The amount of erroneous information and contradictory reporting on this thing is either kill its impact off or simply die out in a war of forms - each side claiming to hold the grail and settling for a stand off.
Unless of course Kerry is persuaded to check into a nice remote hospital so hillary can step in, demand the GWB resign for being AWOL, and make her timely run for the office. [Ala post 235]
Viz;
There are no devices on a BS other than the "V" where appropriate.
The campaign devices go on the campaign ribbon, reasonably enough.
It's true that there is no "V" on a SS.
Any medal awarded multiple times gets a cluster on the ribbon rather than wearing a second of third ribbon. I presume Navy uses same oak leaf as do other branches.
A form requesting or issuing a replacement medal or citation would reasonably include the word 'replacement' somewhere in the body.
A request for copies of a citation, or replacement of a lost citation, would generate a photo copy of the original. As stated above, if it had to be regenerated it should so state.
There might be marginal notes added later but not as additional "original text".
For that matter, we've lost track of which form said what, who signed which one, which action each represents, etc. If you muddy the waters enough no one can see (or prove) anything!
It was common to forge orders for all sorts of reasons and some citations were awarded without 'proper scrutiny'.
Politicized officers frequently paid a visit to a recently contested piece of ground then received their SS or BSwV based on a glowing report of valor and disregard for personal safety (safety perhaps, but they sure did care about promotability).
For my part I don't care who owned the ribbons/medals JFK2 tossed - he tossed little bits of cloth that represented every Vietnam and Vietnam era veteran and that's enough for me.
I don't care that some political sycophant or one of this own staff added "walks on water" to one of his documents (apart from the individual act of fraud)- but it does show that the man is driven by some force that reminds me more of Darth Vader (in a Kennedy suit) than of any president in our history.
Like my one time roommate who had an entire college career forged in order to gain a USAF commission - Kerry needs to be stripped of his buttons and run out of town. Unfortunately, unless it is done via an election, that opens the door for a third and fourth clinton term.
I shall not rant again all day.