Christophe

Bryan, Your photos are fantastic!!! Excellent find!!! Cheers. Ch.

Here is a real one, from the Museum of the Defence and Blockade of Leningrad (St Petersburg). Ch. Pic : ? Christophe ? ChR Collection

But a fixation system that is in no way soviet... Ch.

Only 67 surviving Companions of the Liberation. We learnt yesterday the death on 11 February 2007 of Andr? Postel-Vinay, Companion of the Lib?ration. Andr? Postel-Vinay, born in 1911, took part in the France combats of June 1940, and has been made prisoner on 17 June. Evaded on 24 June, he will cooperate with the Intelligence Service (Pat O'Leary network in charge of bringing back to England the RAF aviators fallen down on French territory). Betrayed, he will be arrested in December 1941. In September 1942, he made another evasion, wounded and simulating madness, and join Gibraltar. After the war, he will have a brilliant carreer being Secretary of State for Immigrants Workers (1974-1976). Here is his bio (in French) : http://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/fr_compagnon/801.html After his death, there are now only 67 surviving Companions of the Liberation. Ch. Pic : Chancellerie de l'Ordre de la Lib?ration.

Ed, I'm sure you have the answers... Ch.

Hi Belaruski, Have you succeeded in finding complete answers to Christian's questions ? The thread doesn't seem very active these days... Cheers. Ch.

Here are the multiple Lenin bearers : 11 Lenin : Marshal Ustinov 10 Lenin : Academician A.P. Alexandrov - Aircraft constructor A.S. Yakovlev. 9 Lenin : Several including Marshal Chuikov - Polar explorer I.D. Papanin - Minister of Aircraft Industry P.V. Deme,tyev - First deouty Chairman of the Gosplan V.M. Ryabikov - ... Ch.

For France, there also is a fourrag?re for the Ordre de la Lib?ration. Cheers. Ch.

Any idea about the medals of Abb? Pierre (see previous posts with 1945 and post-war pics) ? Ch.

Hi Jaybo, About the Mus?e de l'Arm?e... Project Athena, in its different phases will find an end in 2008-2009 (no more precise date, as far as I know). The Charles de Gaulle historial will be opened on 18 June 2007 . The new thematical departments, from Louis XIV to Napoleon III will open at the beginning of 2008. And more additional spaces dedicated to Napoleon 1st, artillery, military music, military symbolism and heraldry... will be progressively opened in 2008-2009. Back to the the Mus?e de la L?gion d'Honneur, I will certainly try to post good quality pics of these fantatstic orders . And for the beer, no pb. With pleasure, when you want... Cheers. Ch.

Just coming back from a week long trip abroad, and what's in the mail box ? A superb book , with a very nice message from Dave!! Thanks Dave for both!! BTW, what a performance this has been. Just keep in mind (with the following message) that Dave began to seriously think about it at end of June 2006. He had the idea in mind for a while, but I think it is US in this Forum who helped him decide about it. Great work, Dave !! And, when will be the second one ? Cheers. Ch.

Gerd, Congratulations!! Cheers. Ch.

France-Phaleristique is back!!!! The website address is unchanged : http://www.france-phaleristique.com/ A great "thanks" to Marc Champenois. Ch.

Ed, Well said, specifically as this involves two highly valued and respectable Members (Gentlemen) of this Forum. I'm sure this misunderstanding will be cleared and solved easily... between Gentlemen. Cheers. Ch.

Christian, Who will ever know? Maybe one day some "memoirs" will help us... Cheers. Ch.

Waoouuh!! What a thread!!! Lucky? No one can be lucky in this quiz... Luck is not enough Ch.

Christian, Who will ever know? It would be interesting to know if the Childs brothers (or at least Morris) ever have been honoured by the USSR after their US Medal of Honour. That's what I would have done in such a case, supposing they continuously worked for me. Just to make this US decoration with less importance... But, after 1987, a lot of things changed... Cheers. Ch.

Only 68 surviving Companions of the Liberation. We learnt this week the death on 25 January 2007 of Joseph Casile, Companion of the Lib?ration. oseph Casile Joseph Casile, born in 1905, took part in Tobrouk capture in 1941, and fought then in Bir-Hakeim in 1942. He is wounded in El-Alamein in October 1942. He will then fight in Tunisia (1943) and will land in Italy in April 1944 and fight in France (Provence, Alsace). After the war he will continue his service in Bangui, and then will go back to civil life in Corsica. Here is his bio (in French) : http://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/fr_compagnon/181.html After his death, there are now only 68 surviving Companions of the Liberation. Ch. Pic : Chancellerie de l'Ordre de la Lib?ration.

Only 69 surviving Companions of the Liberation. On 9 January 2007 died Jean-Pierre Vernant, Companion of the Lib?ration. Jean-Pierre Vernant, was a Resistance leader and Hellenist. Jean-Pierre Vernant, wartime resistant and classical scholal is born in Provins on 4 January 1914. He was the son of a father who was killed in the First World War. In 1937 he passed out top in the agr?gation in Philosophy for the whole of France, shortly after his brother had achieved the same distinction. I did his military service shortly after in October 1937, and is Sergent-Chef in the Infantery at the time the war began. He is discharged from the army after the fall of France, and join the Resistance in July 1940 in Toulouse, where he is a teacher. He helped form the Arm?e Secr?te in 1942, and by the end of the Second World War, as Colonel Berthier of the Forces Fran?aises de l'Int?rieur, was commander of the entire Resistance movement in Haute-Garonne, organising the liberation of Toulouse on 19-20 August 1944. His ability to unify the many independent groups made Toulouse a centre of the Resistance and one of the most active theatres of clandestine warfare in France. Their operations included disrupting railway and road supplies, sabotaging factory production, organising the main escape route to Spain for Allied pilots who escaped or were shot down. After the war, he will become again a professor, and a famous hellenist. He wrote a number of books on this subject, including the famous "Les origines de la pens?e grecque" in 1962. In 1975, is is appointed Professor in College de France. Here is his bio (in French) : http://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/fr_compagnon/1009.html After his death, there are now only 69 surviving Companions of the Liberation. Ch. Pic : Chancellerie de l'Ordre de la Lib?ration.

Great Christian, you got it. Here are more details about this fascinating story : During most of the Cold War, donations were made from the Soviet Union to the CPUSA (Communist Party of the United States). The idea was encourage the revival of Communism on the territory of the Main Adversary after the disintegration of the Party in the mid-1950s. The leader of the CPUSA at that time (from 1959), was Gus Hall. In April 1958, Morris Childs, a veteran member of the CPUSA leadership and former editor of the ?Daily Worker? - the Party newspaper- , was invited to Moscow to discuss financial help for his party. Morris Childs was from russian origin; Morris Chilovsky being his name at birth. Subsidies were immediately given by Boris Ponomarev, head of the Central Committee international department. These took place at first via the Canadian Communist Party, and then directly through Morris Childs and his brother Jack Childs (an undeclared communist who had worked for the Komintern in the 1930?s). Morris Childs usually visited Moscow at least once a year to present the CPUSA budget and request for funds, and receive instructions from the International Department and the KGB. Jack acted as the main point of contact for the handover of money. The message with details for the transmission of the funds was passed via a coded message to a CPUSA radio operator in New York, and then passed to Jack Childs. But, since the early 1950?s both Morris and Jack Childs were also FBI agents, as it undertook a long-term and highly classified counter-intelligence operation against the CPUSA. The FBI convinced Morris Childs to report on Party activities to the FBI. His brother, Jack, agreed to act as an informant as well. Even if, in 1974, the KGB had serious suspicions about Morris Childs, no real action was taken. His brother at that time was in poor health. On 8 May 1974, in Moscow, decision was taken to retire both the Childs brother, as there were concerns about their direct involvement in the financial affairs of the CPUSA, and an increasing danger of FBI surveillance (as seen by the Soviet) because of their long involvement in secret work. But nothing happened. In 1975, Morris and Jack Childs were awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Morris received his in person from Brezhnev during a Moscow banquet. In November 1977, the question of the replacement of the Childs brothers has been again raised at another meeting with Hall in Moscow (Hall was still quite reluctant to replace them). Hall again delayed taking action. The Childs brothers continued their actions. Finally, in May 1980, it is the FBI who took the initiative, concluding that the Childs were in imminent danger of being compromised. On 28 may 1980, as a pretext for withdrawing from the ?special channel?, Morris Childs told Hall that he feared to being arrested. Morris Childs retired in Miami. Jack Childs, in failing health for some time, died in a New York hospital on 12 August 1980. Seen from the FBI, the operation was known as SOLO. For nearly 30 years it provided reliable and highly sensitive information about the CPUSA, its activities within the United States, and its relations with the Soviet Union, to the highest authorities in the U.S. government. During these years, among the intelligence reported by the Childs brothers to the FBI were the efforts of the CPUSA leadership to influence on the black civil rights movement, and penetrate Martin Luther King?s entourage. Seen from the Soviets, there has been a CPUSA penetration of the Democratic Party, with a member (not identified) who managed to provide informations to the Soviets from within the Jimmy Carter camp during the 1976 presidential election. The CPUSA was the voice of American communists speaking in Moscow?s spirit from the heartland of world imperialism. In 1987, at a special ceremony at FBI headquarters, Morris was presented by President Reagan with the Presidential Medal of freedom. Jack was awarded the same medal posthumously. It is interesting to notice that both Brezhnev and Reagan, in person, awarded Morris Childs his awards!!! The two brothers became the only spies ever to be decorated by both the Soviet Union and the United States. About this story, you can also read ?The Sword and the Shield ? The Mitrokhin Archive? ? Christopher Andrew & Vasili Mitrokhin ? 1999 ? p. 287-292. Ch.

Ed, I don't believe a word of this... Ch.

My question does not seem very inspiring ... A last hint that should help you partly answer to my questions 1. and 3. : Part of these answers is known as Operation Solo... But, now, you have to answer all 3 questions . Ch.

No progress until now... Ch.

Hi Christian, Difficult to answer and precise... Maybe I just could say that the Soviet awards have been (for one of the two brothers) presented by Brezhnev. The American awards have been presented by President Reagan. Not bad... even if they are not in the Wikipedia list.... (you know what to think about it...). Cheers. Ch.

No new try ? I will help you... These two persons were brothers, and american citizens from russian origin. Hope this helps. Cheers. Ch.