An original United States Medal of Honor cravat. From approximately 1943 to the present this style of suspension has been common to all awards presented by the US Army, Navy and Marine Corps. (In early WWII the Army and Navy used slightly different suspensions from one another.) The Medal of Honor is the United States equivalent to the Victoria Cross.
This piece dates from late WWII to the Korean War era (1943-1953), based on the pad size and the quality of the fabric. (By the Vietnam War the size of the pad with the stars was about 25% larger and the ribbon was synthetic.) This ribbon is beautiful watered silk. The moiré pattern is very strong, as shown in the photos. On the reverse of the pad the ribbon is sewn together at the top but is open at the bottom so that it can hinge open to better go around the neck. It has snap fitting but was never fitted with a suspension device for the medal. It’s pristine and looks like it’s been pack away since the day it was made (about 75 years ago). Compare this ribbon to the many fake Medals of Honor that are currently listed on eBay and the difference will be immediately apparent!
The last two photos show a late WWII era Navy Medal of Honor that is fitted with a similar suspension. Note that the quality of the ribbon on this medal is not as nice as the ribbon of the cravat without a medal.
Please note that all items shown below are currently located in Australia.