Gunnery Seargant Thomas Highway: The United States Marines is lookin' for a few good men - and you ain't it.
Gunnery Seargant Thomas Highway: Sergeant, get that contraband stogie out of my face before I shove it so far up your ass that you'll have to stick a match up your nose to light it!
Chosen answer: I can personally attest, when you see someone in dress uniform, the first thing you look at is their rank. No one really pays much attention to the ribbons, and not many people know what more than a handful of them mean. When you add the fact that Highway put the fear of Gunny into them at the first meeting and that none of them are all that bright, it could easily be overlooked. One thing that is wrong, is as an MOH recipient, Gunny Highway is entitled to a salute from anyone short of the President. Granted he is not the type to point out his awards either.
Grumpy Scot