Everyone (yes, literally everyone) gets a medal at the end of their service if they are not removed for disciplinary reasons (due process is lovely). The CO was by all measures a giant douchebag even without having the shootdown of Iran Air 655 on his hands but you're essentially not going to get a court-martial conviction on a CO that shoots down a plane when his watchteam was also convinced of the threat.

What you want to look at with medals is the type of medal they get, as that is where you can tell how much esteem they possess (or don't).