Hugh

Sorry, not a clue. I got mine with the order in it. Best, Hugh

Concur completely with Dave. This looks just like the box for my Order of the White Elephant, Special Cordon 1st Class, except that yours is missing the tray. Best, Hugh

I can't find it in any of my US books, but I have a recollection that the US originally adopted a ribbon for the WW I Victory medal which incorporated the national colors of all the Allied nations. This doesn't look exactly like what I remember, but it's perhaps a logical possibility. Comments? Hugh

Thailand - Order of the White Elephant. Not sure of the class. My book shows metal devices to show class. Probably Officer or Commander. Who's the recipient?

It seems to me that long ago, the branch colors were seen on trouser stripes and NCO chevrons for the old dress blues. Also, as a center stripe on the gold braid for officers sleeves. I don't know when branch colors appeared on caps. We need someone with better data to get involved. Hugh

I'm far from an expert, but this looks to me like US Army junior officer from about 1900 - 1930. What i don't understand is why it has the plain mohair* band, and not the branch color ( auf Deutsch, Waffenfarben) as shown in Stuka's example. Find the answer to that, and you'll probably narrow the time frame. Best, Hugh * If I remember correctly, the USA once classified mohair as a strategic commodity. Wouldn't want those boys to go hatless.

Are there regulations on how the Aussie digger should wear his bush hat: brim turned up or flat? An SAS friend took particular pains to crush the crown down almost flat, but we never discussed the turnup. Flat on some occasions, turned up on others? Did it change over the years? I can't remember seeing pictures of Kiwis with the brim turned up, and they like that pointed crown effect, like the Americans in WW I. Somebody should give us a little input, please. If you haven't already seen it, WW2today is a great daily bulletin on events of WW II. Brit oriented, but he occasionally wanders abroad. I've borrowed this picture from today's post. http://ww2today.com/15th-january-1942-australians-take-on-japanese-in-malaya?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WorldWarIIToday+(World+War+II+Today*+)

I'm pretty convinced it's Czech. The white lion with two tails is Czech and there are not one but two Czech orders which reference the white lion. The red/white/blue background is the same as the Czech flag and the letters CSR probably stand for Czech Socialist Republic. (See the Wikipedia reference below) This item doesn't look like any of the Czech orders or medals I know, but I'm far from an expert on the Communist era awards. I'm hoping one of our better-informed members will weigh in. If forced to guess, I'd say that this might be a veteran's or commemorative badge. Let's wait to hear from the experts. Hugh https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czechoslovak_Socialist_Republic

Looks to me like Communist Czechoslovakia (Post WW II). I wouldn't think it's military.

Going from the factual to the literary, let me recommend Time for a Tiger, part of Anthony Burgess' trilogy The Long Day Wanes. It's a great story about the Malayan Police after World War II.

Sorry to disappoint, but I'm afraid that the fourth and fifth class exist only in my fevered brain. I wrote without consulting my source data, and, as often happens, screwed up. I was probably thinking of the European orders, many of which have five classes, but NOT the Tamgha-i-Khidmat. Now, about that enamle... Best, Hugh

Far be it for me to dissent from those more knowledgeable, but just a couple of observations. I can't see any trace of remaining enamel, and normally, I'd expect to see at least a small ridge at the edge of the enamelled surface to prevent the liquid enamel from running over the edge. There is none. Of course, neither of these is conclusive but I wonder if anyone has ever heard of a non-enamelled version. Just asking.

Thanks for the help. The medal is in a glassed frame, so I can't get a look. Sorry. Any thoughts on the white enamel vs. no enamel? H

Now and then it's useful to look at one's notes instead of just winging it from memory. Apologies. I have this listed as Tamgha-i-Khidmat 2nd class in my inventory. Is that correct? Dimensions shown in previous post. Thanks, Hugh

I have an example of the fifth class which is roughly 40 mm across by 63 mm from the bottom of the star to the top of the suspension.

And either way, it's a handsome piece. H

Are we talking about Post 147? Hard to see that guy as Navy. He has no Navy specific awards, and uses mostly oak leaf clusters instead of stars for second awards as would be normal for a Navy guy. I'm confused. Hugh

Please forgive the cynic in me, but doesn't the leather look to be in remarkably good condition for an article which is ~ 120-150 years old? The lining also looks very good. I understand that I'm only looking at photographs, and perhaps in the hand one might get a different impression. With respect, Hugh

Courtesy of the Washington Post. This president seems to be using the medal like a Presidential Unit Citation (see also Tuskeegee Airmen, WASPs). Makes you wonder what unit and individual awards were made back then. Anyone have the history? Best, Hugh Bill honoring World War II’s intelligence operatives finally passes in Congress By Thomas Gibbons-Neff December 1 Washington Post OSS founder Gen. William Donovan with members of the OSS Operational Groups, forerunners of U.S. Special Forces, at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., which served as an OSS training facility during World War II. (Courtesy of OSS Society) A bill honoring a World War II-era intelligence service that served as the precursor to the CIA passed in Congress on Wednesday after a months-long holdup and despite the legislation’s overwhelming bipartisan support. The bill, after it is signed into law by President Obama, will bestow the Congressional Gold Medal on the aging veterans of the Office of Strategic Services, or OSS. Although the bill had more than 320 co-sponsors in the House, a new set of congressional rules that prevented groups, as opposed to individuals, from receiving the medal kept it from passing until those rules were waived earlier this month. A companion bill in the Senate passed in March. [Bill that would honor World War II’s secret commandos can’t seem to pass in Congress] The rules, which passed at the start of the 114th Congress, required a waiver that had to be proposed by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and approved by the rest of the leadership. Earlier this year, the rule was waived so the medal, the highest civilian honor given by Congress, could be awarded to civil rights activists who led the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” march in Selma, Ala. In years past, groups of World War II veterans such as the Tuskegee Airmen and the Navajo “code talkers” were awarded the medal. It is unclear why it took so long for the waiver, known as a “suspension of the rules,” to be approved. The current iteration of the House bill was proposed in November 2015 by Rep. Robert E. Latta (R-Ohio). Latta had proposed a similar bill in 2013. “Honoring veterans of the OSS with a Congressional Gold Medal will ensure that their heroic actions during one of our country’s most trying times will not be forgotten,” Latta said in a statement. “Their actions played an important role in winning the war and saved countless American lives in the process.” Founded in 1942 and led by Gen. William Donovan, the “Glorious Amateurs,” as he called the OSS, were responsible for cloak-and-dagger operations throughout World War II, including sending operatives into Nazi Germany. After the war, the OSS was dissolved, but in 1947 what remained of its infrastructure became the foundation for the CIA. Other branches of the OSS responsible for specific types of clandestine operations became early iterations of elite military units such as the Green Berets and Navy SEALs. The organization’s insignia — a spearhead — would also become synonymous with the Special Operations community. [James W. Hudson, who served as a spy behind enemy lines, dies at 93] “It is a great honor to see this important bill passed this year,” Dana Hudson, daughter of OSS veteran Capt. James W. Hudson Sr., said in a statement. “My father and his OSS colleagues put their lives on the line, often alone, in enemy territory for one purpose: to preserve the freedom of our nation and the world. I only wish he were here to receive this honor himself.” The senior Hudson, whose wartime exploits include rescuing 13 U.S. nurses from behind enemy lines and arresting one of Nazi Germany’s most famous test pilots, died at 93 in 2011.

The VC ribbon is normally worn with a miniature of the cross sewn to it; hence, this is probably the Bath. Best, Hugh

Not sure whether that's a compliment or not, but I'll take it as positive. Thanks, Hugh

I knew I'd forgotten something! "The rank stench of thousands of stale Gauloises layered over the walls, the bar, the floor and the people."

A hot, dusty cafe; beaded curtain hanging askew. The smell of sour wine and sweaty, unwashed men. The rank stench of thousands of stale Gauloises layered over the walls, the bar, the floor and the people. The mistral blowing in the desert grit, and an overhead fan stirring fitfully. The noise of hawkers in the street, trying to sell useless, worthless trinkets, and in the background, the piercing wail of the azan calling the faithful to prayer. Pierre and Kurt slumped in chairs in the corner, not a sou between them and still a week until pay day. Lisette, the fat barmaid who occasionally performed "other duties" listlessly swiping at the bar with a filthy rag, a greasy wisp of hair hanging down over her forehead. Who among us has not been there?

The following from Merriam Webster is more in line with what I learned inFrench classes. Definition of cafard plural -s : severe depression or apathy —used especially of white people in the tropics

I'd say definitely not Japanese - their chrysanthemum has either 12 or 16 petals, can't remember which. But it certainly has a post-WWII Asian feel. The rank insignia have definitely throw me off. In most Asian armies, the officer ranks follow the rule of threes: one, two or three somethings from 2nd Lt. up to captain, then something else for major and add one or two of the original somethings for LTC and Col. More or less like the Brits. You typically wouldn't see four of anything until the rank of general. Unless he's a warrant officer (W-4)? NCOs typically have sleeve insignia. I asked the smartest guy I know about Asian armies (a US Army FAO), and have included his comment below. QUOTE Just a guess! Korea’s National Emblem contains a similar five-petal flower (The Rose of Sharon or Mu Gung Hwa) as the unit insignia on the uniform. But, to complicate this, the ARVN rank insignia during the war also used a five-petal flower. But this rank insignia is neither ROK nor Viet, to the best of my knowledge. UNQUOTE Can't wait to see others weigh in. Best, Hugh