Lukasz Gaszewski

Czechoslovak War Cross for WWII.

If I can humbly contribute, the first ribbon is DEFINITELY the "70 Years Since The Creation Of The Soviet Armed Forces", the other one is the Ukrainian "Medal for Irreprocheable Service" 3rd class (for 10-year service I believe) :rolleyes:

I have just been asked to ID the following trio. Judging from the mounting, it can be post-WWI German. As I am not an expert in the Weimarer Republic, could someone kindly help ID the ribbons?

The ribbon is certainly light blue. Here is a photo I once found at another forum. Noor's ribbon has faded and the front may look white. Do have a look at the back side. BTW: I wonder what the military career of the gentleman the ribbons belonged to might look like. Is it possible to find out who he was?

Nice, I like the reverse. Still, they could think of a more colorful ribbon. I know it is from the Order of the Seraphim, but...

What must you do to obtain his uniform from the Chief of Staff??? :jumping: :jumping:

OK, not sure, but judging from the colors #11 can be the Bulgarian decoration "for Faithful Service under the Banner." It was in 4 classes and was intended for Bulgarian soldiers for long and meritorious service, but due to the lack of any more appropriate honor it used to be awarded to foreign military as well.

I think #12 is the Decoration of Honor of the Italian General Staff. I cannot figure out #11. It looks very strange to me.

Certainly a CBE, as it comes between his CB and DSO (unless the first one is KCB... or higher ). This may help narrow the circle of suspects.

Thanks JP. I also thought about NG/SG, but what made me doubt was the lack of the appropriate inscription on the medal. My first thought, however, when I saw the medal was it must have been a NY state medal.

Thanks Hugh for this valuable information. I wonder if the medal preceded the medal of 1938 (it indeed looks like pre-WWII made) or it is still something else. One thing is obvious - it is engraved on reverse (I blurred the engraving on the photo) and was certainly worn by someone - it has traces of wearing and the ribbon is half-torn in the upper part. A real mystery to me.

Does anybody have any information about this beautiful medal?

Yes, it is a modern replica. Nice item anyway!

Göteborgs Stads förtjänstmedalj from medalj.nu: http://medalj.nu/ribbon_info.asp?build=&showgroups=A-Z/0/se&visitor={BAFED6C4-A9A0-4752-B025-783BD68EB21D}&listmode=0&login=&medal={F732E421-2C7A-4927-B981-92559DD8547F}

Hi, I was away on a business trip with no connection to the Net. Now that I am back I will try to answer your questions. The decoration was established as early as in 1946 in three lower classes, the two upper ones being added in 1980. All insignia, regardless the class should be in silver. Jef's class is an Officer or Member. The cross should have a silver finish, but in may have worn away with time. It looks like an early, pre-1980 production. The ribbon is similar to that of the Polish Independence Cross - black with red side stripes, but the stripes are narrower than in the Independence Cross - only 2 mm in the two lowest classes. Following the French manner, there is a rosette in the class of Officer. The cross had nothing to do with the communist regime in Poland - all the time it was an award of an emmigrational combatant organization of Polish soldiers in France. I have no information about the manufacturer, but considering there are a few different types, the crosses must have been ordered at different producers. I will consider buying it. Linasl, can you PM me your conditions? Best, Lukasz

Thanks for the consent - I will add the star soon. I am afraid it is not possible to determine the class The stars of both highest classes are identical. Lukasz

Hi, The star is a genuine one. It is a star of the Decoration of Merit of the Association of Members of Polish Resistance in France (ZUPRO), whose president and also the "Grand Master" of the decoration was Colonel (later General) Antoni Zdrojewski (1900-89), who organized the Polish Organization for Fighting for Independence (POWN). The decoration, initially in three classes, was eventually extended to five, to reflect the structure of a typical order of merit. I cannot tell you the exact year of institution, but the two upper classes appeared in ca. 1980s. The star was attached to the class of Grand Cross and Grand Commnder. The decoration, initially meant to honor merit to the Association, was later honorarily awarded to members of democratic opposition in Poland as well. I cannot tell you the exact price of the star. Lower class crosses are ocassionally seen at auctions, with starting price of ca. 200-300 euros. Can you upload a photo of the hallmark? It may help identify the manufacturer. Hope this will help. One more thing: can I add the photo of the star to my website about Polish Orders and Medals (www.medals.pl/pl), all credits given of course?

Thanks a lot Jeff :jumping: . I felt they could be ROTC related. If you happen to find any more detailed information regarding them, please let me know. Lukasz

Recently I came across these two ribbon bars. They are completely unknown to me, except that they are almost certainly US items and they do not look new, though in a good condition. Does anyone have any idea what they are? Lukasz

(Photo courtesy 'Gazeta Wyborcza') On April 10, 2010 ninety six Polish citizens lost their lives in a plane crash in Smolensk, Russia, on their way to the Katyn cementery, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the murder by the NKVD of more than 20 thousand Polish officers, taken prisoner during the 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland. The group included President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria, the last President in Exile, Ryszard Kaczorowski, Deputy Presidents of the House of Representatives, Krzysztof Putra and Jerzy Szmajdzinski, Deputy President of the Senate, Ms. Krystyna Bochenek, President of the Bank of Poland, Slawomir Skrzypek, the catholic, orthodox and lutheran bishops of the Armed Forces od Poland, Chief of Staff, Gen. Franciszek Gagor, and other generals, Chancellor of the Order Virtuti Militari, Gen. Stanislaw Nalecz-Komornicki, members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, members of Presidential Chancellery, state officials, members of families of officers murdered in Katyn, security officers and plane crew. Among the victims of the crash, there was also Ms. Anna Walentynowicz, the legendary leader of Polish democratic opposition, whose being fired in 1980 gave the impulse to begin the strike in the Gdansk shipyard, which eventually resulted in the creation of the Solidarnosc movement. The number of victims, most of whom were top national politicians and officials makes this disaster an unprecedented one in the history of world aviation. The place where it happened makes their death even more symbolic. The funeral ceremony of the President and his wife will take place on Sunday, April 18, at the Wawel Cathedral in Cracow, the resting place of Polish monarchs and national heroes including General Kosciuszko, Marshal Pilsudski and General Sikorski. I am sorry publishing this tragic news here, but I simply felt I had to share it with you. I could not find a better place on this forum to publish it. Lukasz Gaszewski

Thanks Megan, I think I once saw some small spiral devices attached to service ribbons for multiple awards. I searched for them everywhere I could, on the Net, on my hard disc and in the books on Greek awards I have - nowhere! Was it only me or were they real?

Hello, Just wonder if someone could post any photos of the devices that were used with Greek ribbon bars to denote multiple awards. Thanks in advance. Lukasz

Nice indeed! Any information about the recipient?

The second ribbon in the first bar is the ribbon of the French Croix du Combattant.

I am suspicious about this group. What makes a red light turn on in my brain is the Dienstauszeichnung for 4 years of service in the Luftwaffe. I wonder what military career of that chap could be. He was definitely an officer of the K.u.K. Army during WWI, probably at least a captain by the end of war (MVK was seldom awarded to ranks below captain). He must have been already an officer before 1916 (Signum Laudis w. Franz-Joseph's effigy). Where was he from and what was he doing after WWI? The Dienstauszeichnung for service in the Wehrmacht was established in 1936. Its conferment was discontinued I believe in early 1940. This means that - no matter where he may have lived before - the gentleman must have moved to the Reich and commenced his sevice in the Luftwaffe, not later than in 1936 - earlier than the German occupation of Czechoslovakia or the Anschluss of Austria. To make things even more complicated, there is a KVK 2nd class w. Swords - what could he get it for? To sum it up: I believe it to be just a compilation of various awards, not a group that belonged to someone particular.