Hugh

Now I'm confused. I thought Rai Bahadur and equivalent were worn around the neck. This picture looks as thought it's a breast badge.

Thanks for posting these; terrific pictures under the circumstances. To think I lived across the Causeway from these for 7 years and never got over to see them !

Thanks for the update.

So as he progressed up the tree of these awards, did he wear only the highest, or all two / three?

I thought I had read somewhere (probably on this forum?) that they had discontinued making the VC from the captured Russian guns. True or not?

I've sent of an enquiry to the Armed Forces Museum in Taipei. Let's see what they say.

Thanks for the help, Jeff.

Sorry, don't know. Maybe someone else can enlighten us. I suspect probably yes for WW II.

Whoops; got cut off before I completed the list. During the length of the campaign, Colombian servicemen were awarded the following U. S. decorations : Legion of Merit - 2 Silver Star - 18 Bronze Star with "V" - 25 Bronze Star - 9 That's not a bad total for a unit of about 4300 men. (I'm assuming the Navy probably didn't get many of those, if any.) For more data, see Kevin Ingraham's "Honors, Medals and Awards of the Korean War 1950- 1953".

Yes, they sent a battalion which was attached to the 7th US Infantry Division and a frigate. They suffered serious losses in the March '53 battle for Old Baldy. During the length of the campaign, Colombian servicemen were awarded the following U. S. decorations :

Here are a few more. Unfortunately, I had to shoot them through the glass. (I'm not ready to unframe them.) They are: COLOMBIA ? Naval Order of Admiral Padilla 1823 ? 1947, breast badge gilt and enamel, N. E. F. Liverpool Medals, 11/00 COLOMBIA ? Cross of Valor, gilt, N. E. F. Liverpool Medals, 11/00 COLOMBIA - Orden Militar del 13 de Junio (Military Order of the 13th of June), Commander, by Fibo of Bogota', EF Jeffrey B. Floyd, Alexandria, VA 6/93 COLOMBIA - Cruz de Orden Publico, Valor Interior, Mint Bogota, 1976, COLOMBIA - Korean Service Medal, Mint Bogota, 1976, Sorry about the quality of the image. It was much clearer before I had to resize for this forum.

The American tradition started with unit citations of various levels, including foreign unit citations. I had 4-5 of them worn on the right breast, quite separate from the individual awards. Nowadays, you see pictures of our four-stars with 4-5 rows of ribbons on the right breast. Can't imagine what they all are.

Vielen Dank to both of you. I appreciate the additional insight. From my initial post, you can see that I misunderstood his medical speciality. Or perhaps Reg led me astray, just to amke the bar more interesting. I'm glad to have this information. I wonder what has happened to his family? Any thoughts?

One is reminded of the Military General Service Medal (1793 - 1814) authorised by H. M. grateful government in 1847, or the Army of India Medal (1799 - 1826, authorised in 1851.

Just to add to the comment, I remember a listing of a South Atlantic medal to a BAE technician in a Liverpool Medals catalogue.

The Museum finally got back to us - I'm posting the complete message from my friend. I got two calls back from the Museum, the medal you are searching for origin came out from a civilian organization, Aviation Construction Association, ( not MoD) chaired by Madame Chiang. Thus it shows the name of her husband: Generalissimo Ke-Shiek Chiang. I was told that your book ( that I gave you ) shows Gen. Ku, Chu-Tung of ROCAF obtained a type-A medal from the same organization. While your picture shows a type-B medal. These are not official medals, thus MoD/ROCAF is not obligated to keep the file. During WW II, I was told, such ambiguous things happen quite often. So, not MOD/military, but certainly with a certain level of status due to Mme Chiang's sponsorship.

Thanks, I've got a fairly large colection of ROC medals, but have never seen this one before.

Thanks for this post, Humberto. Do you know whether this medal is still current? Best, Hugh

In hoc signo vinces = In this sign, conquer A very common Christian saying // Ex oriente lux = From the East, Light. Not sure how that advances the question.

This is really the end of an era. I suspect the Bofors 40/60 may have been one of the most widespread guns in history, and served with distinction for many decades. I remember hearing of the selection of the 40 / 60 for the Fremantles and wondered why the RAN had not gone for the 40 / 70. (I was in the weapons business at the time, and had the "everything new" mindset). One of your gunnery officers gave me a whole series of very cogennt reasons. It's a great gun, and I suspect it'll be in use for a few more decades in some more obscure parts of the world. .

By the way, no where in the documentation do they give his first or middle names. Bloody formal, those Germanics.

Well, perhaps I'm not terminally disorganised yet - I found the papers. The recipient is Prof. Dr. A. A. Friedlaender. He is mentioned in a letter from the Kanselarij der Koninklijke Huisorden (Chancellery of the Royal House Order?), The Hague as medical superintendant of the private clinic Hohemark in the Taunus, West Germany. He was appointed Commander of the Family Order of Orange on May 13, 1913. Perhaps the most amusing note is the following quote - "The reason for the award of the above decoration was not mentioned in the register." His death in Bad Aussee on 19 January 1949 was written up in the Viennese Weekly Medical Journal on 11 June 1949, and clearly claims him as Austrian. He was born on 8 August 1870 and attended the Univ. of Vienna, with further work at Frankfurt a. M. and Jena. He was recognized as a German doctor at Bonn in 1903, running a private hospital and later teaching at the University of Bonn. During WW I, he served as a medical officer serving in Warsaw and as neuropathologist on the Western Front. After the war, he settled in Freiburg, but was boycotted by the Nazis and returned to Austria in 1936. Despite the Anschluss, he stayed in Austria, but it sounds as though he was not very active thereafter. After all, he was almost 70 years old. I'll try to include a scan of him in full fig (civil). It's a rescan of a photocopy, so don't look for a lot of detail.

Sorry, didn't see a picture of the reverse.

Well, the tiger looks significantly different from mine, and the attachment below the ribbons is also different.

OK, you've convinced me that I really need to root around and find the papers. I think there was an obituary among them which suggested he may have gone back to Viernna to die.