WWII US Navy Captains summer khaki uniform

Just picked up this bit of history recently. Thought I'd share

 

The name Olson is stamped on the inside. It may very well have been pieced together. It also came with gold dolphins but the pin was definitely not a WWII Era pin. The rest seems to match up though.

 

You're absolutely correct. Should be Bronze Star medal,China service,American defense,American campaign,EAME campaign,Asiatic-Pacific campaign,WWII victory medal,Navy occupation,& National Defense. Those I'm sure we're pieced together on the uniform when I bought it. Two of the ribbon rows were the slide on style, the 3rd row was sewn onto the bar. I thought it was a bit suspect that the medals had 4 battle stars on the Pacific campaign medal & 3 stars on the European medal. Would it have been rare for one person to see that much action on both the European & Pacific campaigns?

 

Excellent read, thank you! I still suspect the ribbons to be pieced together for ascetic looks though. No matter how I look at them, the China service medal doesn't seem to match up in its proper order....if that's the case it's a shame.

 

Shoulder boards look a little too new. They're too flat. If indeed someone who made Captain with WW2 service (and I agree, the combination of campaign awards seems a little too much) the shoulder boards would have been more curved to fit the curve of the shoulder. Flat shoulder boards are a more modern look. Had a very good friend make Captain back in the early 2000's, he was thrilled when my father sent along a set of his shoulder boards (he made captain in 1956) because he now had a properly curved, truly salty, pair he could wear. Times change, used to be that stars for second awards of the Navy Cross (and maybe others, but I've only seen it on the Navy Cross) were worn point down . . . at some time in the 1960s it was decreed that star points would be up. I've older sets of my fathers ribbons, some individual bars, others all together in one pin on, all the points of stars for additional awards are up except the Navy Cross, point down. Newer sets, from the late 1960's have all the points up.

 

The shoulder boards are actually more curved than they look in the picture, but yes they do look pretty new. One of them is stamped with a shield that reads "Meyer-New York" on the back....it's faint but readable. Possibly post WWII, but not present day?

 

Not uncommon for navy to have extensive service in both theaters. Crews went where boats were needed. If someone went in the Navy prior to, or just after 7 Dec 41 they easily could have started in the Atlantic and then been sent to the Pacific.
To me the problem with the ribbons is the size, those appear to be the narrower 3/8" ribbon, the Navy / Marines also had 1/2" wide ribbons that were favored by officers. The 1/2" ribbons were done away with between WW2 and Korea. I've seen some salty Vietnam Era officers sporting them though.
That khaki officers uniform was reintroduced a few years ago