What You Need To Know About Shadow Boxes
Shadow boxes are more than glass-cased or wood-frame boxes with colorful ribbons, insignia, badges, and medals inside. They are more personal with the history of a special time in the service. Military shadow boxes are significant pieces of memory for individuals that defy all odds to serve the United States against all its enemies, both domestic and foreign. Shadow boxes undoubtedly stand for stories of accomplishment and service, stylishly displayed to be seen and admired by all with gratitude and respect.
Various tokens stand as items of recognition for American military service personnel. These items stand for their accomplishments and services and they come in ribbons and medals. Military personnel are also recognized by their rank, units, and insignia. These items are both professional and personal symbols of service.
Undoubtedly, it’s important to preserve these personal service awards and accomplishments and one of the best locations to keep them is the shadow box for all to see. Are you looking for the best shadow box? What if you can build your own? That’s right! You can build your shadow box. Shadow boxes are an excellent way to display and preserve personal military history or the history of a loved one. Whether you want to preserve and display your military accomplishment and memories or that of your loved ones, you can create the perfect shadow box that you will love.
How to Build a Personal Shadow Box
To build a shadow box, you will need to get a copy of your Certificate of Release, DD-214, military service records, and certificates, or Discharge from Active Duty. If any of these records are missing for you or your loved ones, you can verify the data from the National Archives Veteran Service Records. When you have gotten these ready, it’s time to start getting your original rank insignia, ribbons, medals, name tags/plates, service stripes, and unit patches. If you can’t find all items, you can have the missing items replaced.
You will find the perfect replacements for your medals, insignia, ribbons, patches, and all that you need without stress. If you are building a shadow box for an active member of the American Armed Forces as gifts, it is recommended that you should request a copy of their official records or biography or verification. You might also want to add some photos to complement the items or as designs.
Tools Needed to Create a Shadow Box
Before you start building a shadow box, you must understand that it’s not an easy task. However, if you love taking on challenges, you can give it a go. You need to have a loop Velcro for mounting the items on the display board. You also need a razor blade or scissors to cut the Velcro into specific sizes before mounting the ribbons, plates, medals, and badges, among others. There is also a need for a ruler and tape measure for measuring the alignments of the items to be put on the display board. The cleaning cloth and gloves are also needed to maintain the cleanness of the item and keep them free of dirt. You also need a small crating hammer to flatten the picture hook or wire and to hang the shadow box on the wall. You also need to get a glass cleaner, furniture cleaner, and picture hooks to get everything in place.
Conclusion
If you find this to be a lot of work, you can make use of the easy option. There are online platforms that offer shadow boxes for sale. They will help you with the perfect design and get everything in place. With this, you won’t have to stress about creating your shadow box from the scratch.
