slava1stclass

Picture 2

To all: Currently listed on the well-known auction site. I have my suspicions about the integrity of this "set." Note that no official stamp appears on the photo. Regards, slava1stclass

To all: Maj Richard I. 's ribbon rack. Regards, slava1stclass

To all: 1st Lt Audie Murphy's World War II ribbon rack. Regards, slava1stclass

Kevin and Dave. BG William O. Darby it is. Of his decorations, only the DSM, one PH and the the Order of Kutusov 3rd Class were posthumous. What's also interesting to note is that he was not authorized the CIB as his basic branch was Field Artillery. Regards, slava1stclass

coastie and Dave, Correct - Hackworth it is. While Hackworth may not have believed his World War II service in the United States Merchant Marine constituted wartime service, as coastie noted, the fact that he was awarded the Merchant Marine Pacific War Zone Bar (for service in the Pacific zone including the North Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean east of eighty degrees east longitude) and the Merchant Marine Victory Medal (awarded to members of the crews of ships who served 30 days or more during the period December 7, 1941 to September 3, 1945) speaks otherwise. Whether he actually saw combat/served under fire while with the MM in the Pacific theater is another matter. Great information, too, on the other highly decorated Army veterans! Regards, slava1stclass

Wid Card, Good guess, however, Gavin was airborne qualified and this person was not. Rgeards, slava1stclass

coastie, Excellent question. Your vision is 20/20. The two ribbons are used because he's been awarded 10 Silver Stars. The U.S. Army uniform regulation prohibits the wear of more than four devices/appurtenances on a service ribbon. Until a very recent change to the regulation, there was no way to indicate one had been awarded a 10th award of a given decoration. An extra service ribbon was therefore authorized in such instances. The USAF, however, has been using this method for some time. If he would have received an 11th award of the Silver Star, the second ribbon would go away and he would wear the base service ribbon with two silver oak leaf clusters. Regards, slava1stclass

To all: An absolutely impressive array of combat decorations spanning three wars - even the legendary Audie Murphy would acknowledge this. Can you name the recipient? Let the contest begin. Regards, slava1stclass

To all: These service ribbons/unit citation represent the personal decorations of a legendary World War II figure. In keeping with the theme of this thread, can you identify him? Let the contest begin. Regards, slava1stclass

Dave, I ran the numbers. Three of the 20 Red Army personnel who received the DSM were also HSUs (including one triple HSU) - a 15% rate. 17 of the 53 Red Army personnel who received the DSC were also HSUs (including two Double HSUs) - a 32% rate. At some point therefore, the distinction for valor did come into play - likely more at our, rather than the Soviets', choosing. One thing is clear, however, we Jesuit-trained men share a common eye for detail. Regards, slava1stclass

To all: Of the 5,089 American DSCs awarded during World War II, 258 (5%) were awarded to foreigners. Of that number, 53 (or slightly over 20%), were awarded to Red Army personnel. Regards, slava1stclass

Dave, Sorry to hear you had such a difficult time in nailing down his I.D. I'm glad that it's no longer a mystery. Regards, slava1stclass

To all: Here is a Medal of Honor winner who was also awarded the Order of the Patriotic War. The citation for his Medal of Honor follows. Regards, slava1stclass SLATON, JAMES DANIEL Corporal, U.S. Army Company K, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division Date of Action: September 23, 1943 Citation: The Medal of Honor is presented to James Daniel Slaton, Corporal, U.S. Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Company K, 157th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division, in action with the enemy in the vicinity of Oliveto, Italy, on 23 September 1943. Corporal Slaton was lead scout of an infantry squad which had been committed to a flank to knock out enemy resistance which had succeeded in pinning two attacking platoons to the ground. Working ahead of his squad, Corporal Slaton crept upon an enemy machinegun nest and, assaulting it with his bayonet, succeeded in killing the gunner. When his bayonet stuck, he detached it from the rifle and killed another gunner with rifle fire. At that time he was fired upon by a machinegun to his immediate left. Corporal Slaton then moved over open ground under constant fire to within throwing distance, and on his second try scored a direct hit on the second enemy machinegun nest, killing two enemy gunners. At that time a third machinegun fired on him 100 yards to his front, and Corporal Slaton killed both of these enemy gunners with rifle fire. As a result of Corporal Slaton's heroic action in immobilizing three enemy machinegun nests with bayonet, grenade, and rifle fire, the two rifle platoons which were receiving heavy casualties from enemy fire were enabled to withdraw to covered positions and again take the initiative. Corporal Slaton withdrew under mortar fire on order of his platoon leader at dusk that evening. The heroic actions of Corporal Slaton were far above and beyond the call of duty and are worthy of emulation. General Order No. 44, May 30, 1944 Born: 4/2/1912 at Laurel, Mississippi Home Town: Gulfport, Mississippi

MONDVOR, Thank you. It appears they used original archive photos in concocting these. The one of Full Cavalier Chertkov is a particularly nice example. As I've mentioned in another thread, these archival photos of Full Cavaliers were to be had in pretty big numbers (from select dealers) in the mid to late 90s. While most of these Full Cavalier archival photos were taken in the mid-70s (when the Full Cavalier booklets were first issued) some were war or immediate post-war period shots - especially for those Full Cavaliers who were deceased by then. Regards, slava1stclass

Wild Card, No need to apologize whatsoever. We're all here to help. Thank you again for the great photos. Regards, slava1stclass

To all: I'm aware of at least one dealer in England (of Croatian ancestry) who, in the mid-90s, almost burned a U.S. collector on a ORB 1-7 group alleged to have belonged to Soviet ace Kozhedub. Once research came in, however, the scam came to light. When said dealer refused to offer a refund, the U.S. collector then hired a British barrister and took said dealer before Her Majesty's Court. He won. Said dealer was subsequently banished from OMSA. Regards, slava1stclass

Rakovich, Feofan Ivanovich Regards, slava1stclass

Wild Card, Great pictures! One clarification though. The decoration depicted is the neck decoration for the CBE (not the OBE) This can get very confusing as the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire has several classes/degrees (ranked from highest to lowest): GBE KBE CBE OBE Two classes of MBE Following common Red Army practice at the time, he wears this foreign neck decoration pinned directly to his tunic (in the first picture) and then with a jury-rigged suspension using the standard Soviet five-sided hangar (in the second picture). First time I've seen the latter technique employed. Regards, slava1stclass

To all: The notation on the photo's reverse. Regards, slava1stclass

To all: A very unique photo dating to 30 January 1958 which records a gathering of Soviet partisan vets in Kiev, Ukraine. While Soviet partisans/partisan operations aren't my area of expertise, this is a very interesting photo nonetheless. Note, too, the number of HSUs among their ranks. Enjoy. Regards, slava1stclass

To all: As Wild Card mentions above, here's another shot that provides a better look. Note Pokryshkin's DSM (to the very right on the third row of his decorations). Regards, slava1stclass

This is the unsold grouping. Regards, slava1stclass

As a follow up, the well-known auction site had/has two such certificates with citations listed. Each was awarded to a Red Army Lt Col and dated 1946. First one just went unsold (with an asking price of $499.99). The second is currently available with an opening asking price of $995.00. Regards, slava1stclass

Dave, While I cannot put a current dollar figure on it, suffice it to say that during World War II award certificates/citations for the DSC, SS, LM, DFC, SM, BSM and AM were not issued to American servicemembers. This practice came into being sometime after the war. That said, a WW II period certificate/citation for one of these decorations (irrespective of the fact it was awarded to a foreigner) would command top dollar. It follows that the higher the precedence of the decoration/rarer the award, the higher the price. Regards, slava1stclass