ehrentitle

Here is a color photo of him wearing the Gala uniform while receiving Soviet medals from Leonid Breshnev.

And here is a photo with dear old mom. But this time he is wearing the older standard NVA pilots badge.

I believe he was wearing the standard NVA Air Force "Gala" uniform. Which was a dress uniform for special occasions. Kevin

I have a photo somewhere of him wearing the Soviet cosmonaut badge and DDR cosmonaut medal somewhere. Kevin

Paul, It's Sigmund J?hn who flew on Soyuz 31 and his Soviet counterpart. He was the only East German to go into space. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_J%C3%A4hn Kevin

David/Ed - Thanks for the follow up comments. Kevin

One more though. Could a merchant seaman conceivably have worn this bar? Perhaps the red with white striped bar is not the US Good Conduct Medal but something else. Kevin

Thanks Ed, I was going thru my extremely old copy of Guido Rosignoli's Ribbons of Orders, Decorations and Medals trying to ID that first ribbon. Here is the back side. It appears to have been glued to something at one time. Kevin

My focus is US and East German insignia collecting. But recently I received a four ribbon bar as part of a lot of US, East German and Canadian insignia. It's unusual as it appears to be a mix of medals from several countries including a Belgium or French Croix de Guerre, US Good Conduct Medal and British Atlantic Star and I have no idea what the first ribbon in the bar is. All of the ribbons appear to be sewn or glued to a single cloth backing, so it appears to be a British style bar. Can anyone shed any light on what the ribbons on the bar actually are? I've posted a photo below. Thanks. Kevin

According to this magazine article it was industrial pollution. Major industries discharged untreated water containing mercury, arsenic, lead, phosphorus directly into rivers like the Elbe and Saale. It said that GDR water purification laws were regularly violated in favor of industries that used large amounts of water in their processes like the textile, film, chemical and paper industries. The reason? Installing modern pollution controls on aging industrial plants was cost prohibitive in the cash strapped GDR economy. Other major causes of pollution were the agriculture industry and the discharge waste from cities. Kevin

The irony was that East Germany had some of the most industrially polluted waterways in Europe. The full magnitude of pollution wasn't realized until after unification. Kevin

I believe there role was water management rather than policing functions. This would include water treatment and waste water management. They might have also had roughly some of the same functions of US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in management of clean water standards. Kevin

It appears to be an original Jubilee Medal (Jubil?umsmedaille der NVA) celebrating the 30th Anniv of the NVA in 1986. I believe the small A on the back in a mint mark for Berlin. I picked one up on E-bay a couple of years ago for about $10. What are they going for now? Kevin

This is a WWII to 1950s era US Para Badge as it has a pin back rather than clutch back. Other than stars for combat jumps, no other insignia was authorized on this badge. But I've seen several over the years where the owner has added something to the badge, such as R for Rigger or the Latin Cross for Chaplain. I suspect the Caduceus was added by the owner to designate that he was an airborne doctor or medic. Here is the badge worn by an Air Force Pararescue Jumper (PJ). Kevin

The type of pin catch on the back also aids in identifying age. The medal with the rolling lock catch is earlier than the one with the U shaped catch which normally indicates last issue medals from 89-90. Kevin

The DDR kept the name Reichbahn for their rail system after WWII, see this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Reichsbahn_of_the_GDR It explains why the DDR kept the Reichbahn name. It's an interesting read, especially the part about the DR running the rail system and S-Bahn in West Berlin. I remember the Berlin Duty Train was pulled by a DR engine. Kevin

I have a copy of the 1983 edition. Very good and very hard to find. Kevin

Uwe - I agree!! Where did you come across the color version? I got my photocopy almost 20 years ago while stationed in Berlin. Kevin

Grant - Good to see that it has arrived in one piece! Kevin

Gordon that's an outstanding medal. Older K?mpfer gegen Faschismus are hard to find. Did you find it there is Hungary or somewhere else? Kevin

Congrats Grant! Grant/Dan I just checked and I have an extra of each of three classes of Seem?nnischtechnischer Qualifikation badge from a collection I purchased a few years back. I just wanted the Master pilots qualification badge but ended up with several others in the deal. PM or E-mail me if either of you are interested. I'll give Grant first choice on the 1st class badge. Kevin

Gordon - No actually its given to guardsmen only when they are on state duty, i.e. under control of the state. They can be give out for a variety of reasons. I remember seeing a news article some time back that indicated that a Wisconsin National Guardsmen had been awarded the Wisconsion Commendation Medal for saving a child from choking at a local airport. AFTER moblization they are authorized active Army medals. Sorry to cause confusion. Kevin

Gordon - Yes, Most State Guards have equivalents to active duty Army medals like the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Army Achievement Medal. These are given out soldiers who are on state service. Once they are mobilized, like for Iraq or Afghanistan, they are eligible for active Army medals. Kevin

And here is a very crude copy I purchased on US E-bay last year. My thought is perhaps it was used as a movie prop.

And here is the full reverse of the VVO and ribbon bar. Note that both the ribbon suspension and ribbon bar are marked 900. Because of the shine in the scan the back of the medal looks dark -