Dave Danner

Chris Hobson, Vietnam Air Losses: United States Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia, 1961?1973 (2001) catalogues U.S. aircraft losses. For what it's worth, however, I would note that Vietnam was not the only place to find Soviet SAMs in that time frame. Three Soviet Voiska PVO brigades deployed to Egypt in March 1970 during the later stages of the War of Attrition. A Soviet SA-3 battery hit an IAF Phantom in early August, but the pilot managed to bring the damaged plane home. Two other aircraft, a Dassault Mirage IIICJ and an F-4E Phantom II, were shot down by AAA or SAMs on 3 August, but it is unclear whether these were Egyptian- or Soviet-manned batteries. The War of Attrition more or less officially ended on August 4, and there were no other losses to AAA/SAMs that month.

1. Robotnikowi fizycznemu ze Skladnicy Mat. Int. Nr. 13 w Bialymstoku Manual laborer in Materials [________] Warehouse No. 13 in Bialystok. I'm not sure about the Int. - there are very few Polish words that begin with "int" and few seem right in context. If intendance is a loan word from French, it might be "materials disbursement" warehouse, which would make Dudeman's "supply" pretty much accurate. By the way, the "l" in Skladnica and Bialystok should have a line through it, but this website or my computer won't show the right letter. 2. Pracownikowi kontraktowemu w Polskim Monopolu Tytoniowym Contract worker in the Polish Tobacco Monopoly. By the way, both occupation names are in the dative case, so they are the indirect object of some verb you didn't quote. In the nominative, they would be robotnik fizyczny and pracownik kontraktowy.

National Order of the Malagasy Republic, founded on 23 September 1959. The name was changed from Malagasy Republic (Repoblika Malagasy) to Republic of Madagascar (Repoblika n'i Madagasikara) in 1975 or 1976.

I looked through what I have at home and I don't have much left from sub-Saharan Africa, besides the Ethiopian medals previously noted. For orders, I have an Order of Merit from the Republic of the Congo (AKA Congo-Brazzaville, the former French colony on the other side of the Congo River from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, AKA Congo-Kinshasa, formerly Zaire, formerly Congo, formerly the Belgian Congo). For decorations, I have a Distinguished Service Medal from Nigeria, a Military Merit Cross from Zaire and the aforementioned Zairean Croix de Guerre. The rest are mostly campaign, commemorative and long-service medals from South Africa, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Congo/Zaire and Somalia. These include the Somali campaign medals for the 1964 and 1977-78 wars with Ethiopia, and the Zimbabwean medal for service in Mozambique, where Zimbabwean troops protected the rail/river lines of the Beira Corridor from RENAMO rebels (the medal states "In defence of Zimbabwe economic lifeline-Mocambique").

The Zaire cross was basically their version of the Croix de Guerre. The current republic has the same cross with, if I remember correctly, DRC on the reverse for Democratic Republic of the Congo (though it should be RDC, Republique Democratique Congolaise). The Zaire version often shows up in French groups from the Kolwezi operation.

My grandfather was born in a small village near Freiburg im Breisgau. I used to live in Heidelberg, and when I was in law school, I spent some time as a student at Ruprecht-Karls-Universit?t.

Ed Emering's website shows a fairly good selection of colonial and post-colonial awards, mainly for the former French colonies and Congo/Zaire/Congo. Main medal index: http://www.emering.com/medals/ Former French colonies: http://www.emering.com/medals/french/index.html Congo (Zaire): http://www.emering.com/medals/drc/index.html Belgian Congo: http://www.emering.com/medals/belgian/index.html I have a number of medals from Nigeria, Congo and elsewhere, but most aren't scanned. Some of my Ethiopian decorations are here: http://home.att.net/~ordersandmedals/ethiopia.htm

And a Latvian soldier of the division receiving the medal:

A little more on that Multinational Division Central-South Commemorative Medal. Here is a picture of Maj. Gen. Gruszka back in Iraq at a ceremony. Note that the Lt. Colonel (I can't make out the name tape; looks like "_arkowski") has just received the medal.

Here is my Order of Danilo I, Commander's Cross:

That one is mine. I picked it up off eBay several years ago from a person in Chile. He was selling a bunch of decorations, mostly 1st class/Grand Commander types like this, that probably came from the estate of a diplomat or minister. He sold them all separately, so they are all to the four winds now.

Breast star:

Order of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, First Class Sash badge:

Major General Gruszka currently commands the Polish-led Multinational Division Central-South, operating in mainly Shi'ite areas of south-central Iraq and including troops from a dozen or so countries. The wings are parachute instructor wings (gold wreath). Decorations are: Order of Polonia Restituta Cross of Merit (Gold) Medal "Armed Forces in Service for the Country" (Silver - 15 years) Medal "for Merit in the Defense of the Country" (Gold) US Army Achievement Medal ? (presumably foreign) Multinational Division Central-South Commemorative Medal NATO Medal UNDOF (UN Disengagement Observer Force, Golan) Medal Badge below the ribbons is for the 2nd Mechanized Corps (2 Korpus Zmechanizowany). Badge above the nametag is US Master Parachutist's Badge. Below the nametag is the badge of the 25th Air Cavalry Brigade (25 Brygada Kawalerii Powietrznej).

Sort of like the non-combatant EK on the combatant ribbon situation we occasionally run into (albeit in reverse).

Mine: 1st - Order of the Lion of Finland, Commander 1st Class; Order of the Cross of Liberty 3rd Class with Swords, on the Peacetime Ribbon; Order of the Cross of Liberty 4th Class with Swords, on the War Ribbon. 2nd - Order of the Cross of Liberty 3rd Class with Swords; Order of the Cross of Liberty 4th Class with Oakleaves; Order of the Cross of Liberty 4th Class with Swords; Winter War Medal; Continuation War Medal. 3rd - Order of the Cross of Liberty 4th Class with Swords; War of Independence Commemorative Medal; Winter War Medal; Battle of Tampere (1918) Commemorative Medal; Civil Guard Medal of Merit. The last one spans both World Wars

Mine is also a Rose, which came cased.

The 1923 War Department report on decorations conferred in World War One to U.S. servicemen indicates the following Montenegrin awards: Obilitch medal - 1 Order of Prince Danilo I - 125 (1 Grand Cross, 10 Grand Officer, 62 Commander, 20 Officer, 32 Knight) Medal for Military Bravery - 94 Medal for Zeal - 10 (4 Gold, 6 Silver) War cross - 1 For Serbia: Star of Karageorge, Knight Grand Cross - 1 Order of the White Eagle - 32 (2 Grand Officer, 9 Commander, 17 Officer, 4 Knight) Order of St. Sava - 19 (2 Grand Officer, 1 Commander, 8 Officer, 8 Knight) Medal for bravery, gold - 1 I don't know how complete this is.

The only major question I have is whether the Austrian Republic fire & rescue decoration was allowed to still be worn post-Anschluss, and whether the marriage of it and the Third Reich civil service long service cross might constitute double-dipping.

1. The precedence is correct. The Austrian 1873 War Medal, a general service medal, doesn't belong, but is commonly seen as many Austrians assumed World War I counted as another campaign, and there was no king and Kaiser around anymore to tell them no. 2. The Karl-Truppen-Kreuz is on the correct ribbon. 3. It is a post-Anschluss bar, so German war decorations like the KVK2 take precedence over war decorations of German states. 4. You are correct: Feuerwehr und Rettungsmedaille f?r 25 Jahre, in use from 1922 to 1934. 5. Austrian Commemorative Medals are often not seen on post-Anschluss bars, especially when there is a German Honor Cross. 6. You had to apply for the Bulgarian commemorative, so unless you went to the trouble, you wouldn't have one. This guy already had one Bulgarian decoration, and may not have felt the need to go to the trouble of getting yet another commemorative for the same war (although he did get the Tirolean one). The bar fits an Austrian fireman or similar occupation who served as an enlisted man or junior NCO on the frontlines in World War One, but not long enough to qualify for a military long service decoration. After the war, service in Carinthia (shown by the Erinnerungskreuz an den K?rntner Freiheitskampf 1918/19) and then back to Feuerwehr or Rettungsdienst. World War Two service in the same capacity, as indicated by the KVK without swords and the German Red Cross decoration.

419 names on the rolls, with 5 crossed out later for unknown reasons.

Well, assuming it is the same, this appears to be the medal Lukasz Gaszewski identifies as the Multinational Division Central-South Commemorative Medal (Medal pamiatkowy Wielonarodowej Dywizji Centrum-Poludnie). http://www.medals.lava.pl/pl/pl4b3.htm So perhaps still nothing confirmed on Iraqi medals. However, it does seem to indicate that this is more than an unofficial decoration.

Officer's Cross, Christian X:

Another Commander's Cross from the reign of Christian X:

I see Ed's thread on Afghanistan. Seen anything on Iraq yet? Here is then-Brig. Gen. Edward Gruszka, former deputy commander of MND-CS (and now a major general commanding MND-CS). I would guess that the red-white-black ribbon is Iraqi. No idea what medal it represents.