European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 19, 1969, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By Walter Hennessey is Washington Bureau in Many ways it resembles an old fashioned cookie cutting operation Bui the most prestigious of the cookies stamped out at a Manhattan met a i work ing Plant Are surely a Batch apart. They Are medals of Honor the nation s highest award for valor destined one Day to be Hung about the necks of american military heroes from the Vari Ous services presented with a presiden tial handshake in the name of the con Gress of the United , sadly will be conferred posthumously. All. To be sure will be cherished by recipients and survivors As the ultimate Symbol of National , these medals being stamped out almost cookie like from sheets of base Metal will have Little intrinsic value when their manufacture is  an Honor signifying gallantry beyond the Call of duty and at the risk of life itself could scarcely begin to carry a sufficient Price tag. So the True Worth of the medal of Honor stems largely from the exceptional heroism of the relative few who Are privileged to Wear it. The Navy and Marine corps Medalise t even Gold  said William Mcallister vice president of his lord ship products. Inc. A seventh Avenue firm which has been making the Star shaped pendants since 1963. As he spoke a jeweler sat at a Workbench polishing up stampings of the army s medal. It s just red.  said Mcallister. The medals which by now had a Highlester would soon be Gold placed and Given a final Satin finish. Then each would be attached to the familiar Pale Blue neck ribbon by Means of a Small Eagle shaped suspense bar and placet in an attractive dark Green Box along with a Rosette and service ribbon for ultimate presentation by the president. In mid manufacture though this Batch of 90 army medals being produced under a special government contract looked like a big tray of Star shaped cookies popped from the oven a moment before they would begin to Rise. The jeweler was polishing the edges on spinning wire Brush. 1 he army and air Force medals get a final Gold plating but even the the Metal value is still probably Only around a Dollar or so Mcallister re marked As it led a visitor through one of the firm s three floors of  far we have produced about 350 medals of Honor for the army 150 forthe air Force and 100 for the Navy and Marine corps said Mcallister who believes his firm is the Only company currently producing them. We happen to have the right tools and we bid on every lot the government wants  added the Youthful appear ing Veteran who spent four years in the Navy during the korean conflict. Ill Tell you one thing though. Remake certain we never make a Penny on them. The Cost is figured As finely As we can get it and that is the full amount of our bid. You just could t possibly want to make Money on something like the medal of Honor and i m sure that s the Way must people would feel about Poge 12 this h the army version of the medal of Honor the nation s highest award for bravery the pm map he Mem Honor the stats and St pics have had contracts for All Kin stary decorations and have pro deals for the services number the millions. Made the original Republic of service medal we made the Navy Marine corps and air commendation medals the legion it the distinguished service med Ach service the air Force Cross role heart and i could go on contract he said was handle Dir profit level but when it comes medal of Honor the emphasis Ising As perfect a product As pos ver Money. Imp any produces the medal of under a "100 per cent inspection cts contract so that Compa yrs sometimes reject As much As cent of every lot to assure that shed product is totally free of by the time a shipment is read turned Over to the government Many times been examined Withof care usually associated with  manufacturing process the Ament furnishes a contract  cylindrical pieces of Metal a hubs each with one of the medal of Honor designs pm on its face. The army and airwave their own designs with the eing the newest and the largest avy and Marine corps versions  begins by sinking the nth steel blocks to extract i sinking Dies. S shapes in the approximate the medal Are then blanked Metal strips the Way a House Ould use her cookie Cutter of of dough. Star shaped Blanks Are the individually into a drop Hammer the working die and a series is struck at tremendous pres ring up the design As the brass against the die. The stampings now having both ape and the embossed design of wished medals go into a trim operation where the Flash or Metal which has been squeeze the Force of the drop Hammer h away prior to  and Marine corps medals in Given their oxidized Satin Fine army and air Force versions Mger to produce because they Goh a final Gold lamination process hard fired Green enamel coat isto the Laurel Wreath around the and to the Leaf at each Pointa final Gold lamination process  from a few embellishments fit is basically the same Metal process from which hundreds the pedestrian everyday item mss produced the difference is certainly vast is largely mind of the onlooker ikes a Little getting used to there o watch a drop Hammer opera Toring out the medal of Honor in shoulder to shoulder with Omeig out Little sailboats for key of course this is the Way such is done especially considering most firms working on military also produce civilian goods. 1969 in Mcallister s Case the sailboats and hundreds of other items of nautical jewelry came first. His lordship products was founded in 1948, and specialized in making Gold and Sterling charms common to the yachting set. The firm later branched into the and specially business producing Metal replicas of the corporate symbols of hundreds of major business firms and fastening them to tie clasps cuff links Money clips charms and similar items. Mcallister s first military contract came in 1959 when the company manufactured an Anchor superimposed Ona three bladed propeller for the Caps of enlisted Waves. Since then the company has expanded its 85 employees having handled As Many As 10,000 different military an civilian contracts ranging from such diverse objects As the famous pt109 tie clasps handed out As White House it takes a Little getting used to therefore., to watch a drop Hammer operator stamping out the medal of Honor. Souvenirs by the late president Johnf. Kennedy to millions of Tiger in your tank key chains for a major Oil com Pany promotion. We even make the keys for the Cit of new York said Mcallister recalling a Rush contract of several years ago when City Hall officialdom was shaken to discover that the honorary keys tothe City All had the previous mayor s name stamped on  company also handles a Large volume of military officer hardware such As Gold and Silver bars Oak leaves and stars worn by generals. Mcallister and his colleagues in fact Are still puzzling Over a government order they filled in 1963 for 360 pair Sci stars for five Star generals. "1 sup pose they just wanted to be ready Mcase Mcallister conjectured. And of course there have been the increasing contracts for the medal of Honor with increasing numbers of the decoration going to heroes of the fight ing in , Mcallister will get let ters from people claiming to be servicemen or former servicemen who have either lost or misplaced a medal of Honor and wanting to know if they can buy a  writes Back telling them that they had bes4 Contact government authorities about it. The brass medal Worth Only a few cents in t for Sale at any Price. Dies stamp design into Star shaped Blanks. Final finishing depends on which service medal is for. William Mcallister with finished medal. The stars and stripes Page 13