Harvey

Wow, that has to be one of the most unique SS items I've ever seen... Hard to believe someone would go through all the trouble of "faking" an item such as that.

I think your friend should definitely submit his father's name for the LoH - he earned it, and the fact that it's posthumously awarded does not detract one whit from the service he rendered to France in order to qualify for it. Speaking of qualifying for the LoH - what are the requirements for WWII veterans to receive it?

Thanks for posting that, Gordon. So how would a discerning person be able to verify whether or not such a chain was indeed authentic? If genuine, how would one determine a fair price for such an assembly? BTW, I found this at a bazaar in Istanbul several years ago - also for sale were 7 Orders of Lenin, which I believe were authentic, as well as a large number of other foreign military orders/badges - ranging from a Legion d'Honneur to an Order of Mejidie; quite an eclectic mix.

Also, are these types of miniature awards ever named? Or would they be engraved with serial #'s, etc? Would there be any way to research the individual based on these awards alone, are are they too common?

Actually Jeff, it's not an Expert pistol medal, or it would have a big silver "E" on it. Sharpshooter has a bronze "S" and Marksman is just the plain ribbon. Noor - I can pick you up some of the small silver "E" devices if you'd like. FYI, they are awarded to a ship and/or department for "E"fficiency - quite an honor, I'm told. Also, for the 6th award, instead of trying to cram 5 E's on the ribbon they have an E surrounded by a wreath. Hope this helps.

Give it time - I'm sure they'll be made available & authorized for wear by US troops eventually. I remember when the GWOT medals were first being discussed - it took awhile, but eventually they were both adopted. I just saw a dog-eared copy of the Armed Forces ribbon guide at the NEX last week that had this Afghan medal listed - it said "Pending Approval" beneath it.

Haven't read the Tolstoy book, but the one by Gallo does go into great detail about the rise of the SA and the problems their organization (and esp. Roehm) posed for Hitler and his consolidation of power. The SA wanted control of the military, and weren't willing to suborn themselves to anyone else. I think Gallo gives a good explanation of the events prior to the bloody purge and explains the roles that Hitler, Himmler, Goebbels, etc. played in its execution.

To the best of my knowledge, Germany has a group of Naval Infantry, although whether they fall under the Army or the Navy is unclear to me. I met several of them at a shooting competition in Poznan, Poland and they wear cammies and a dark blue beret with a badge (see picture). Sorry the pic is cropped - had to due to size restrictions. Hope this helps. -Dave

Didn't think of that, Gerd. Do you have a picture of one you could post? -Dave

Also, is that a Nazi party badge above it? Thanks for the help! -Dave

Here is an extreme closeu, with an SA badge for comparison:

I have a picture of an RAD platoon in Paris - the Leutnant has what appears to be an SA Sport Badge on his right pocket. Is that correct?

The last three words look like "zur allen lassen" or something like that. No idea what that means, tho.

BTW, I picked this up at a flohmarkt in Boblingen (outside of Stuttgart) for a few Euros. Looked to be part of a photo album - there were several others of the same guy - looked like the NCO 5th from the right in the earlier photo. I should've bought the one that had him holding up a sign that said "Fr?hliche Weihnachten - Warsaw 1939"

Ahhh... I wonder what unit they belonged to? For that matter, maybe someone can translate the writing on the back: I can make out what looks like "I Zug mit Zugfuhrer," or "1st Platoon with Platoon Commander," but that's about it.

Can someone post a picture of an RAD patch? I've no clue what that is or what it looks like. Thanks! -Dave

Here's a better closeup:

Great photo of a Nazi "Zug mit Zugfuhrer" in Paris. Can someone identify the patches on the two men in the front row - on the left sleeve, just above the swastika armband. -Dave

Unfortunately, it's true. At the time, I had just begun learning about Soviet awards (having spent the previous 5 months in the Republic of Georgia), so I didn't really know their value and/or how to spot fakes. Since the Lenins were the only ones I really recognized, I laid them out to photograph. Then there's the money thing - I mean, I wasn't exactly walking around Istanbul with thousands of $$$ in my pocket...

Last one: The guy was *initially* asking $850 apiece, but would've gone lower... ...awaiting your responses, -Dave

Reverse:

Type 6, v1 Obverse:

Reverse:

As I've posted elsewhere, I came across a veritable treasure trove of orders/badges/medals while perusing the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul back in August 2005. For the full picture, see the thread at http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=1604...mp;#entry156158 Amongst them were 7 Orders of Lenin - all of which appear to be the genuine article. I wanted to have some other expert eyes take a look and see if there's anything that doesn't match up. We'll start with two Type 5, v1: