Megan

Ooops... I have the name wrong! This is the 'Service Medal for Community Service.'

Yep - saw that this morning Dave, thank you. Looks like the enquirer also saw it.

It's an area totally outwith my knowledge or interest, but I still get enquiries like that every so often.

Reverse:

Pingat Jasa Dan Lama Dalam Pekerjaan

Obverse:

1st Class badge:

2nd Class Badge

Likewise the mediocre self-seekers lurking in our Parliament!

However, in this latest example, I think gaol time would be a bit harsh for someone who did not seek financial or other gain by his impersonation... he did, after all, just seek to blend in with the vets for whom he was fund-raising. Now, if he'd run off with the money that would be another story, but the memorial got built. Probation & counselling would be more in order.

I have just received an e-mail from someone asking how he could go about finding out more about the recipient of a US Silver Star. All he has is the name of the awardee - a Major Liu Shan-Hun. There does not appear to be a serial number on the actual medal (which is in very poor condition). Any thoughts?

As information: Ed has kindly sent a whole stack of Mongolian pictures which I'm spending a happy weekend putting onto my site. Please drop by and take a look if you like... I'd particularly appreciate some help with dates of establishment & terms of award to go with the lovely pictures.

It's a flaw in an otherwise excellent site (oddly enough, the 'direct links' work fine from home, but not from college - I thought it was a flaw in the college system until now!). Antonio's ribbon pages are very distinctive, and quite different from those presented by Lucasz Grazewski and Eric Bush, the other 2 leading providers of ribbon information, so anyone who knows the field knows where they come from even if someone forgets to mention the source.

Hmm. Maybe I should turn my attention to Ecuador after Mongolia...

It is the increased risk that Prince Harry draws to the other service personnel in his unit that is the real reason. He is no more 'valuable' than anyone else except in a terrorist's eyes for propaganda purposes. This makes it sensible to withdraw him, just as during the 'Troubles' in Northern Ireland military personnel were withdrawn if specific threats were made against them, particularly after the murder of Captain Bob Nirac.

1st Class Badge

Congratulations!

It gets better & better... we have just passed 23 years.

It's not a good time for those of us in the education game!

When the Cheshire Regiment exercised their Freedom of the Borough of Crewe & Nantwich (i.e. paraded through it with bayonets fixed & drums beating) where I live, I naturally went to see the fun... and encountered a bloke who was wearing a motley selection of miniatures which would have indicated a lot of courage... if they weren't so muddled and quite incorrectly worn! Being with a group of veterans and some of the local 'great and good' I pointed out this fellow and we had a loud and very obvious laugh at him... he retreated rather hastily & has not been seen at anything military-related since!

You're welcome, Jacky.

On my website, the images are quite small to make the whole thing useable, but as things are added the high quality versions (or at least, a combination of HQ & small enough to fit within the 110kb limit) are going here... and into the OMSA database if they don't already have a picture of that item. Eventually stuff will get backfilled - it was one of the stars here that I added to my site, but I uploaded the lot here for you all to share.

That would be wonderful, if you get the opportunity.

Ought to have said: I've been in touch with the Director of the New Zealand Honours Secretariat, who says that it is indeed a curled fern frond emblem, & that he has ordered some professional photography 'to web and to print standard' to be done of both the ribbon emblem & the bar.

Most of the NZ orders were designed by his predecessor, Phillip O'Shea, and there are some notes about the designs at http://www.dpmc.govt.nz/honours/overview/d...n-insignia.html - and more on each individual honour on its own page at that site.

Grand Officer Star

Officer

Grand Officer Star

Grand Cross Star

Officer

Grand Officer Star

Grand Officer Badge