Paul R

Thank you Rob. The LW Sword was bought from a member of another forum. It was brought back by his uncle. He wrote up the story of how it was aquired and also provided a post war photo of his uncle. I will place a scan of the letter with the name of the seller blotted out. It is a very interesting story all around. Even though the sword is engraved with the original owner's name, I do not know how to (or if it is possible) to research it. I will post the letter here within the next week. Best regards Paul

Every state has it's own Army National Guard medals and ribbons they award/issue on top of the normal US Army medals and ribbons(Same applies to the Air National Guard). There is no Naval Service or Marine Corps in the State Military Structures... I dont know why. Please bear in mind that each state has their own awards system on top of that of the Army and Air Force. Here is an example of this for the State of Maine: http://armyawards.com/arng/me/meawards.shtml I dont know why each state has to have their own medals and awards on top of the Federal ones already in existance. These are only for issue to members of the state run military. Federal military members are not eligible (thank God!) for state awards.

That is one nice grouping you have there. I would be interested in knowing how he came about winning the OOR! I have not seen too many photos of people wearing this order. One of my favorite groupings in my collection is one that contains the OOR as well as an Order of Friendship. I find it interesting that he has the OOR yet no other Labor or peace time orders. Best regards Paul Reck

Thank you! That is an awesome badge. While mint early war badges are pretty to look at, I am one of the strange few who love worn zinc examples! Warm regards Paul

Thank you for your explaination. It does make sense.

Hey Bob! What was your MOS in the Army(I dont know the codes...lol). What time periods were you in? Thank you for your service! Warm regards Paul

Eric, Thank you for posting these pics!! I bet that the 5 year anniversary medal is a rarity! I love enameled medals!!! Do you have any others? Please post all of your Order of 23 August's? I would like to see what they look like side by side. I think mine is the "gold" one. Best regards Paul

Thank you Steve! That was exactly what I was looking for! It seems as if my medals most closely resemember the one on the top row, on the left! I was going blind staring at "m"s and G's! More than four types... Why not? Unless information is proven, anything is possible Thank you again Paul

Larry, Just out of curiousity, how much were they asking for it?

You are right Bob... Valor Devices can be awarded on: Achievement Medals(any branch of service) Commendation Medals(any branch of service) Bronze Star and I have even seen one on a Legion of Merit. The Air Force can authorize a Valor Device for their unit commendations as well. I will check out the Medals and Awards Manual for other medals that can have this device authorized tomorrow when I go to work. Best regards Paul Best regards Paul

I was cruising the web and came across this link: http://www.news10.net/storyfull3.aspx?storyid=13312 and http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4845742 and finally, the most informative link I found http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/20...ligatorsub.html It looks like they are trying to find and recover both the USS Alligator and the USS Alligator Jr.(an earlier prototype of the Alligator). Does anyone have any information on these subs that goes beyond what is noted in these articles? I did a google search and all information was basically the same as noted in the above link! Best regards Paul

There is a German member of another forum that has a US Bronze Star as well as an Army Commendation medal... Regards Paul

Ed, That medal is pretty darn nice! One does not see to many medals out there with enamel and some form of imagination anymore!!! I would love to see a thread of your collection some day! Is there any area that you do not collect?! Best regards PAul

Heck no I dont mind! Thank you for your additions! Those orders are beautiful!!

Thank you Bob! When I searched, I used the word Memelland. I read the thread and knew the information contained... it is just the longer I stare at these medals and what is on the sites/books the more they all look the same to me. I dont know what my hang up is with this medal and ID ing traits, but other than the "G" variations I cannot make heads or tails. Sorry to be a pain... Paul

Again, Thank you for looking and any comments are greatly welcomed! Warm regards Paul

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Hi! I know that there have been a lot of threads in reference to this medal on MANY if not all related forums and websites. I am so very confused. In the case of these medals, I still have no idea what is good and what is not... even though I have read everything I can on them. I am posting the two that I have and ANY insight on them will be greatly appreciated. Thank you again... Please forgive my confusion on this topic! Best regards Paul front

I love the way you have your collection assembled! Very nice!!!

Thank you for your compliments! I remember you once telling me that these were rare... But I had no idea that they were that rare! When you sayseveral dozen badges... do you mean several dozen would have been issued these or several dozen made in total? What do you mean by IF they are war time? Is there a chance that this is a repro? Best regards Paul

Douglas! I love it! It definately looks like it was actually in a cockpit! Is there a way to get a look at the maker mark? Warmest regards Paul

Thank you for your response, John. I dont mean to be a pain yet by looking at the above links, the Junkers badges seem to have different hinges and catches. Was this type of assembly done during a certain time period? Regards Paul

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Here is mine... It is not maker marked and I cannot find this type anywhere. I will keep looking and will post my results Paul

Definately interesting! I love his Kinght's Cross of the War Merit Cross! Is his uniform part of an organization, or is it something he put together by himself? I have never seen anything like it! Thank you for posting the pic, Douglas! Paul