NOT seen any SRB document that denotes service in Vietnam.

SEMPER FI,
John J. Freeman
SSgt. USMC  1964-1971