Histaria

Mario, To respond to your original question, this is likely incomplete. Typically there would be at least a pasteboard cover to keep the item from getting beat up. The Ehrhardt group was "theoretically dissolved" in May 1920 as Robert G. L. Waite put it. Their support of the Kapp putsch and subsequent excesses in the suppression of the Berlin Communists made them an unstable and hostile companion for the government. Ehrhardt and a cadre of officers high tailed it to Bavaria where they hid out and formed Organization Consul and the death squads of the Feme. The fellow in this document looks to have headed to another unit, as he's sporting the insignia of the Garde-Kavallerie-Schutzen-Division. One other subtle clue is suggestive: the rubber stamps employ an eagle with a crown. It was very common for freebooter units to continue to use stamps left over from the recently ended war. However, the postwar government was intent on distancing itself from the former monarchy and worker hard to erase any heraldic use of the old red-white-black colors and the Kaiser''s crown. So this looks less likely to be a Reichsmarine item. Again, not absolute but suggestive. The Ehrhardt badge was for ten months service.

A good place to keep an eye on is the Institute of Heraldry web site. They design the insignia and over the last couple of years have been posting color drawings of the latest SSI and D.U. I. that have been authorized. My link

The reference was to the award of the Submarine Combat Patrol Badge. Making modern subs eligible because of a missile launch remains controversial, the argument being that "shoots" against Iraq did not involve a risk comparable to making an attack against an enemy target in W.W.II.

German 3-D publications were a popular genre and they covered a variety of subjects, including sculpture, cities, expositions . . . you name it. As might be expected, the ones on political and military topics have always been popular with collectors. The books used to be fairly common, but apparently are the kind of thing that people tend to hang on to, so they seem to be a bit scarcer these days.

This style was authorized from 1922 through 1934, so technically it is Weimar and early Third Reich. Second Class is correct, with the First Class being worn on a neck ribbon. The Second Class is also found with a plain suspension ring and it has been suggested that those with the ball suspension were of later issue. Also, this award can be found in gilded silver or gilded bronze.

It is almost certainly not a freikorps item and there's a good chance it is not German. I'd place my bets on it being from a fraternal organization.

I seem to recall that this, or a badge in the shape of just the black segment, appeared in the Oberlandbund anniversary book back in the 1970s, but I can't seem to find my copy right now. So I believe that this, or a somewhat similar design, existed. Unfortunately, there's nothing about this particular example to suggest that it is of freikorps-era manufacture, so it might be one of those fantasy pieces being cobbled together from old and new designs.

A great group and pretty comprehensive! Can we presume that the U.S. medals are included because they are Vietnamese made? The U.S. RVN Campaign looks like it may be one of the aluminum, uniface versions.

U.S. Army railway units are generally part of the Engineer Corps. The unit you seek is probably Light Rail Operators, 21st Engineer Regiment. Have a look here: My link

This version of the U.S. Army officer's armor branch emblem was authorized in February 1942.

This version of the U.S. Army armor branch emblem was authorized in February 1951. The tank was modeled on the M-26 Pershing.

The G23 Army contractor code is for the Ira Greene Company of New York City. The insignia could have been made any time from the mid-1960s onward. Greene currently offers only 1, 2, and 4 star versions for sale at $16.35 each, just to give a little context to availability and cost when there's no provenance involved.

You won't find detailed qualifications for the Observer wing, as General Order 38 (1918) basically said that if you "graduated from an authorized school for aerial observers" (airplane or balloon) you could wear the wing. Airplane observers had to also pass a "prescribed test in aerial gunnery" but the balloon observer did not. So, whatever was in the course material was the qualifying criteria for the "flying anal opening," as the insignia was dubbed soon after its creation. By the way, the school for balloon observers was at Fort Omaha.

From the photo in post #10: Bar 2: - W.W. I Victory Medal - U.S. Navy Haitian Campaign (1919-1920) - Not U.S. (at least nothing official) - Not U.S. (ditto) Bar 5: - U.S. Navy Haitian Campaign (colors are more accurate on this example) - U.S. Navy Second Nicaraguan Campaign (1926-33)

These bars are likely U.S. and very possibly a set. Writing off some slight color variations as age, fading, and possibly inaccurate foreign manufacture, I suggest these are as follows: Row 1 (as shown): - Navy Cross - Navy Distinguished Service Medal. Established in 1919 for service back to 1917. Of higher precedence than the Navy Cross until 1943 when the order was reversed - Philippine Campaign. For service in 1908 Row 2 (shown backwards): - Navy Good Conduct Medal. Only for enlisted men. - WWI Victory - French Croix A possible scenario: First, this would be for a very highly decorated individual, the Navy Cross and DSM being just below the Medal of Honor. The DSM--especially in the WWI-WWII era-- was only given to Navy flag officers. This fellow would have had to have started out as an enlisted man and earned a Good Conduct Medal (no stars on the ribbon, so he had at least 4 years, but less than 8, as an enlisted sailor). He then got a commission. He might have received the Navy Cross in the Philippines, which got him a shot at a commission. Or, the Navy Cross was earned in W.W.I., or even W.W.II. Because the Navy Cross is displayed before the DSM, it would seem that the bar dates to at least 1943. If the fellow was, say, 20 years old when he was in the Philippines, he would have been in his mid-fifties in '43. Quite possibly a senior officer by the end of the war and open to getting the DSM. Unlike most U.S. ribbon bars, this might be sufficiently unique to research. It was mentioned that there were other ribbons obtained at the same time. It might be worthwhile to show them as well in case some of them also belong with those already pictured. And of course, as is always the case, this could easily be someone's fantasy bar, put together to impress the folks at home.

Though I never met the guy (a bit before my time in this area), Studley lived about eight miles from my house. So, his old catalogs sometimes show up in this area, and I have three of them from 1945 to 1961. He called this ribbon the "Allied Service" medal, which explains the hodgepodge of colors. It was totally unofficial and one of several he cooked up for vets who wanted a bit more "fruit salad" on their chest.

Strictly a recent fantasy piece.

Yes, the central, circular emblem with the eagle's head replicates the sleeve emblem of the Freikorps Chiemgau. It was a sub-unit of the well-known Freikorps von Epp. Led by Obergeometer Rudolf Kanzler, the unit participated in the fighting in Munich. I have never seen this version of the emblem before. Would love to know what the reverse looks like. A "tinnie" attachment or pinback badge?

The only ship mention I've seen in any literature was for the Austro-Hungarian cruiser S.M.S. Kaiserin Elisabeth. However, that was in the context of extending the award to foreign recipients in 1928. Hope that helps a tiny bit.

From that wonderfully unique, insightful, and erudite book Awards of the German Freikorps (quoted in toto with permission of the author): The Baltic had for centuries held a facination for many Germans, and following WWI the new "crusaders" of the Freikorps moved into the area motivated by the threat of Bolshevik expansion there, in hopes of obtaining a base for attacks on the post-war German government and to obtain land for estates and settlements. One group representing the latter interests was the SSVK (Soldaten Siedlung Verbandes Kurland or Soldier's Settlement Association) whose spokesman Karl Freiherr von Manteuffel encouraged Awalloff Bermondt to create a medal for Baltic fighters, influential supporters, and others instrumental in the settlement organization. A medal was designed by v. Manteuffel and it was executed by Professor Emil Doepler and struck by the Oertel firm of Berlin. The 33 mm gilded medal shows a knight riding to the east. The reverse bears v. Manteuffel's family coat of arms . . . Awards were made from 1919 until 1923.

Originally, you had to have been a "front fighter" to become a member of the organization. Later, they started letting in younger men (and women in an auxiliary) who had not served at the front and they were allowed to wear a member's pin, but without the IC. The "circle" on your pin is just the rendering of a helmet's side lug.

Thanks for the detailed comments. Just what I was looking for!

Any insights about the period of manufacture and use of this version would be appreciated. Current approximate value would also be helpful. Thanks!