David S

I have no numbers for WW2 The numbers for WW1 for the DSM is 1844, broken down as follows Americans - 1075 Belgians - 31 British - 131 French - 316 Italians - 59 Japanese - 6 Other countries - 6 Members of the US Army in lieu of the Certificate of Merit - 220

Rank is Flight Lieutenant (equiv to Captain) As for a date . . . I know not

You english is just fine You are correct in your observations, very few American Officers were awarded the LoM (Officer) grade From Wikipedia Allright not the best source . . .but I've seen the info elswhere prior to the age of the computer

Your talents never cease to amaze me

For what it's worth . . . here is the device for the Croatia Commemorative War Medal

Lose the beret, it doesn't look proper with a dress uniform Vietnam From his official bio http://www.gg.gov.au/governorgeneral/content.php?id=9

Post them here . . . experts reside within these walls Scan them one by one front and back, and post them for opinions

It's probably nothing, but all (or most) ROTC torches have the flames on the right, this item pictured has the flame going to the left Most likely ROTC as mentioned

That I do not know Look here http://www.medals.lava.pl/us/uschk.htm . . . go to the bottom and check Massachussets for ARNG and enter

My guess would be the Massachusetts State Guard Service Ribbon now obsolete Here's a pic

All I can offer is his bio from the 1976 Who's Who

Here's the site to the North American Araucanian Royalist Society http://www.geocities.com/tourtoirac/

Rumor has it that Lord Ashcroft has in excess of 150 VCs Here's a link I found . . . I was unaware of the books http://www.lordashcroft.com/vccollection/index.html

Tis a very nice bar Let's hope it stays down under rather than added to the collection of Lord Ashcan as he has more than enough already The only other military is a WW1 set & book http://www.bonhamsandgoodman.com.au/lot_de...amp;auction=167

Here's the bar Ironically the auction is on 11 Nov

Thanks I shall investigate further

Red on red (not braided) is the standard unless you're the following RAMC - Dull Cherry RADC - Emerald Green RAVC - Marroon Red RAPC - Primrose Yellow AEC - Cambridge Blue RAOC - Dk Blue (changed to Scarlet in 1941) REME - Dk Blue Chaplains - Purple So far these defy identification

2nd Bn, 38th Inf was awarded a Distinguished (Presidential) Unit Citation for action on 17 to 19 Dec 1944

Part 4

Part 3

Part 2

Here is the citation for the award the Presidential Unit Citation to the 1st Bombardment Division, but primarily mentions the exploits of the 306th Bombardment Group The document is to big to be scanned in one pass and be legible, I broke it into 4 parts It is an original mimeograph from the time The mentioned Col Robinson was Group Commander (Jun 43 to Sep 44) at the time The 306th was the longest continuously-serving bomb group of the Eighth Air Force during World War II, and led the first mission against a target in Germany. The novel and film Twelve O'Clock High were based in large part on incidents occurring in the group in 1942 and 1943 -->edited to correct spelling<-- Part 1

There are three levels (and three types of badge) 1. Marksman 2. Sharpshooter 3. Expert You have Expert in Rifle and Pistol badges . . . both badges have been in service since 1958 Qualification is based on a points system For Rifle qualification points are as follows: 220 to 250 points -- Expert 210 to 219 points -- Sharpshooter 190 to 209 points -- Marksman I do not know the numbers for Pistol qualification, but it's on a similar scale Typically, all Marines qualify with the rifle on an annual basis The most recent qualification score determines the badge that is worn (higher or lower) If a Marine achieves the score of Expert multiple times in his or her career, an additional "rung" may be added to the badge denoting the number of awards earned Hope this helps

South African Police Service (SAPS) This is a new arrival - - tis a very nice bar Looks to be plastic over paper (??) The order on this bar is different than the precedence on ribbon charts I do not know the date on this bar, I do not believe the awards are still awarded by the current SAPS The aloe device is upside down, from what the medal shows . . . for these pics I made made it right Any help is appreciated --SAPS Medal for Combatting Terrorism --SAPS Medal for Faithful Service (10 yrs) --SAPS Star for Faithful Service --SAPS Star of Merit

Dang . . .they actually used a historical perspective on the ribbon design. Gives them a great deal of points in my book Thanks for the history lesson . . . now where's that good swift kick smiley (for me !)