Rocket

Beautiful collection Emmanuel...thank you for sharing!!! John

Emmanuel, All I can say is...WOW!!!!! Thank you so much for sharing pictures of these medals in your collection. The fact that two of them are engraved with the name of a fallen service member makes them all the more special!! John It appears Claudio Scaglione died in the fight for Mount Longdon!

Hi Gordon, I did a little online searching and was able to find some additional info on the Malvinas War Combatants Medals. Much of it was written in Spanish so I had to translate the websites. The Wikipedia website is listed below. I found it interesting that it mentions the 30th anniversary gold medal. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War , there is a bill in the national congress in order to award a gold medal and a diploma, on whose front the silhouette of the Islands will be engraved. Malvinas, and on the reverse the inscription "The Argentine People in Gratitude to the Heroes of Malvinas." I also found it interesting that the Wikipedia website says the medal was last awarded in 1994 (I was under the impression 1993 was the last year the medal was awarded). https://es-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/Medalla_a_los_Combatientes?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc Below are links to 2 websites which have searchable databases of all Malvinas War Veterans. I noticed the one medal you posted was engraved on the back with the vets name. Not sure if that is part of your collection or just a picture you found online. According to the website the vet (Carlos Encina) was a Navy conscript who served aboard the aircraft carrier A.R.A. 25 DE MAYO. I found that quite interesting since the 3 medals I have engraved in my collection belonged to a medical warrant officer who also served aboard the A.R.A 25 DE MAYO. http://www.veteranos.mindef.gov.ar/index.php http://laperlaaustral.com.ar/laperlaaustral/laperlaaustrallist.php?cmd=search&t=laperlaaustral&z_fuerza=%3D&x_fuerza=&z_unidad=%3D&x_unidad=&z_Compania=%3D&x_Compania=&z_seccion=%3D&x_seccion=&z_componente=%3D&x_componente=&z_subcomponente=%3D&x_subcomponente=&z_emplazamiento=%3D&x_emplazamiento=&z_caido=%3D&x_caido=&z_referencia4=%3D&x_referencia4=&z_comentarios=LIKE&x_comentarios=&psearch=encina&psearchtype= John

Gordon, On the topic of Malvinas War Veterans...here are a couple of items in my collection. The ribbon at the bottom is called..."Barreta otorgada por la Armada Argentina" which translates to "Barreta (Ribbon) granted by the Argentine Navy". Unfortunately, I don't know much more about the ribbon bar (there's conflicting info in Jose Felix Martinez Lamela's book regarding the ribbon). The two anchor pins (large pin and smaller lapel pin) are rare. They are..."La conduccion del Buque la Guerra" which translates to "Leading the Ship in War Badge". These pins were awarded to captains of the Argentine merchant ships during the Malvinas War. These were for captains of civilian cargo vessels used by the armed forces to carry cargo to the islands. John

Hi Gordon, Here is a photo of the reverse of the official commemorative medal. It reads: "Recognition of War Veterans Republic of Argentina" with a date of 09-07-1998. I don't know why they used that particular date since it doesn't correspond with the anniversary of the Falklands War. I'm assuming it's simply the date that they issued the medals. As for who would've received this official commemorative medal...that I don't know for sure. The recipient of this medal served with the Argentine Navy and has his name engraved on the reverse. I can't say for sure but I'm guessing this official commemorative medal was issued to all Malvinas War Veterans. If you're not already aware...there is an excellent website that lists nearly all Argentine medals with photos. The website is: https://www.wawards.org/en/argentina.html The silver and gold commemorative medals shown in your photo I also have in my collection. I acquired them early on thinking they were legit commemorative veterans medals. I specifically asked one of my contacts in Argentina about these 2 medals since I can't find any information anywhere about them. He informed me that they were "fake" commemorative medals and that the only "official" commemorative medal was the one shown below. I still have not been able to find any information on any of these commemorative medals so I'll just have to take him at his word. I'll try to contact him and see if he can shed some light and provide more details on whether or not the Argentine government issued further commemorative medals for the 30th anniversary and possibly even the 40th anniversary which is coming up soon. John

You are correct. The 1st medal is the Medal of Heroism (Medaile Za hrdinstvi). All of the medals are original except for the Medal of Heroism. I was forced to use a quality replica since it is impossible to acquire an authentic original one. All 5 of the Czech soldiers who were killed in action received the Medal of Heroism.

One of my hobbies is constructing military veteran displays to showcase a veteran's service. I've done them for American WWI soldiers all the way up to the present day. This was my first crack at constructing a display for a foreign soldier. On July 8, 2014 a Taliban suicide bomber on a bicycle detonated his explosives next to a crowd of Afghan civilians and a convoy of NATO soldiers in the village of Charikar. The Afghan civilians were talking to soldiers from the 4th Czech Rapid Deployment Brigade. The Czech soldiers were investigating rocket attacks against Bagram airfield two days earlier from the nearby village of Qalandar Khil. Sadly, a total of 10 civilians (all children), 2 Afghan police officers, and 4 Czech soldiers were instantly killed in the blast. A 5th Czech soldier (Jaroslav Lieskovan) died from his wounds a week later back in Prague, Czech Republic. My son was deployed during this time with the 101st Airborne Division and became good friends with many of the Czech soldiers and other NATO coalition forces. I thought it only fitting to construct a memorial display for one of the Czech Soldiers so it could be displayed with pride in my son's house as a reminder of their sacrifice. Jaroslav Lieskovan was the most senior of the 5 Czech soldiers killed that day. He had served over 15 years with the Czech Army and had numerous deployments under his belt. It took me over a year to track down the correct medals, patches and ribbon bars. Fortunately, a couple of fellow militaria collectors in the Czech Republic were of great assistance in helping me acquire some of the items for the display. John

By all means...feel free to use the images as you see fit!

Hi Jim, You are correct...many of the Argentine provinces and cities issued unofficial commemorative medals to veterans. Unfortunately, I don't know of any informational source that documents these different awards. According to one of my fellow collector friends in Argentina there is only one "official" commemorative medal which is shown below on the left. The medal on the right is the official Malvinas War Combatants Medal issued by the Argentine Nation. It was instituted in 1984 with re-issues of the medal being made in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993 to award veterans of units not originally included in the award list such as Police, Coast Guard, etc. John

Probably the best reference for Argentine military medals is a book titled "Premios Militares" by Jose Felix Martinez Lamela. The book was written in 1995 and contains several color plates with examples of different medals. Unfortunately, it is written in Spanish and can be difficult to find. One of my fellow collector friends located in Argentina managed to find a copy for me. John

Here is an example of the Navy International Operations Medal with a different color ribbon. My understanding is that this is the correct style ribbon for this medal. Unfortunately, this example is not part of my collection. One of my contacts in Argentina shared this image to show examples of some of the different bars that go with this medal. John Gordon, Probably the best reference for Argentine military medals is a book titled "Premios Militares" by Jose Felix Martinez Lamela. The book was written in 1995 and contains several color plates with examples of different medals. Unfortunately, it is written in Spanish and can be difficult to find. One of my fellow collector friends located in Argentina managed to find a copy for me. John

Here are more pics from my collection featuring Argentine Falklands War period medals for the Argentine Navy. The A.R.A. (Armada de la Republica Argentina) includes both the Navy and Marines. The medals are: Navy Heroically Killed in Combat Medal (Medalla al Murio Heroicamente en Combate La Armada) Navy Killed in Combat Medal (Medalla al Murio en Combate La Armada) Navy Wounded in Combat Medal (Medalla al Herido en Combate La Armada) Navy Heroically Killed in Combat Medal (Medalla al Murio Heroicamente en Combate La Armada) Note: This is a rare prototype with silver medal and black vertical stripe on ribbon. Navy Heroic Valor in Combat Medal (Medalla al Heroica Valor en Combate La Armada) Navy Medal of Honor for Valor in Combat (Medalla al Honor al Valor en Combate La Armada) Navy Medal of Honor for Valor in Combat (Medalla al Honor al Valor en Combate La Armada) Note: This larger version is awarded to units. Navy Medal for International Operations (Medalla Operaciones Internacionales La Armada) Note: Awarded for service in the 1990-1991 Gulf War. Navy Medal for Combat Operations (Medalla Operaciones en Combate La Armada) Note: This larger version is awarded to units. Navy Medal for Combat Operations (Medalla Operaciones en Combate La Armada) Note: "Malvinas" bar denotes service service during the Falklands War. Navy Effort and Abnegation Medal (Medalla al Esfuerzo y Abnegacion La Armada) John

I agree...it's too bad most of the ribbons are all the same style. I have seen some Argentine medals and ribbon bars with a small gold device depicting the Argentine shield. The killed in combat medals and ribbon bars typically have a black stripe attached as well. There are a couple of Argentine Navy medals that have different colors. I will try to post them as well so folks can see what they look like.

Thought I would share pics from my collection which include Falklands War period medals awarded by the Argentine nation and the Argentine Army. The medals include: Medal Of Valor (Medalla La Nacion Argentina al Valor en Combate) Wounded in Combat Medal (Medalla La Nacion Argentina al Herido en Combate) Army Military Merit Medal (Medalla al Merito Militar del Ejercito) Army Killed in Combat Medal (Medalla al Muerto en Combate del Ejercito) Army Wounded in Combat Medal (Medalla al Herido en Combate del Ejercito) Army Military Honor Medal (Medalla al Honor Militar del Ejercito) Army Campaign Medal (Medalla de Campana del Ejercito) Army Valor and Discipline Medal (Medalla al Valor y Disciplina del Ejercito) John

Hi Gordon, I collect Argentine military medals and have a few contacts located in Argentina. I asked a fellow collector there about the 2 medals shown in your original post (I have both of these examples as well). He informed me that these medals are not "official" Malvinas War medals. He said the only official commemorative Malvinas War medal is shown below on the left. The official Malvinas War Combatants Medal given by Argentine Nation is shown below on the right. Hope this helps. John