What does World War 2 medal with 1 bronze star per WD GO 3345 mean?

Answer 1

Answer

WD GO 33 45 refers to a General Order that issued a campaign ribbon(and medal) at the end of the war. A General Order is like a memo from a headquarters. They were identified by the issuing HeadQuarters, the Year they were issued, and the memo number for that year.

WD GO 33 45 was General Order #33 issued by the War Department in 1945 that established the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Medal.

The Bronze Star device that was attached to this medal signified 1 campaign. A silver star device inicated 5 compaigns. 6 campaigns in the EAME Theater would be indicated with one silver and one bronze star on the campaign ribbon.

The discharge papers usually reference the General Order number for this EAME Campaign medal and it usually lists each campaign that he recevied credit for.

Custermen

There was also a General Order GO 40 WD 45 and GO 46 WD 45 and GO 48 WD 45, but these seem to be related to a general campaign medal also.

Answer 2

The five bronze stars were little tiny "campaign stars" that were to be worn on the ribbon of the WWII Victory Medal. A soldier was entitled to a campaign star for each campaign in which he participated, as those campaigns were defined in General Order (GO) Number 33 of the War Department (WD) in 1945 (45). (The Department of Defense was not created until 1947, when the War And Navy Departments were combined). The awards and honors earned by each soldier were noted on his discharge papers. Five campaign stars is a very respectable number to have earned, and your soldier must have been overseas for a long time.