Gordon Craig

Interesting story on a nurse/s in Vietnam. Collecting articles to nurses is one of my main focuses. Not just military nurses but nurses in general who served in hospitals for the war wounded. Regards, Gordon

No one, Interesting story on this medal. Good work in tracing the error of attribution to Chiang Kai Shek. Regards, Gordon

Pierre73, I have numerous documents on a variety of paper weights but I have never seen one on "tissue" paper. Is the picture that started this thread made from what you refer to as "tissue" paper? Regards, Gordon

No one, Your welcome. Regards, Gordon

No one, Not necessarily. To be awarded the 39-45 Star "A recipient in the army, navy, and merchant marine had to have served 180 days afloat or on land in an operational area. For air crew and airborne soldiers, it was 60 days." The CD was not authorzied until 1946 and not issued until 1951 so this ribbon bar is post the issue date of the CD. Regards, Gordon

Duncan, Sally Boselys site lists this as "an official issue number". This is outside my main collecting area so I can not vouch for that comment. Regards, Gordon https://www.sallybosleysbadgeshop.com/shop.php?code=65363

Philip.S, Your welcome. Glad that you liked them. Regards, Gordon

Another area of Hungarian artifacts to collect is pennants, flags etc. This area is outside my collecting interests but I have acquired a few over the years and they might be of interest to those who read this thread. First of all in the civilian field (from WIKI so I don't have to type so much); Hungarian Young Communist League Hungarian Young Communist League KISZ Hungarian: Magyar Kommunista Ifjúsági Szövetség Emblem Founded 21 March 1957 Dissolved 22 April 1989 Headquarters Budapest, Hungarian People's Republic Membership 800.000 Ideology Communism Marxism-Leninism Kádárism Mother party Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party International affiliation WFDY National affiliation Patriotic People's Front The Hungarian Young Communist League (Hungarian: Magyar Kommunista Ifjúsági Szövetség, KISZ) was a communist youth movement in the Hungarian People's Republic that was attached to the ruling Socialist Workers' Party. History It was founded on 21 March 1957 (on the anniversary of the Hungarian Soviet Republic's declaration in 1919), following the break of 1956 Hungarian Revolution. It claimed to represent all the country's youth and sought to educate young people politically and to supervise political as well as some social activities for them. KISZ was the most important source of new members for the party. Its organizational framework paralleled that of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party and included a congress, central committee, secretariat, and regional and local committees. Membership was open to youth from the ages of fourteen to twenty-six years, but most of the full-time leaders of the organization were well over the age limit. In the 1980s, KISZ had about 800,000 members. Membership was common among students (96% at universities, 75% in high schools) but was lower among young people already working (31%). It was mandatory for university admittance. In April 1989 delegates to the organization's national congress voted to change the name of the organization to the Democratic Youth Federation (DEMISZ). According to declarations adopted by the congress, the newly refashioned federation would be a voluntary league of independent youth organizations and would not accept direction from any single party, including the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party. The members of the last KISZ Central Committee, however, filled strategic positions in the economy of the 3rd Hungarian Republic, e.g. Imre Nagy (Caola Inc. CEO), Lajos Csepi (president of the Hungarian Privatization and State Holding Co.), János Gönczi (Malév CEO), Mihály Enyedi-Nagy (founder of Media-ship in 1991), Pál Jendrolovics and Sándor Szórádi (Budapest Investment Inc. CEO), György Szilvásy (Altus Inc. CEO, from 2006 leader of the PM's Office). The former prime minister of Hungary, Ferenc Gyurcsány, had served as the president of the central committee of the University chapter of KISZ between 1988 and 1989. After that the organisation changed to Hungarian Democratic Youth League (Hungarian: Demokratikus Magyar Ifjúsági Szövetség, DEMISZ). A pennant for KISZ. The English translation reads - THE FLAG OF THE KISZ KOZPONTI COMMITTEE IS AN EXCELLENT SMALL ORGANIZATION I think this pennant was an award for excellence (Kivalo) to a specific unit or area of KISZ. The gold band across the pennant is embroidered in heavy metal gold thread. The pennant is double sided but the reverse is plain. The second pennant is from the Hungarian Danube Flotilla. It is a red flag with green triangles in each corner and a bordure of alternating white and green isosceles triangles. The coat of arms of the People’s Republic of Hungary is shifted to the hoist. Source: [ped79a]; p.45 Klaus-Michael Schneider, 9 March 2009 When I googled some images about Hungarian military flags, I came across this picture. It was the Senior Commander's Pennant in pre-1990 period. It was reported as Supreme Commander Pennant by Klaus-Michael in 2009, but I think this title is misleading, because it was the former Senior Commander's Pennant. Zoltan Horvath, 04 October 2014 While there is some doubt as to the actual name of the pennant it would appear to be flown from the mast head of a Danube patrol boat carrying a senior officer. I brief youtube video on the Danube Flotilla.

Philip.S, I put those medals/badge on the uniform. They fit the time frame of the uniforms are authentic medals/badge. Regards, Gordon

The Mercantile Marine War Medal (1914-1918) was issued to merchant seamen by the Board of Trade. The BWM was not instituted until 26 July 1919. Ribbons were often issued before the medal was ready for issue so you can find some interesting combination of ribbon bars. Regards, Gordon

Philip.S Good to see some of your collection. Regards, Gordon

Rittersmith1916, I would suggest that you contact cef.research@rogers.com . I know this individual personally and he can supply you with good results in the search for information on your father. It will take a couple of month for the LAC to respond to a request for information on your father so the sooner you start your research the sooner you will receive some answers. The researcher and I are both members of the Ottawa Branch or the Orders and Medals Research Society (OMRS). Good luck in your quest. Regards, Gordon

No one, Thanks for your comments. I suspected that these medals were not authentic once I compared them with the first medal that I posted on this thread. They came as part of a large lot so cost overall was very low. Part of collecting is learning through buying medals that are not correct. Thanks again for your assistance. Regards, Gordon

gjw, Here are a few of my Hungarian pins related to the Hungarian Red Cross and health organizations. I don't have any of my medals in picture form at the present except on one of the uniforms in my collection. Regards, Gordon

No one, Thanks for the explanation. Sorry that I haven't responded sooner. I just saw your post now. I have two more medals from Taiwan that I need some help with hence I was browsing this thread again. From this thread, the medals and the ribbons don't seem to match but they have certainly been assembled correctly. Bothe medals are below and I would appreciate any comments that you care to make. Or anyone else for that matter. Regards, Gordon

Rittersmith916, WWII records can be obtained, under certain circumstance, from the Library and Archives Canada. Best results are gained through the use of an experienced researcher. Proof of death must accompany any submissions for your dad's records. The more information you can provide on your father the researcher the better. Regards, Gordon

JohanH, Good catch. https://www.facebook.com/groups/dbapnf/posts/10166354157920495/ Regards, Gordon

Wyomingguy, Interesting artifact. Certainly too heavy to wear as a bracelet. It doesn't seem to have a clasp either. I did find something similar in a search on line and you can find it here https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/orders-decorations-third-reich/bracelet-8690/ The medals on the chain seem to be authentic but without any provenance it is hard to say who made it or when. Regards, Gordon

Your Welcome.

Tupper, The wings are correct for the Spanish Civil War. Here is a link to a posting of a Legion Condor uniform showing this kind of badge. https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/axis-militaria/spanish-civil-war-condor-legion-pilot-grouping-782523/ There are lots of confusing posts showing pilots wings with crowns worn by the Nationalist side but the crown was not added to these wings until after the end of the Spanish Civil War. Regards, Gordon

Pictures of an authentic Burma Star. The second star is not good in my estimation (last two pictures). The first two pictures look ok from the pictures that you provided but not a star I would want to have in my collection. Regards, Gordon

Cagedfalcon, Nice condition for its age. Why do you think that it is Marine? I see a standard Heer waffenampt (acceptance mark) that you might be able to trace. These stamps were issued to individuals and moved with the from job to job. If it were Kriegsmarine issue I would expect Marine mark and none are visible in your photos. Is there one somewhere that does not appear in your photos? I've attached a link to a French language web site that has some excellent photos of Kriegsmarine stamps on different pieces of equipment. The language of the site is not important because we are only interested in the pictures. Also, a picture of waffeenampt stamps used by different organizations in the Wehrmacht, police, SS etc. Regards, Gordon https://www.passionmilitaria.com/t209901p60-tampons-waffenamt-kriegsmarine

No one, You have circled some badges? on the uniforms of these men. What are they? They don't look like French awards although the French did award medals to the Vietnamese who serviced in France and Salonika. Regards, Gordon

Thanks for the update. Regards, Gordon

It should have his name and service number only. Regards, Gordon