bigjarofwasps

Cheers Guys, very nice but I think I prefer the British system.....

Hi Guys,

Can anyone tell me how I can go about find details of recent awards to US soldiers for Iraq?

AAM - 262

ARCOM - 421 (2 W/VALOR)

MSM - 80

BSM - 31 (4 W/VALOR, 3 POSTHUMOUS)

PH - 24

CIB - 269

CAB - 77

CMB - 10

1- Meritorious Unit Citation

GWOT Campaign Streamer for Each unit A, B, C, HHC

All these medals were awarded to soliders of the 2/127th National Guard, Iraq 2005-2006. I`d like to find out more about who the soldiers were & what these awards where given for?

Can anyone help me out?

Hi Guys,

Can anyone tell me what a Military Streamer is?

Am I right in thinking that its like a Battle Honour?

Gordon.

Well in actual fact there nearly wasn't a Canadian Victoria Cross at all. In 1972 The VC was totaly omitted from the Canadian Honours system. The Prime Minister of the time, Pierre Trudeau stated "that only Canadians should receive Canadian decorations."

After Brian Mulroney was elected Prime Minister it took till 1984 for an Honours commitee to be formed, and even then the VC was not recommended. Only after years of intense lobbying by Loyalist groups such as the Monarchist League of Canada and the Royal Canadian Legion were the plans amended.

It took until December 31st, 1992, for a formal request to be made by Mulroney. The request was approved by the issue of Letters Patent by Elizabeth II, the Queen of Canada, on February 2nd, 1993.

It is not known from which source the metal comes from to make Canadian VC's other than it is not made from the Gunmetal used for the other Commonwealth awards. As to why this is, who knows?

Victoria Crosses were manufactured from bars of bronze, smelted from the parts of two Russian Bronze smooth bore guns captured during the Crimean War according to the Royal Mint, and popular myth. But these ingots were destroyed during a bombing raid in World War II. This meant that apparently a different metal was used for five crosses awarded between 1942 and 1945.

Part of the myth is that every cross has been cast from the two cannons at Woolwich. The cannon in Woolwich however, are Chinese-made, although they have often previously been cited as Russian, their origin is a mystery, there is no evidence that they had been captured at Sebastopol.

The original gunmetal is kept under guard by the Royal Logistic Corps in Donnington. Although rarely seen, it is said to weigh just 358 ounces, enough for a further 85 crosses

So speculation surrounds suggestions that bronze from Chinese cannons was used for a short period.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...12/28/nvc28.xml

Regards Eddie.

Ed, thats Fascinating thanks for sharing it to our attention!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gordon.

Gunner Curtis was shot dead by a Provo "quartermaster' named Billy Reid, who emptied his Sterling at a foot patrol. Reid was killed three months later on Curtis street.

How Ironic that he should be killed on a street named after a guy he`d murdered!!!

As I understand it the Commonweath VC's are on par with the British VC and will remain on the Honour list.

All apart from the Canadian Issue VC are even made from the gunmetal captured during the Crimean War.

British, Australian and New Zealand VC's are identical in appearance. The Candian VC scroll is the only difference between the awards.

Regards Eddie

Eddie,

Now that is very interesting!!!!!!!!!!!

But why isn`t the Canadian one medal out of the same gun metal?

I also heard that the Crimea gun metal is running out, and that guns from the Boxer War in China are also used, any trueth in that?

Gordon.

With reference to the New Hampshire quarter depicting the natural rock formation "Old Man of the Mountain" , just a short time after this quarter was released the rock formation collapsed. It no longer exists except on the New Hampshire quarters.

That's right NZVC #001 goes to Corporal Bill Henry "Willie" Apiata

Regards Eddie.

Taz, am curious is the Kiwi VC on par with the British VC, and by that I mean will this guy be listed with the 1000+ British issue VC winners, or will it be an award in it own right? Like say the US Medal of Honour?

Gordon.

Was it the VC 50p that originally showed the design of a soldier viewed through a sniper scope & which did'nt find favour with those who matter as it was a bit too warry?

Leigh, not heard that, but am curious any more info or pictures?

Hi Guys,

Found this thought it might be of interest...

http://www.royalmint.com/Corporate/British...gn/50pCoin.aspx

Gordon.

Brave guy!

The Victoria Cross for New Zealand was instituted in 1999 to replace the British Victoria Cross for future awards to New Zealand military personnel.

The Victoria Cross for New Zealand is the premier New Zealand award for gallantry. It is awarded for ‘most conspicuous gallantry, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour, self sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy or of belligerents'. There are three other awards for gallantry in the New Zealand honours system: the New Zealand Gallantry Star, the New Zealand Gallantry Decoration, and the New Zealand Gallantry Medal.

The Victoria Cross for New Zealand is a bronze cross paty or formy (with straight edges). In the centre of the cross is the Royal Crest above a scroll inscribed with the words "For Valour". The cross is attached by the letter "V" to a straight bronze suspender bar bearing laurel leaves. The medal and ribbon for the Victoria Cross for New Zealand is identical to the British Victoria Cross instituted in 1856.

Regards Eddie.

Taz, thats very interesting, am I right in thinking then that this is the first New Zealand VC to be awarded?

Corporal Bill Henry "Willie" Apiata VC (born 28 June 1972 in Mangakino, New Zealand) is a member of the Special Air Service of New Zealand and the first recipient of the Victoria Cross for New Zealand. He is also the first New Zealander to be awarded a Victoria Cross since 1943. He received the award on July 2, 2007 for bravery under fire during the Afghanistan conflict in 2004, after carrying a wounded compatriot across a battlefield to receive medical treatment.

Corporal Apiata is one of only 12 living recipients of the Victoria Cross and the only living New Zealand recipient. He is the 22nd member of the New Zealand Armed forces to be awarded a Victoria Cross.[

Victoria Cross

[edit] Citation

Apiata (then a Lance Corporal) was part of a New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS) Troop in Afghanistan that came under attack from about 20 enemy fighters while holed-up for the night in a rocky rural area. The troop was attacked with rocket propelled grenades, destroying one of the troop's vehicles and immobilising another. This was followed by sustained machine gun and automatic rifle fire from close range.

One of the grenade hits blew Apiata off the bonnet of the vehicle he was stationed on. Two other soldiers in or near the vehicle were wounded by shrapnel; one of them, who can only be identified as Corporal 'D', was in a serious condition. After finding what cover was available, the three soldiers found that Corporal 'D' had life-threatening arterial bleeding and was deteriorating rapidly. Apiata assumed command of the situation.

The three were about 70 metres in front of the rest of the troop, so Apiata decided the only option available was to carry Corporal 'D' back to the rest of the troop. Miraculously none of them were hit during the brave act. After getting Corporal 'D' shelter, Apiata went back outside to rejoin the battle.

On July the 2nd, 2007, Apiata was awarded the VC for his bravery. In part the citation for the award reads-

"In total disregard of his own safety, Lance Corporal Apiata stood up and lifted his comrade bodily. He then carried him across the seventy metres of broken, rocky and fire swept ground, fully exposed in the glare of battle to heavy enemy fire and into the face of returning fire from the main Troop position. That neither he nor his colleague were hit is scarcely possible. Having delivered his wounded companion to relative shelter with the remainder of the patrol, Lance Corporal Apiata re-armed himself and rejoined the fight in counter-attack."

Three other SAS soldiers also received bravery awards for actions during the same mission. Two received the New Zealand Gallantry Decoration and one the New Zealand Gallantry Medal.[

When I first deployed to Iraq, we were driving round in striped down Land Rovers!!!!! We got a couple of Snatches about half way threw the tour, but they weren`t that much better. I`d much rather have been in a Warrior or Chally 2 to be honest!!!!

Just out of idol curiousity. How does the US military view the wearing of foreign medals. I`ve read all the trends abouts serving years in the British Army, then joining the US Army, were they allowed to wear for example there GSM for Northern Ireland, etc?

Wisconsin's "Private Soldiers" discuss their tour in Iraq

They can sum up their year in Iraq in one word: Hot.

In their new book, "Private Soldiers: A Year in Iraq with a Wisconsin National Guard Unit," writer Benjamin Buchholz and photographers Joseph Streeter and Nathan Olson provide a coffee-table yearbook from their experiences as soldiers of the 2-127th Gator Battalion.

Buchholz, Streeter and Olson began their on-the-job training as soon as they reached Kuwait in August 2005.

In the book, one soldier described stepping off the plane in Kuwait. "Imagine opening an oven when you're making pizza. Stick your head inside, and then have someone turn on a sandblaster so you get the feeling of hot sand pummeling you."

During the first weeks of training in Kuwait, the soldiers' main concerns were hydration and acclimatization, getting their bodies used 130 degree temperatures.

The nature of their mission, convoy escort, made travel through the most dangerous regions of Iraq unavoidable. The soldiers faced hostile action daily. But mostly it was dull, the men said.

"People get the impression from the movies that combat is like a nonstop adrenaline rush, that you are constantly engaged with the enemy and fighting. That's not what it's like," said Buchholz, who was the 2-127's infantry battalion's civil affairs officer during deployment. He works full-time for the Wisconsin Army National Guard as the 2-127's training officer and lives in Brandon, Wis.

"It's long periods of pure boredom punctuated by short periods of sheer terror," added Streeter, who's been a member of the Wisconsin Army National Guard for more than 12 years. While deployed in Iraq he served as a squad leader in the 2-127's C Company. He lives in Madison.

Buchholz said that he spent eight hours one night getting EOD, or explosive ordinance disposal, to bring a robot in to blow up a concrete block.

"Most everything is a dud but it kind of keeps you on your toes all the time. And the trick as a leader is to keep your soldiers on their toes through all that down time when nothing is happening," he said.

After training at Camp Shelby, Miss., the 620 soldiers of the Gator Battalion served in Iraq, providing armed convoy escort and route security throughout the country, from Umm Qasr in the South to Mosul in the far north, a distance that men estimated was equivalent from driving from Southern Illinois to Northern Wisconsin.

Their missions took them into the most dangerous regions of Iraq. The battalion saw dozens wounded and three killed in action.

All royalties from sales of "Private Soldiers" will go to 2-127's family support groups and to funds established in the memory of the battalion members who gave their lives in the Iraq war: Andrew Wallace, Michael Wendling and Ryan Jopek.

"We are very honored to be able to publish this book, one of the only books I know of that is about the guys themselves. It's not about the politics of the war. It's about Wisconsin men doing their job," said Kathy Borkowski, editorial director of the Wisconsin Historical Society Press, which published the book.

"Because it's done by the men themselves, a captain in the unit, and photographed by two other members of the unit, it tells the story from the inside," she said.

In their year-long deployment — from August 18, 2005 until August 18, 2006 — the battalion completed 5,232 combat missions, traveling more than 5.7 million miles in a single year.

During that time, the battalion came into contact with the enemy 321 times, including 138 attacks by improvised explosive devices (IEDs), 124 small arms attacks (automatic rifle fire), eight attacks by indirect fire, seven complex attacks (combination of IEDs, small arms or mortars) and 46 attempts to steal trucks from convoys.

Olson, one of the two photographers for the project, said the whole experience was eye opening for someone who had not really traveled outside Wisconsin before.

"It was jumping into a completely different culture and understanding it so you can get along there without offending anyone," said Olson, a member of the Wisconsin National Guard for more than 18 years and a platoon leader in C Company, 2-127's infantry. He works for the Wisconsin National Guard as the environmental assessment and reports manager for the state. Olson lives in Columbus, Wis.

Todd Taves was the battalion's commander during deployment. He attended a book launch event Tuesday night at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.

"It was just a great opportunity to be able to lead some of the best soldiers in the Army," he said after a talk and slide show attended by about 75 people.

Taves called the book a tremendous collection of experiences from the deployment that pays tribute to the soldiers that served with the 2-127.

"It's almost like reliving it when you page through it. Looking at the pictures is like being there again," he said.

What a beast!!!!!!!!!!

Bet it drinks the gas!!!!!!!!!!!!

Very nice to see more women in the millitary

BTW were were they when I was in Moscow in July

Order of Victory

OoV,

Had forgotten about these beauties, glad you approve sorry to hear you missed them ho,ho,ho,ho.

BJOW.

Sorry, I lost the thread...

Anyway, i went over and spoke with the sergeant and he suggested the National guard (well, they gave me a teeshirt as they were ease dropping) so here:

SSGT Rick Campbell

207.430.5505

richard.campbell8@us.army.mil

or 1-800-GO-GUARD.com

They said "no problem with the green card, provided you're a "good catch".

Cheers Ulster, I`ll give it a bash, got nothing to lose!!!

Just out of interest re the naming on Purple Hearts, are modern issue (Iraq/Afganistan) medals named to wounded & killed or just killed? By named I mean by the Government as appposed to by the recipient?

They have just gone up. It used to be 34. Now it's 42-and maybe even more if you have prior service and a needed MOs. There are some helicopter pilots in Iraq today who flew in Vietnam! If you have any Arabic language skills-they'll waive you right in up to age 50 (and fast too), so long as they can make certain you are not AQ (another reason they like Brits, they are easy to vet)!

If you are serious, I can hook you up with a local recruiting sergeant. he'd love to talk to you-or you can log into the army website and sign up. They'll send you a free US Army tee shirt just for filling out their questionnaire and doing basic trivia. See the link above which I just added.

Of course for the BIG MONEY there is always the Blackwater Corporation.

42, that gives me a few years anyway!!!!!!!

Wisconsin Quarter Errors: Check Your Change For Big Bucks!

You have no doubt heard about the 2004-D Wisconsin state quarter errors. These modern coin errors have been known for some time in the numismatic community, but became red hot once the major media grabbed the story. Sale prices on the errors have sold as high as $800+ in recent days. Speculation regarding the long-term value of these coins is currently anyone's guess, as is their origin.

The Wisconsin error coins have so far been discovered in the Tucson, Arizona and San Antonio, Texas area. The three varieties of the coins are easy to differentiate as the variations are easily seen by the naked eye. The example on the left is the standard Wisconsin quarter that is readily found. The example in the middle features a distinct mark that appears to be an extra leaf and this variety is being called "Extra Leaf Low." The example on the right also featured a mark that curves upward and is being called "Extra Leaf High." The next time you get change when purchasing something be sure to check it as you just might find a treasure

The mystery surrounding the extra leaf quarters is about to be revealed! Chris Pilliod, a Metallurgist by trade and well known and respected variety expert, has submitted an article for publication in The Numismatist that proves, without a doubt, that the Wisconsin Extra leaf Quarters were hand made, on purpose by someone at the Denver Mint.

Cool

What about age restrictions?

Cheers Guys, thats about wrapped that one up for me!!

Rick, re the `Order of the Dead`, to a certain extent your right, but the war on terror seems to have changed that thinking slighty, with a VC awared in Iraq 2004, and the two GC`s in Iraq 2003 & 2005, all awarded to living soldiers. Granted the VC & GC of Afganistan 2006 were both to fallen soldiers. I think in the case of the GC there have been more awared to the living than the dead, in recent years anyway, certainly more than that of the VC. But one could argue that although there supposed to be of equal merit, the VC certain comes across as the higher award & if not the more famous. Anyway back on topic, its very interesting to see that the US doesn`t have a civilian award, that does surprise me!!!!