Chris Boonzaier

From the backing to the pics... all these are in one place !?!?!?!?

I like it as it is from the classic era of monuments (compared to the mickey mouse designs of today)

It is from the following from the Arch de Triomphe (phot Couresty of Dave Danner) It is also the design on the WW1 KIA certifiates.

Aaaaarrgghh.... thanks, i learned something there. I thought it was for the die cutter. Best Chris

Indeed, they go into the mail on Monday... I had some debts to pay and some stuff I needed to plug important holes in the collection.... It will go to a good home.... but i am very, vey sad to see it go..

Hi, I think it being in the area does not mean it was military in any way. If it was from an SS man he could have picked it up anywhere in the town. Best Chris

The first is one niiiiice looking medal...

Try Patrick Schalert, he has a website with about 250 histories. They are very reasonable at about EUR5 each. I cannot find the address at the moment, but I am sure some other members have it. best Chris

Indeed... another thing to think of... often you find a framed group with a diploma... all the fashion in France after W1... this is usually a second set of medals as the veterans still wore the originals on parades. One group I have has a guy who got the Croix de Guerre in 15... and 8 citations... on his framed certificate there is a 1918 cross.

Hi, That is correct. I must admit, back in the day I served with some Kolwezi Vets but was not interested in medals so I never had a close look. This one was in a pile of medals I bought, was not one of those I wanted but I had to take the lot. I thought of keeping the WW1 and moving the rest. best Chris

Good eyes... I did not notice the MM. The Extreme Orient would actually have to be a Moyen orient to go with the Gulf war. The Tricolour Courage one is possible, I knew a British Cpl in the Legion who had it. Best Chris

I would imagine that the Cubans in Miami, Real estate agents, bankers, hotel chains, etc. etc. etc..... have had lobby groups pushing for sanctions for decades... while at the same time they have saving private Ryan like landing craft ready and fueled... As soon as there is a green light they will hit the beaches and before you know it, REAL living there Cubans will end up having very little.... 5 years later they will be waiters and maids in the new tropical paradise tourist vacation destination.... They will not get rich when Castro is gone... the country is already divided up amongst the circling vultures.... Read carl Hiaasen folks.... see how it will be....

The wife and her mother did a vacation down in the Caribbean in the early 90s. They found Cuba to be an oasis in the middle of a disgusting, money grabbing, corrupt, unfriendly tourist hell... when they arrived in Cuba folks were friendly, well educated, multi lingual... They were not on a tour, just travelling alone, they loved it and the people. At the time the Cubans were getting ready to put down the lion in the zoo as there was not enough meat to keep it alive... I hope to get there (Cuba) before the wall comes down and all the criminals Castro exported to Miami flood back... The bankers and real estate agents have spent 30 years turning Florida into Carl Hiaasens vision of hell... now they have run out of space to expand.... I am pretty sure that if Cuba gives in they will be wiped off the map with the overflow from Miami.... :-( Castro was all that stood between Burger King and Disneyland... if he goes some New York firm will take over and destroy the cigar making, some New Jersey firm will introduce mass production methods that will leave the sugar cane workers without jobs and force them to sell their daughters to Gringo tourists... Cuba is doomed to becoming a new holiday destination for Rich westerners.... the people there will become waiters to the unwashed,,, their lot will not improve, the Cuban Miami Mafia will be the ones to gain, not the people living there... Hear me now and believe me later....

This one looks baaad... Missing the Saudi one, which would be very suspicious as he was serving quite a few years after it was issued....

Same seller, but this one looks good...

Same seller....

The thing is, you can go online and order whatever combination you want from the same tailors who are making bars for active servicemen. Ignoring the fact that the Medalle Militaire should be second on the bar (the seller corrected that) I think... (and I am by no means a French collection experts) The guy was an NCO or other rank in the Gulf war, Would have come out with the Overseas medal (middle East bar), the Defense national, the TOE, later the Saudi, then the Kuwait medal. He then does little or nothing (not Tchad, Not Balkans...) until Somalia where he seems to have gotten the Valeur Militaire. From what I saw, there is 2 ways to get a Medaille Militaire nowdays.... either you get wounded (no wound medal here) or you are a senior NCO with very much service indeed... but this guy only has the defense national in SILVER.... no way for him not to have gold with all these medals. I would say, for this you would have to be a Lt col or col... does not correspond with his defense national in silver and lower rank kuwait medal. I would be be very interested in more opinions.....

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This one on Ebay right now.... http://cgi.ebay.fr/RAPPELS-DE-MEDAILLES-DE...1QQcmdZViewItem IMHO not a possible combination..... Any ideas?

Hi Vet, I meant the Croix de combattant (CdC as my abreviation). Best Chris

This was in a lot of medals I bought...

If it was a WW1 cross, or one of the crosses t a guy who had fought in Italy-France in 43-45 it would be more possible I think, but a Vichy one? I am not so sure....

Could you please let me know what dates you have? So far... 15-2 16-4 17-3 18-4 maybe a random selection of 200-300 crosses will give a good average?

When did he time to get all those citations???

Here you go.....