Chris Boonzaier

I should very probably know this... can anyone tell me who this is? Thanks Chris

Hi, a friend asked if anyone can identify this dude? Thanks Chris

Agree... I am happy with the group.... I must admit I am not inclined to keep all the souveniers... he has a fetish for those bells you buy at tourist shops... and badges and kit traded from other armies usually have a meaning to the dude himself and do not add to the group... So I may end up keeping just his stuff.... This was kinda cool....

This was given to a Legionnaire ... see here.... in Afghanistan... Is it just a Generic army coin of USSF?

he was one time ivory coast, 3 times Afghannistan. Some of his trading souvenirs are in the box as well, stuff he traded from the US, Dutch etc... There is a boonie hat he traded from a marine... he is totally convinced the marines are the US foreign legion... "The Army are Americans... the Marines are like the Legion... all foreigners... Mexicans and stuff... they speak Spanish... like the Spanish Legion! " ... also an ADN beret he insists is USSF... I think it is 82nd... he was astounded it was made in Vietnam... having said that, many French badges have the tradional companies names on them... but are made in Vietnam... Being the fool that I am I paid a price I will never get back if I ever had to sell it....

I met up with an Ex Legionnaire today and am lucky enough to be the new depository for his Legion goodies.... The rocker with russian writing actually says "Legion Etrangere" in Russian!! The 4th Escadron is a Recon unit and is equipped with the 3 Man VBLs, He had a tour in the Ivory coast and 3 Tours to Afghanistan.

Just got a Silver "Officers" badge from An officer who was Platoon then company commander, then chief of the Operations staff in 2 REI and later commander of the 1st Foreign legion regiment. Market Value maybe EUR40, with missing attach maybe EUR25? So no real financial value but worth waaay more to me because of the attribution...

Agree... by coincidence I had a little bag of these pins and used them to mount medals.

Here are a couple of loose ones from the group of a Legion Colonel.... I think the one is theater made? The bar is paper thin...

I have had the black ones a few time?

A great loss to the community... on an egotistical level "i have so many things I was meaning to ask chip about...."

I fail to see how anyone can guesstimate that? Is there a central list of surviving medals? Years ago an author wrote "there are 12 known surviving examples of the Germanic proficiency Rune"... which begged the question.. "known to who?" Since then we have seen there are many more than that... And if John says "i know of six" and Peter says "I know of eight" does that men there are 14, or are 5 known to john known to peter as well?

A small version of the regimental flag presented to the Regimental commander of the 2 REI (1974-76) and a photo of the commander of the 1 RE with his miniature.....

I am not really a big fan of Medaille Militaire award documents... but this one is great... A Belgian Sgt in the 3 REI, I have no details about his death but I hope to find something.... Décédé(e) le 16-06-1926 (Bou Arfa, Maroc) Gradesergent Unité3e régiment étranger (3e RE) Mort pour la France Conflit Afrique du Nord tué à l'ennemi Date de transcription du décès31-08-1926

There are millions of different Kepis out there... but once a year one lucky regimental commander has his 15 minutes of fame... in the 30 second film clip shown all around the world on the 14th of July, very often the troop shown is the Legion. Here is the Colonel of the 1st Cavalry Regiment ahead of the colours in Paris on the 14th of July 1984

I think in the Porch History of the Legion he details the people who joined the army at the beginning of the war and were then horrified to be posted to the legion. One book likened the Legion to a cult which had no understanding or liking for the war time volunteers and the war time Volunteers felt it demeaning to be posted to the legion where many of the old hands thought of fighting as a "job" and were not big on Patriotic fervor. I can not point to the references as it is all "read somewhere some when"... but I think after they were processed a good % of war time volunteers with French roots were posted to French units.

I have never seen one either! Nice find!

Here is an other ranks one...

Here is one to Antonin Gilbert, given out at a Meeting of ex regimental commanders in 1996 Here is the same from 1993, but in a small "Pocket Empty" bowl.... same size coin... this one named to Commisaire General Boillaud who was 16 years after his retirement in 1994 stripped of all his medals as punishment for fiddling the books in some way when his HQ was being renovated.

OK, in the Legion this book is not really liked.... some I know refuse to read it... It is not that Christian Jennings was a deserter... many people desert... its more because he was a weasel and a w3nker... to his credit, he readily admits this in the book. Added to that, IMHO he broaches some subjects and has some complaints that air dirty laundry in public. I did not like it when I read it in the early 90s, but now with time passed I recognize it has its place in a Legion library... he covers the conditions of the Legion in a period where little or nothing was happening and where NCOs and CPLs took their frustrations out on the recruits... I would recommend "Mouth full of Rocks" (In the legion a "C" often replaces the "R" to disparage Jennings) as one mans version of the legion at a very specific time in history when not a lot was happening... In the Legion you adapt yourself to your surroundings... and if you fail... you land up like Jennings.

A 2 REI camp in Marocco during the crisis before WW1

Another view of the 2 REI Barracks in Saida

I think he was French, he was born in France, parents French. Maybe he joined under a false nationality, found out he was French and transfered him accordingly?

Very nice! Does that mean he has the Fourragere a titre individual?

Some of the older books are really worth a read!