John F.

Is a collar dog for the PWO West Yorkshire Regt? I cannot find reference of this insignia or an example of it anywhere on-line. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, John

Backside (pg. 6)

Hello, I know this really doesn't go here but it was the closet and best fit I could find. I received this German document/letter with a group of miscellaneous German military photos and papers. However I am not sure of what it is or if it has any significance. I can tell by the date that it is post WWII and appear to be page 5 and 6 of some sort of correpondence. Can any of our German speaking members please help? I do not need a word for word translation but just a brief summary of what it is? Thank you, John

Hendrick, Thank you for your detailed reply and time and effort! Now comes the hard part...finding a ribbon. Thanks, again! , John

The Texas National Guard has thier own Purple Heart Medal. The concept of the medal was developed in August of 2001 after two Texas Guardsmen were killed in a vehicle rollover accident in the aftermath of clean-up operations for Tropical Storm Allison that devastated southeast Texas in June 2001. The original intent for the TXPH was to have a State medal to award to Texas Soldiers and Airmen who are killed or injured during disaster relief operations like floods, tornados, fires, etc. However, 9/11 happened and the original purpose of the award morphed and the medal became a redundant/duplicate award to the federal Purple Heart, meaning that the recipient of the TXPH must meet the same criteria as the federal award. The medal was approved by the Texas Legislature on May 2, 2007 in House Bill # 2897. The medal bears resemblance to the federal award with a few changes. The ribbon has a white stripe down the center; the effigy of George Washington is replaced by the Texas State Seal; and the Alamo adorns the top of the planchet instead of a Washington Coat of Arms.

Hello, I picked up this French Fireman’s Medal up on eBay and was wondering what exactly it is; what it was awarded for; and what does it’s ribbon look like? I have been unsuccessfully in finding any reference to this medal in any reference books or dealer's web-sites. I normally like to know what I am buying, but with less than 2 hours before the auction was to end I found this medal to be too aesthetically pleasing to let it slip by. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks, John

I have just learned from Ralph that Volume II is at the printers and he is currently taking pre-orders. The books should be received mid Decemebr 2011 and ready to ship at the end of the month. For people who pre-order the books, the cost will be $79 USD. After which the price will be $89 USD which will be worth it since volume II has over 350 pages and over 800 photos. If you are intersted in pre-ordering you can send payment to: Ralph Pickard PO Box 79 Lorton VA 22199 Be sure to state that payment is for Vol 2 to avoid confusion becasue he is still selling Vol 1.

Hi Gents. Thanks for the replies! At first I thought it may have been a simple error or oversight by the clerk typest who was banging these things out at the wars for I'm sure they had plenty to do, but I have to agree with IrishGunners remarks and think that it might have been a previous skill set he picked up in the Navy. Thanks again for your help!

I was going thorough some old grouping and discovered this anomaly on a WWII Discharge Certificate. How was it possible for an Army Surgical Technician to be awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB)? The document is original and doesn’t appear to be tampered with. Were the regulation/criteria for the CIB different back in the 1940’s then they are today. Was the 3rd inf Div/15th Inf Regt in a tough situation and the commander said "Congratulations, you are no longer a surgical technician you are now an infantryman?" Your opinions are welcomed. Thanks, John

Sent you a PM with the contact info of a vendor who may be able to help.

As long as you have the money and are meeting your financial obligations (if any) then spend away!

A lot NG personnel opt not to wear thier State awards for that reason becaue they don't want to maintain to sets of ribbons. However, most who have served on Active Duty prior to joining the Guard don't wear them becasue they find them to be a bit silly looking(like myself).

Hi Chris, You are kind of correct. Army National Guard uniforms are the same as their Active Duty and Reserve counterparts. However, State awards can only be worn while on a Guard Status (Tile 32). If a Gurdsmen is called up for active duty (Title 10) he/she must remove their State awards from thier uniform.

I was given this explanation of the abbreviations from a Mr. Marc Sherriff on the WAF British Sub-Forum which makes a bit more sence. SG = Seaman Grade which is a Royal Fleet Auxiliary Rate SP MIL CHR = Special Military Charter 100 = MoD reference ie Charter number This medal belonged to a Seaman Grade in the RFA who probably was on a supply ship taken up for the Gulf War and manned by RFA & Merchant Navy crew.

Hi Chris, Thanks for the reply and answer! Wow, that's interesting a "member of the Romanian military hospital". Weren't the Romanians still the "bad guys" then? Thanks for the offer but I think I will hold onto this for awhile. Best, John

Hello Gents, Thanks for the replies. I was finally able to get a pics of the naming. Hope it helps. Best, John

Hi Lukasz, The Humanitarian Service Award is just a ribbon. Here is a link to Texas awards: http://txsgair.ipower.com/pr1/ribbons/state_awards.html It is difficult at best to purchase any new Texas National Guard Medals becasue the Adjutant General of the State of Texas has requested that Graco not sell Texas National Guard Medals to dealers or individuals. It is intersting to note that the Texas Cavalry Medal that you have pictured will be discountinued (no longer awarded) after this year (2011). The other medal you have is a novelty item made for the yearly Fiesta Celebration in San Antonio, TX. Businesses and organization within San Antonio have company medals manufactured for handouts during Fiesta. Fiesta is South Texas version of Carnaval / Mardi Gras.

It would appear that the Texas National Guard and the Texas State legislature are doing their part for economic recovery at least by keeping Graco Industries of Tomball, Texas employed with the commission of two more Texas National Guard Medals. Since Sept 11, 2001 the State of Texas has created four new medals for Texas National Guard personnel. The other two previous awards were the Texas Purple Heart and the Texas Cavalry Service Medal. The two new medals are: 1. The Texas Superior Service Medal 2. The Texas Homeland Defense Service Medal The award criteria for each medal is as follows: - The Texas Superior Service Medal shall be awarded to: 1. A member of the state military forces who has: a. completed 30 or more years of honorable state service or a combination of state and federal service; and b. continually demonstrated superior performance and service while assigned to key leadership positions demanding responsibility; or 2. A civilian who has contributed significant service to the state military forces. - The Texas Homeland Defense Service Medal shall be awarded to any member of the state military forces who served: 1. on or after September 11, 2001; 2. on state active duty or active duty under state authority in accordance with Title 32 of the United States Code; and 3. satisfactorily in defense support to a mission in the state under civilian authority (boarder service and airport security) Rumor has it that the State is also commissioning two service medals for Afghanistan and Iraq.

Hello, I recently purchase a named British Gulf War Medal (1990-91) and I need help deciphering the abbreviations that are engraved along the edge. I wasn’t able to get a good picture of it but it reads - SG G.G. Martin SP. MIL. CHR. 100. I’m smart enough to pick out the person's name (G.G. Martin) but what are the other abbreviations "SG" & "SP. MIL. CHR. 100" represent ? Thanks, John

Hi Kevin, it is gabardine and had an "M" date code for 1970. It was a used/worn tunic when I bought it and It had 4 holes above the right pocket so I guessed on the Para badges and Lv II Qual-spange. I also added the sholder boards and other awards. The sleeve patches and collor tress were already in place. John

Better late then never. Here is an East German FJ Oberfeldwebel with DDR & Soviet Para Badge.

Here is a close-up of the obverse and reverse of the above order.

Here is my contribution to the thread. I am unaware of when this was issue due to not having the booklet but I would venture to say it was probably close to the day of inception with a serial number of ?22?.

Wow! I should have stated those were the prices I got mine for two years ago off of eBay. However, I recently sold an Order of Labor -3rd cl (RSR) on eBay for only $22.65. Here is a web-site from a dealer in the States selling them http://www.collectrussia.com/showcat.htm?cat=COMRUMDEC for a little more then the prices I quoted. Best, John

Hi Grodan, These orders are fairly inexpensive. The more commonly found 3rd class RSR version sell for about $20-25 uncased and $30-35 cased. The earlier RPR version sell for a litle more $40-45 uncased $50-55 cased. John