Opinions Wanted (especially if you're in the AF)

CarMichael Angelo

my rearend will smell so minty fresh,
15 Year Member
Nov 29, 1999
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Birmingham, al
The Airman's Coin. To my knowledge the AF is the only branch that even hands out a token right of passage keepsake.
My first question is for the seasoned active duty service member that reads this.

Does it hold a place to remind you of your accomplishment after the years go by? Or is it a equivalent to your HS tassle that may or may not have hung from your mirror?

The reason I ask, is that if it holds a place of importance to you after all these years then I have a story........ ( Relax,......It's only a short story)

The last day I spent w/ my son at Lackland, we're walking along talking about what he has in front of him. I tell him how proud I am of him, and in between fighting back tears ( and failing miserably) remind him that I am not the type to wear some T shirt that proclaims how proud I am of my AF son. I want him to know that there is nothing I could buy that could even measure up to how proud I was of him right then. I want him to know that.

The days goes by and before long we're faced w/ the inevitability that we're going to have to say good bye for what will be a long time to me w/ several thousand miles in between as a kicker. The wife, his girl friend, and his aunt are no good,...the faucet has been flowing for the last hour. I do my best to put on my brave face and say good bye, shake his hand and give him a hug and get in the car.
He spends a few minutes w/ the others and comes around to my window and motions to me to roll down the window. He hands me the coin and says...." to get this, I only had to go through 8 and a half weeks of basic training, You and mom had to raise me for 19 years to get me here, so if anybody deserves this it's you. This is the only thing you can't buy on the base to show your pride in me".

I lost it. I had to bury my "brave face" in his shoulder, give him a last hug all while his dad was almost sobbing.

So, it's been weeks since the day now. I decided on the plane ride back that I would somehow buy or build a display case to allow me the ability to display that coin and place it in my car so that I can have a part of him riding in there with me.

This concludes the "story" part of the thread. ( See,.....only a couple of paragraphs):banana:


I have been working on this today, but I'm conflicted. I built this thing out of wood today, and it's far from done. Those that know what I can do, should figure that when it's finished it'll be respectable. Originally, I was just going to recess the thing in a 1/4" piece of wood 1/4-1/2" larger in diameter than the coin itself and finish the thing in some sort of high gloss black.

But I got a wild hair and spent a couple of hours cutting and sanding on this:
mustangbuild410.jpg


If I use it, it will be painted in the same colors as the emblem is typically displayed; Blue and gold, or blue and silver, with the silver laid in the recesses.

Right now it's 1/2 thick, but when I'm finished, it'll be less than half that.

mustangbuild411.jpg


The dilemma is that the thing is pretty big, and although it'll fit on the dash above the center A/C vents, I kinda think it looks like a symbol from the Klingon empire.
Whether or not the coin means anything to anyone other than me, It has HUGE meaning for me, and it is gonna ride w/ me in that car. At the same time, I don't want to hokey it up or do something that comes off as cheesy.

So,...Question #2:
This thing is 3.75" high, and will be almost midnight blue, mounted on a black dash. What do you guys think?
 
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Nov of 89, I was the other side of that story when I left everyone for Lackland. Kind of a rough day.

All of those symbols I've seen are blue and silver. Outline in silver to break up the blue to black (and because the symbol is outlined in silver) should look pretty sharp.

Sent from my HTC EVO 4G
 
dude you lost the coin he gave you? that must be heartbreaking.. coins only have a value to us when they are given to us because we earned it. i have several like that, never bought one myself.


here is the thing for you: do you want to replace it?? i know it wouldn't be the "same one" he gave you but if you had a chance to replace it would you go for it?

if you require a replace coin then PM me, i work at lackland and know the Commander of one of the training squadrons.
 
dude you lost the coin he gave you? that must be heartbreaking.. coins only have a value to us when they are given to us because we earned it. i have several like that, never bought one myself.


here is the thing for you: do you want to replace it?? i know it wouldn't be the "same one" he gave you but if you had a chance to replace it would you go for it?

if you require a replace coin then PM me, i work at lackland and know the Commander of one of the training squadrons.
No man,...I didn't lose the coin,... I meant that I lost my composure. There is a pic of the coin in the thread.
 
I've been in the AF for about 18 months and my Airmans coin has been crammed in a drawer in a ziploc bag full of other random stuff (nameplates, ribbons,etc..) since i left BMT. I would probably be a little upset if I lost it, but that's about it. However I left for BMT about 6 months after my father, (who was 47) was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer (I was 21). So going through all of that with him in pretty bad shape, it was a bigger deal for just to be able to see him again after graduation. I don't know how he made the trip with my mom in his condition from Seattle, but it showed me how proud he was, because he (like me) was never the type to show any emotion. So with my experience of going through BMT being so much different compared to others, the coin ceremony and graduation parade wasn't really the main thing on my mind which is probably why the coin's not too important to me.

As far as the airmans coin goes to others, i'd say for the most part it loses it's personal level of importance or value soon after getting to your first duty station. From what I've experienced, coins related to your AFSC, squadron, and current base, are more more meaningful to the enlisted personnel and officers. Around here many younger airman straight out of tech school, are often labeled as "Johnny Air Force" by other airman if they show excessive pride for being in the Air Force, (collecting coins, AF tattoos, wearing AF labeled clothing while off duty etc).
 
I always carry mine but to each his own, I can assure you that in that I am not Johnny Air Force and am excited to get out once my enlistment is up! I think a simple little mount that blended in with the dash or wherever would be enough! It's the coin that your son gave you that is the important part!
 
The Airman's Coins is a huge deal. I've been in for just over 9 years and still display mine in my office. Probably always will. From the sound of your story your son gets the importance of it which makes it even more special that he gave it to you. I like the case idea. Display the hell out of that thing. Coins weren't always the big thing in the AF, but nowadays they're a pretty big symbol of accomplishment. For me I have a "junk" drawer at home for my medals and awards and crap like that, but I have a coin rack in my office for all my coins. Each one has it's own story/memory and is very special.
 
I appreciate it that you AD guys are taking the time to contribute. I know that to some it's just a trivial thing, but to alot of others it symbolizes the first step to the accomplishments and the sacrifices you make that are required to earn them. Obviously, it's important to me. I just want to do something that compliments the reason I'm displaying it.
To Wes: I really appreciate perspective from an NCO. For you to hold the little coin in high esteem after 9 years of service finalizes my decision to go forward.