Dragomir

In fact, there appears something that might easily bet the breast star (may be partially seen under the yellow cloak of the old man, just to the left of the neck badge). Dragomir

Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Portugal. Dragomir

I hope no one will consider me to be a pedant, but - please - the princely title is WIED, not WEID. Dragomir

Yes, it looks similar, and - in fact - it is the same thing. Lamentably, I have no more detailed information, except that the Badge is worn from the neck ribbon. Regards, Dragomir

The Order was instituted after the year 2000, and it is still being awarded. There are two classes. Your's is the second class, the first class being gilded. Regards, Dragomir

This is the badge of the Order of St. Hieromartyr Mitropolitan Peter of Dabar and Bosnia, instituted and awarded by His Eminence Metropolitan Nikolai od Dabar and Bosnia, of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The surmounting miter is missing. Dragomir

Sorry, I noticed this posting only now. It is Grand Cross Order of the Orthodox Crusaders of the Holy Sepulcher, awarded by Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Sorry, I noticed this posting only now. It is Grand Cross Order of the Orthodox Crusaders of the Holy Sepulcher, awarded by Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem.

He is wearing Order of 7th November. Manufactured by Arthus Bertrand. Regards, Dragomir

He is wearing Order of 7th November. Manufactured by Arthus Bertrand. Regards, Dragomir

A most fascinating theme! May I offer here a photo (lamentably of the minor quality) of a Sarawak delight. The photo was sent to me by a friend from Sarawak many, many years ago. Dragomir

The document states "Bronze", therefore it should be III Class. Dragomir

Stangely enough I have no idea what the significance of a palm is on serbian awards, we'll have to wait for someone more knowledgeable to answer that question Oak branch upon a ribbon denoted a repeated award of the same decoration. Dragomir

Gentlemen, Mr Stojan Rudez passed away some ten years ago. Dragomir

It is definitively Serbian. No Russian military chaplains are known to be involved in Balkan Wars. Dragomir

This is a very, very rare badge, usualy described as "Faberge Made". The inscription reads ASSEMBLY OF BISHOPS (arhijerejski sabor) - ZA RATNO PASTIRSTVO (for war-time spiritual guidance). The only one I had seen so far was silver-gilt. The years refer to the First and Second Balkan Wars. Dragomir

I stand corrected! Your are right, I was wrong. Yours, Dragomir

Well, ARJ stands for "Anti-raketna jedinica" (Anti-Rocket Unit), and - as you already guessed - PVO iz "Protiv-vazdusna odbrana", which is "Air Attack Defense". Dragomir

As far as I can distinguish, the stars are: 1st row: An-Nahda (Jordan), Source of the Nile (Uganda) and Civil Merit (Burundi) 2nd row: Omayyad (Syria), National Merit (Central Africa), Merit (Guinea) 3rd row: National Merit (Mauritania), badge of a spurious Constantinian Order, Merit (Rwanda) I concur on Great Badr and Lybia, as well as the Swiss parachutist medal. Regards. Dragomir

You can find some additional information in the book of Guy Stair-Sainty (World Orders of Knighthood and Merit), Chapter 19, page 1537, under "Saint Kitts and Nevis (Formerly the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis)" Dragomir

You did see well! Whoever was in charge of Tito's wardrobe was much more concerned with the pretended elegence then with regulations. Order of Freedom should have been worn on left, not right breast. Also, wearing of miniatures on uniform was not previsioned by any state or army regulations, and it was apparently a whimsical invention of Tito, which was followed by sycophants after his death. I can not remember to have had seen anyone daring to sport similar miniatures upon uniform during his lifetime. Similar to the peageon-gray shoes worn with uniform, this was his personal freedom to do as he pleased, without any regard to rules or laws. Dragomir

The entire story is much more complicated. In fact, Tito paid a state visit to Romania in December 1947. At that time he still was considered the strong man of Balkans, and the communist government wanted to impress him, and decided that King Michael should officialy decorate him with all three grades of Michael the Brave, plus Collar of Carol I. However, something went wrong. Allegedly, King Michael refused to sign the decrees. Since Anna Pauker and her Party cronies already informed Tito about the intention to award him with highest Romanian orders, they had no choice but to present him with insignia, but without the decrees. That is why these two sets of insignia in his collection in Belgrade are not accompanied by any relevant awarding document. The incident is believed to have sped the communist decision to get rid of annoying King Michael. Dragomir

Gentlemen, I notice that Saujanya Books offers a book by Karma Ura, titled Deieties, Archers and Planners in the Era of Decentralisation, and in the contents it quotes Chapter 6: Medalic Decorations. Now, this appears to me very intriguing. Does anyone knows the book? It was published in Thimpu in 2004, and has ISBN 99936-663-0-1. Dragomir

Many thanks! I supposed that might be the case, but the badge appendant being not visible could not make my mind. Especially so because al-Bakr used to be photographed with all sorts of curious badges, including one mysterious (obviously Spanish) badge surmounted by royal crown worn on cord necklet. Dragomir