Carol I

You're welcome. "Moldova" is the Romanian form of "Moldavia", so either way it could lead to confusions in my opinion. I would suggest the use of the full name, either "Republic of Moldavia" or "Republic of Moldova" to identify the young state. Even more so since the first attempts to establish a Romanian order in the 19th century came from the Moldavian side of the Romanian state. In the first months after the 1859 union, before the establishment of a central authority, the Moldavian authorities in Iasi prepared the draft of a law aiming to establish the Order of the Golden Wreath, with insignia inspired by the French Order of the Legion of Honour (the law did not pass through parliament and the order was thus not established).

Medalia Mihai Eminescu - Mihai Eminescu Medal

Medalia Meritul Civic - The Medal for Civic Merit

Medalia Pentru Vitejie - The Medal for Bravery

Here are some images from some old online auctions. Ordinul Meritul Militar - The Order for Military Merit

Some images of the awards of the Republic of Moldavia can be found on the site soviet-medals-orders.com. Click on "Other Countries" and there choose one of the four options related to the Republic of Moldavia.

Nice of you James to bring up this topic. Before we get more into it, I would like to point out that you refer to the awards of the Republic of Moldavia, not of Moldavia. Moldavia has been a Romanian principality that had united in 1859 with Wallachia to make the modern state of Romania. Moldavia extended between the Carpathians in the West and the Dniester in the East for most of its existence. In 1812 however, the Russian Empire had occupied the eastern part between the Pruth and Dniester and renamed it Bessarabia (the name born only by the southernmost counties that had once been under the rule of the Wallachian ruler Bessarab). After the return to Romanian rule between 1918 and 1940, the region was occupied by the soviets and became a soviet state until 1992 when it declared independence and assumed the name Republic of Moldavia.

I have no idea. You may have to ask Kevin how often do they appear at fairs.

By the way, there is an anniversary medal for collectivization, "25 years since the finishing of the collectivization of agriculture in the Socialist Republic of Romania", established in 1987. I think it was the last medal of the regime.

It was declared completed in 1962. It started in the end of 1940s after some reforms that distributed land to the peasants (in order to gain their support). It then occured in several steps. Apparently there were several rebellions during the time which even interrupted the process. There was not much publicity around them for obvious reasons and only in the past years information started to surface. I do not have the text of the decree, so I cannot help. :(

This medal did not have the word "commemorative" in the name. It was established as the medal "In honour of finishing the collectivization of agriculture" through decree no. 290 published in Buletinul Oficial no. 10 of 12.05.1962.

Regarding the dramatic WWI battles on the Western and Eastern fronts, here is a piece of news from the French press. La Meuse veut faire classer par l'Unesco les champs de bataille de 14-18 The idea is that there is a proposal to include on the UNESCO World Heritage List the prominent battlefields of WWI: Verdun (France), Isonzo (Italy) and Mărăşeşti (Romania).

As far as I know Aviatia Sportiva was linked to the glider and light airplane aeroclubs around the country. Could the badge be the pilot wings for a sport pilot (not military or commercial aviation)?

Thanks, Kevin. I thought it is nearly impossible for some remains to last that long, but spotted the piece of news on the BBC site. It seems however that the team of investigators was already on site by the time the news were published.

'It seemed to be a body from WWII' A team of Australian investigators is preparing an expedition to the arduous Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea, after a hiker spotted what is believed to be the body of a World War II airman hanging from a tree. The BBC's Becky Branford found out more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7595869.stm

Here is my contribution, a Romanian general (post-WWI). It's my first attempt, so I apologise for errors. If someone would like to have a try for a better result, I could send the B/W photo.

Dragoş Traian Alexandrescu was posthumously promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and awarded the Order of the Star of Romania with wartime insignia. Source: Ministry of Defense

There here is some more. The Order for Merit (also known as the Honour Sign for Merit) had indeed 5 classes, but not those on your site (that were usual for other orders). They were: Grand Cross, Commander, Officer, Knight and Cross (not to be confounded with the Honour Cross ). It had only two types or divisions (peacetime and wartime) identifiable by the crossed swords on the badges and the gold stripes on the edges of the ribbons. Similarly, the Honour Cross for Merit had two classes and two types or divisions, peacetime and wartime. Again the types could be told apart by the crossed swords on the badges and the gold stripes on the edges of the ribbons.

:jumping: Amazing! :jumping:

May I add some pieces of information? The Order for Merit was established in 1931 as the 'Honour Sign for Merit' and was under the exclusive control of the King. I wonder whether that is the "King's Personal Award" you mentioned on your site. Anyhow, it was organised as an order and had only one type of badges (no difference between civilians and military). It was referred to as the 'Order for Merit' when the wartime badges were introduced and the order was listed among the national wartime awards in 1937. The Honour Cross for Merit was established in 1933 as a complement to the order. As the order, it had only one type of badges until 1937 when the wartime badges were introduced and the cross was listed among the national wartime awards. There is some confusion with respect to the ribbons of these awards. One source mentions the order with a green-blue-green ribbon, while the cross had a green ribbon with 5 thin blue stripes. However, there are many images (including in this thread) where the cross appears with the green-blue-green ribbon. ... Another source of confusions.

Here is his homepage. As far as I know, the 2003 decision of the Romanian court recognised his inheritance rights as a child of Carol II, but not his claim to the throne, the rights of succession being decided according to the constitution and the rules of the royal family.

Dragoş Traian Alexandrescu Source: Ministry of Defense

Staff Sergeant Dragoş Traian Alexandrescu was killed today while on patrol near Qalat in Afghanistan. Four others were injured: Staff Sergeant Matei Gheorghe Irinel, Lance Corporal Angelescu Dumitru Bogdan, Private Mihai Dumitru Marius and Private Butoi Ionuţ Claudiu. Press releases from the Ministry of National Defence (Romanian language): http://www.mapn.ro/cpresa/continuarearhiva.php?id=12643 http://www.mapn.ro/cpresa/continuarearhiva.php?id=12644

Can you give more details about this? Thanks.

I do not think it is a pilot's badge. The gear beneath might indicate techincal ground team. However, more details could probably be found in the book Insignele Aviatiei Militare Romane (Romanian Airforce Badges) by Marcel Iliese. I think Kevin has a copy. As for images of other badges, see A Cloned Wing, But From WHERE? or Communist Romanian Air Force, Grade Insignia.