In ernest hemingway's "in another country," why does the boy with the black silk handkerchief on his face have no medals?

In Hernerst Hemingway's "in another country" he narrated a boy with a silk handkerchief on his face. He hid a pat of his face because he lost his nose after being in the front line for the first time. He did not get any medal because he hasn't been on the front line long enough to get a medal.