Dave Danner

I don't know of a BSM-specific site, but: One of Tom's pages on his Purple Heart site discusses engraving styles in general: http://www.purplehearts.net/id8.html Andrew Lipps' dealer site also has lots of information for researchers and collectors on engraving, fakes, etc.: http://www.wartimecollectables.com/

I would suggest Googling 1LT Gregory's name; there are a fair number of articles on Army websites and blogs about him. On foreign awards of the Bronze Star Medal, I'm not sure if there are any comprehensive publicly available statistics, though a FOIA request to the offices in the Pentagon and State Department which approve such nominations might bear fruit. There certainly have been a number of French and Saudi recipients of the BSM. One country I know a little about is Australia. According to Brigadier Mike Hannan, prior to the beginning of OEF, 116 Australians had received permission to wear the Bronze Star Medal. He did not indicate whether this was all Bronze Star Medals or just meritorious ones (he was speaking in the context of Lt. Col. Tink's award, described below), but I think he meant just meritorious ones. I think this because the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia states that 69 Bronze Star Medals with "V" for valor and 83 Bronze Star Medals for merit were received by Australians in Vietnam alone (30 Australians received Silver Star Medals and one, WOII Keith Payne VC, also received the Distinguished Service Cross). In July 2002, Lt. Col. Rowan Tink, an SASR officer commanding the Australian Special Forces Task Group, became the 117th. Story and photo here (he doesn't look too happy in that photo, possibly because its existence is evidence that his career as an SAS operator is over). Five other SASR soldiers received U.S. Army Commendation Medals, but their names were not released. No. 118 was Maj. Steve Jobson, a helicopter pilot who had completed a tour as an exchange officer with the 82nd Airborne who also served in Afghanistan. Defence release here. There have been quite a few since, but I don't have a full list. OIF recipients include: Col. Peter "Ted" Acutt, Australian ArmyCol. Andrew "Boomer" Smith, Australian ArmyLt. Col. Chris Field , Australian ArmyMaj. Perry Gunder, Australian ArmyMaj. Joel Dooley, Australian ArmyMaj. Brent Maddock, Australian ArmyMaj. Scott Winter, Australian ArmyWO1 Patrick Hills, Australian ArmyCapt. Toff Idrus, RANCapt. Aaron Ingram, RANCapt. David McCourt, RANCdr. Michael Spruce, RANGroup Capt. Bill Henman, RAAFGroup Capt. Ric Casagrande, RAAFWing Cdr. Gregory Shaw, RAAFAs you can see, most of these are field grade officers. Foreign recipients of U.S. decorations are often exchange officers or staff officers on multinational task forces (in peacetime, they often get the noncmbat version of the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal).

By the way, I took a little time yesterday to see how many of the recipients of higher awards I could ID, whihc was an interesting insight also into how well (or badly) their acts have been publicized. I already knew SFC Smith, the MOH recipient, and all the Navy Cross and DSC recipients. For Army Silver Star recipients, I have been able to identify 35 OEF ones but only 80 OIF ones. Also, a few I identified received theirs after January 1, 2006, so they are not included in the totals above. I also have two names for which I don't know whether they are OIF or OEF recipients - Sergeant 1st Class Colin Boley of 3rd Ranger Battalion and Sergeant Brian Wilson of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. For Afghanistan, at least, the interesting thing is how many special operators are represented. While this is an SOF-heavy conflict, there are also lots of conventional forces there as well, and special operators are traditionally given fewer awards than conventional troops. But of the 35 I know of, 15 were awarded to Special Forces soldiers and 11 to Army Rangers. Of the other nine, 5 were to paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and four were to soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division. The other was to an aviator of the 12th Aviation Brigade. For Iraq, I have a much smaller sample, so it is hard to draw conclusions. Most awards have been to infantrymen and combat medics, or soldiers in other branches serving in an infantry role. There have also been a number to armor/cavalry soldiers. Of the 80, 11 were to Special Forces soldiers. I only have names for two Rangers, but that's because the 75th Ranger Regiment hasn't released the names of several others. One officer, 1st Lt. Karl E. Gregory, managed to earn a Silver Star, a Soldier's Medal, a Bronze Star with "V" and an Army Commendation Medal with "V" - four separate valor awards, during his tour in Iraq with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, part of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division (the "Big Red One"). Combined with another Bronze Star for merit and a Purple Heart for wounds he received, and he's possibly the most decorated OIF veteran out there now.

Updated numbers: U.S. Army, as of December 31, 2005: Operation Iraqi Freedom: Medal of Honor - 1 Distinguished Service Cross - 2 Silver Star Medal - 192 Legion of Merit - 21 Distinguished Flying Cross - 37 Soldier's Medal - 73 Bronze Star Medal with "V" - 1,026 Bronze Star Medal for service/achievement - 36,608 Air Medal with "V" - 384 Air Medal for service/achievement - 8,212 Army Commendation Medal with "V" - 2,773 Army Commendation Medal for service/achievement - 101,172 Combat Infantryman Badge - 22,408 Combat Medical Badge - 6,416 Combat Action Badge - 14,352Operation Enduring Freedom: Medal of Honor - 0 Distinguished Service Cross - 1 Silver Star Medal - 39 Legion of Merit - 3 Distinguished Flying Cross - 54 Soldier's Medal - 16 Bronze Star Medal with "V" - 508 Bronze Star Medal for service/achievement - 8,915 Air Medal with "V" - 253 Air Medal for service/achievement - 2,499 Army Commendation Medal with "V" - 357 Army Commendation Medal for service/achievement - 16,151 Combat Infantryman Badge - 9,369 Combat Medical Badge - 912 Combat Action Badge - 1,717U.S. Marine Corps, as of December 18, 2005: Operation Iraqi Freedom: Medal Of Honor - 0 Navy Cross - 8 Silver Star Medal - 35 Legion Of Merit with "V" - 23 Legion Of Merit - 7 Distinguished Flying Cross with "V" - 14 Distinguished Flying Cross - 3 Bronze Star Medal with "V" - 617 Bronze Star Medal for service/achievement - 1126 Air Medal with "V" - 411 Air Medal for individual action - 157 Air Medal Strike/Flight - 2288 Navy And Marine Corps Commendation Medal with "V" - 2877 Navy And Marine Corps Achievement Medal with "V" - 4901Operation Enduring Freedom: Medal Of Honor - 0 Navy Cross ? 0 (note, this is now 1) Silver Star Medal - 1 Legion Of Merit with "V" - 0 Legion Of Merit - 2 Distinguished Flying Cross with "V" - 0 Distinguished Flying Cross - 0 Bronze Star Medal with "V" - 25 Bronze Star Medal for service/achievement - 46 Air Medal with "V" - 75 Air Medal for individual action - 4 Air Medal Strike/Flight - 503 Navy And Marine Corps Commendation Medal with "V" - 33 Navy And Marine Corps Achievement Medal with "V" - 63 Combat Action Ribbon - 5084

I think your guess is probably right, but there are some countries where precedence is odd, such that native decorations precede foreign decorations and native service medals precede foreign service medals, but occasionally a foreign decoration might precede a native service medal. That said, I can't tell conclusively, but the full-sized KLM looks to be on a crimp brooch. Aren't Saudi-issued medals normally on French-style prongs? That would make this a U.S.-produced one, not Saudi. An alternative interpretation is that it is the bottom row of, say, a French officer's rack, with his US and Saudi awards. Of course, for odd precedence, there's always this guy. If anyone knows who he is, speak up. The Air Force doesn't even know (he's classed as "unidentified" on the AFHRA website).

As a practical matter, the time it takes for an award to be recommended, processed and conferred varies. Here are some examples: Neil Prakash, a 1LT with 2-63 AR (2nd Battalion, 63rd Armor), received a Silver Star Medal at a ceremony on January 14, 2005. The action for which he was honored took place on June 24, 2004, so about seven months. Article here. Here is 1LT Prakash: On May 26, 2005, two of Prakash's NCOs, Staff Sergeant Terry and Sergeant Pritsolas, received Bronze Star Medals for their actions in Fallujah in November 2004, when Marines and Army troops retook the city. SGT Pritsolas receiving BSM SSG Terry receiving BSM 1LT Prakash and SGT Pritsolas, before Pritsolas received his BSM Note that at the awards ceremony, SSG Terry and SGT Pritsolas are wearing woodland BDUs. Their unit returned to Germany at the end of February 2005. SSG Terry had previously received a Bronze Star Medal with "V" for valor for the June 24, 2004 operation where 1LT Prakash earned the Silver Star Medal. He received the BSM w/"V" at the end of December 2004. It's possible the award was approved earlier, but the awards ceremony delayed because his unit was in combat in November-December 2004. SSG Terry receiving BSM w/"V" Here is Prakash's description of the awards and the bureaucracy that sometimes intervenes:

The link is to the Army Institute of Heraldry; you can also find the distinctive unit insignia for every other current unit there, as well as any other official insignia such as medals, qualification badges and rank insignia. Here is the main page: http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/ When awards are made is complex and convoluted. Certain awards are pretty much immediate, like the Purple Heart. Others require an approval process. The lower the award, the lower the approving authority necessary (battalion commanders can approve Army Achievement Medals on their own authority, for example). Also, during wartime, approval authority normally required at HQ Department of the Army level is often devolved to field commanders. For example, this MILPER message addresses delegation of wartime awards approval authority to the Commanding General, Multi-National Force ? Iraq (MNF-I) and his further authority to delegate awards approval authority to his subordinate commanders: https://www.hrc.army.mil/site/active/TAGD/a...NF-I_Aug_04.pdf For service medals as opposed to decorations, generally, as soon as you meet the qualifications (minimum time in theater, for example), the award is automatic and no official orders are required. The medal is added to your personnel record by the unit personnel clerks, and you can add it to your ribbon bar immediately. Sometimes units like to have official ceremonies, often when returning from a deployment, when the medal is handed out, but technically the soldier is already qualified.

One revision to what I noted above. Seven members of the 507th Maintenance Company were taken prisoner. Six were rescued. One, Sgt. Donald R. Walters, was captured and later murdered by the Saddam Fedayeen.

The Desert Storm POW/MIA is Michael Scott Speicher. He was a Lieutenant Commander when he was shot down, but has subsequently been promoted to Captain. He was a naval aviator with Strike Fighter Squadron Eight One (VFA-81), flying off the USS Saratoga. He is still listed as a POW, although what happened to him remains unknown. During the major ground operations phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom, eight American soldiers were taken prisoner by Iraqi forces - six from the ambushed convoy of the 507th Maintenance Company and two from a crashed AH-64 Apache. One of the eight, Pfc. Jessica Lynch, was rescued by special operations forces on April 2, 2003. The other seven were rescued by U.S. Marines on April 13, 2003, who were tipped by Iraqi civilians to their whereabouts after their captors abandoned them as U.S. forces approached Tikrit. The current OIF MIA was captured during the insurgency phase, on April 9, 2004. He was PFC Keith M. Maupin (subsequently promoted to sergeant), of the 724th Transportation Company, U.S. Army Reserve. http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/04/17/missing.s...oted/index.html

The unit only deployed in August 2005, arriving in Iraq in early September, so it is a bit early for most awards, which take time to process. They have had two soldiers killed in action and at least one wounded in action. By the way, it is not "2nd Battalion of the 127th National Guard"; it is 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry, Wisconsin Army National Guard, or 2-172 IN in the Army's shorthand. It is an element of the 32nd Infantry Brigade (Separate) (Light), descendant of the 32nd Infantry Division. Here is a link with better images and a description of the 127th Infantry's distinctive unit insignia: http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Inf/127I...tryRegiment.htm

One small update - a week ago, the Marine Corps awarded its first Navy Cross for Afghanistan: http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf...86?opendocument http://www.beaufortgazette.com/local_news/...p-4995887c.html

From the Military Awards Branch, HQMC and the Military Awards Branch, U.S. Army Human Resources Command. The media show little interest in stories of heroism by servicemen in OEF and OIF and the services' public affairs departments don't do too much to push publicity either.

As of 30 November 2005, the Army has awarded 184 Silver Star Medals for Operation Iraqi Freedom, along with the aforementioned Medal of Honor to SFC Smith and two Distinguished Service Crosses. Also, 73 Soldier's Medals for non-combat valor, 966 Bronze Star Medals with the "V" device for valor, 369 Air Medals with "V" and 2,727 Army Commendation Medals with "V". For Operation Enduring Freedom, primarily Afghanistan, the Army has awarded 1 DSC, 39 Silver Star Medals, 16 Soldier's Medals, 504 Bronze Star Medals with "V", 245 Air Medals with "V" and 325 Army Commendation Medals with "V". As of April 28, 2005, for OIF the Marine Corps had awarded eight Navy Crosses, 24 Silver Star Medals, 23 Legions of Merit with "V", 396 Bronze Star Medals with "V", 411 Air Medals with "V", 1,748 Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals with "V", and 3,148 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals with "V". For OEF, where the Marine role is significantly smaller, the Marines had awarded 1 Silver Star Medal, 25 Bronze Star Medals with "V", 75 Air Medals with "V", 33 Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals with "V", and 63 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals with "V". I don't have comprehensive statistics for the Navy or Air Force, or more recent numbers for the Army and Marine Corps. For both OIF and OEF, though, through 10 November 2004 the Air Force had awarded 2 Air Force Crosses and 30 Silver Star Medals. Both of the Air Force Crosses and most of the Silver Star Medals were for Afghanistan. Of the 24 Air Force Silver Star Medal recipients for whom I have names, 17 were for Afghanistan and 7 for Iraq. I also know of at least 11 Air Force Silver Star Medal recipients for the Kosovo war. The Army awarded no valor awards for Kosovo. No idea about other awards or other services.

It would pretty much correspond to her awards. Shoshanna Johnson, another POW far less famous than PFC Lynch, also had an Army Commendation Medal and a Good Conduct Medal.

That is what his bio says, though. Oberleutnant as of 6 June 1916, then Rittmeister on 1 March 1923. From 24 February 1918: Adjutant, 3.Garde-Kavallerie-Brigade. 8 September 1918-27 September 1918: Detached to the Military Commission in St. Petersburg. His Cross of Liberty II. Class with Swords is as of 7 May 1918. My best guess is that while dated as of then, he didn't actually get it until later, and the Finns may have given him a "bump up" based not on his grade as of then, but as of the date actually conferred.

Not that anyone asked (or possibly cares), but there were also several Imperial Army veterans in the East German armed forces. However, the East Germans and their Soviet masters did not permit the wearing of any Imperial German, Weimar or Nazi era decorations. Among these, with their known WW1 decorations, were: Wilhelm Adam - ? G?nther A?mann - ? Rudolf Bamler - EK1, EK2 Walter Freytag - EK1, EK2, HHO3x Otto Korfes - ? Arno von Lenski - EK1, EK2, bMVO4x, SA3bx, ?MVK3xKD Vincenz M?ller - EK1, EK2, wF3bx, TM5x, TWM Hans Wulz - ?

One more naval officer: Konteradmiral Gerhard Wagner. Born in 1898, he entered the Imperial Navy in 1916 and was commissioned a Leutnant zur See in September 1918. A surface warfare officer, he worked his way up through the ranks in staff positions and on torpedo boats and destroyers. He spent most of the second war as Chief of Operations in the Seekriegsleitung, a position analogous to Heusinger's position at OKH. He was deputy inspector of the Bundesmarine and chief of the navy operations staff from 1957 to 1961, and then became Director of the NATO Planning Staff at COMNAVNORCENT (Commander, Allied Naval Forces North Central). In April 1962, he became COMNAVBALTAP (Commander, Allied Naval Forces, Baltic Approaches) with the temporary rank of Vizeadmiral, until retiring at the end of the year. I don't have a list of all awards, but I know from photos that he had at least the German Cross in Gold, Spanish Cross, 1939 EK1 and 1914 EK2 with 1939 clasp. He served with Freikorps Potsdam in Berlin, so probably no Baltic Cross.

And how would you characterize Konteradmiral Rolf Johannesson? He was born in 1900 and entered the Imperial Navy as a sea cadet in 1918. The war ended while he was still in initial training. However, he was soon in one of the naval battalions in the Freikorps and saw action in 1919. He was decorated with the 1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class in July 1919, one of a number of post-war Imperial decorations of questionable legality. He also received the Baltic Cross. His WW2 service was mainly in destroyers, earning him a Knight's Cross and a German Cross in Gold. In 1957, he reentered the Bundeswehr as Commander of Sea Forces (1957-1958) and Commander of the Fleet (1958-1961).

At least Andersen wasn't too lonely. Herbert Giese also started out in the army, as a Field Artillery officer in 1918, leaving the army after the war. He returned to the army in 1925 and transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1935 as a Flak officer. He spent the second war mainly as a chief of staff of various Flak commands, and also entered the Bundesgrenzschutz in 1951, serving until retirement in 1959.

Kurt Andersen couldn't decide where he wanted to be. Born in 1898, he enlisted in 1915 just three months after his 16th birthday. Initially a machinegunner, he went into signals in 1916. Released from the army after Freikorps service in 1919, he entered the police. In 1935 he left the police for the Luftwaffe, serving as a Flak officer. His Flak units were forward support units, not home defense, and saw extensive use in ground combat on the Russian front, where he qualified for the Luftwaffe Ground Combat Badge and earned the Knight's Cross. After the war, he entered the Bundesgrenzschutz in 1951, where he served until retirement in 1961 as a Brigadegeneral. Just a grunt, his enlisted awards were the Iron Cross 2nd Class, Wound Badge in Black and Honor Cross for Combatants, plus his post-war Baltic Cross.

Besides Kammhuber, other Bundesluftwaffe veterans of World War One include Joachim-Friedrich Huth and Max-Josef Ibel. A bio of Huth is here: http://www.geocities.com/~orion47/WEHRMACH...-FRIEDRICH.html Huth received the EK1 and EK2 in WW1, as well as the Prussian Pilot's Badge. He also had the Luftwaffe Combined Pilot/Observer Badge, so if he managed to qualify for the West German wings, he might be the only one with all three (Kammhuber and Ibel were not pilots in WW1). For Ibel: http://www.geocities.com/~orion47/WEHRMACH...r/IBEL_MAX.html Ibel's WW1 awards include the EK1 and EK2 and the Bavarian Military Merit Order 4th Class with Swords. The pic of him in Bundesluftwaffe uniform here shows the ribbon bar, but is too small for detail.

GenLt. Max-Josef Pemsel Born on 15 January 1897 in Regensburg, he entered Bavarian 11. Infanterie-Regiment von der Tann in 1916 as a war volunteer. He was soon a Gefreiter and Unteroffizier, and then an officer candidate. Commissioned without patent on 30 April 1918. He later received a backdated patent. He ended the war as a company commander in bay.IR11. In the interwar years he worked his way up the infantry and mountain troops ranks, and at war's outbreak he was ia of 1. Gebirgs-Division. In October 1939, he became 1a of XVIII Armeekorps (later renamed XVIII Gebirgs-Armekorps), and became the corps' chief of staff in 1940. From June 1943 to August 1944, he was chief of staff of 7. Armee, and in August 1944, he became commanding general of 6. Gebirgs-Division. In April 1945, he became chief of staff of the Ligurian Army. In 1956, he entered the Bundeswehr as a Generalmajor and commander of Wehrbereichskommando VI (M?nchen). In 1957, he became commanding general of II (German) Corps in Ulm, leading it until retirement in 1961 as a Generalleutnant. Decorations include: ? Gro?es Bundesverdienstkreuz mit Stern ? Knight?s Cross ? 1914 EK1 with 1939 clasp ? 1914 EK2 with 1939 clasp ? Bavarian Military Merit Order 4th Class with Swords ? German Olympic Games Decoration, 2nd Class ? Finland: Cross of Liberty, 2nd Class with Swords ? Hungary: Order of Merit, Commander?s Cross with Swords ? Freistaat Bavaria: Merit Order (post-WW2) ? USA: Legion of Merit, Officer

GenMaj. Oskar Munzel Born on 13 March 1899, he entered service on 3 July 1917, receiving his patent as Leutnant as of 5 November 1918. He served with Ulanen-Regiment Graf zu Dohna (Ostpreu?isches) Nr. 8 and continued in the Reichsheer with 1. Reiter-Regt. In World War Two, he in commanded a battalion of Pz.Regt. 6 in 1941, and took command of the regiment that December, leading it through until February 1943 and earning the German Cross in Gold. In February 1943, he became head of tactical instruction at the Panzertruppenschule II, and then commander of Panzertruppenschule I. In September 1944, he took command of 14.Panzerdivision, earning the Knight's Cross, and led a corps group of 1. Panzerarmee in early 1945 before taking over 2.Panzerdivision in March. He ended the war as Hohere Panzeroffizier bei OB West. Entering the Bundeswehr in 1956 as a Brigadegeneral, he commanded the Panzertruppenschule at Munster and was then Inspector of Panzertruppen and Panzergrenadiertruppen in the Truppenamt. I've only seen one grainy photo of him in Bundeswehr uniform, viewable here: http://www.das-ritterkreuz.de/index_search...archword=munzel His EK2 appears to be a 1914 with the 1939 clasp, but the EK1 is apparently a 1939, so he likely had just the EK2 and FKE for WW1.

One more: GenLt. Gerhard Matzky. Born on 19 March 1894, he entered service with 4. Oberschlesisches Inf.-Regt. Nr. 63 before World War I (his patent is dated 1911, but was likely backdated). He served in Upper Silesia in the Freikorps after the war (so he should have the Silesian Eagle, but I don't see it on his awards list). He was Military Attache in Tokyo when the war began, and commanded 21. Infanterie-Division in 1943-44, and then XXVIII and XXVI Armeekorps until war's end. In 1951, he became Inspector of the Bundesgrenzschutz. In the Bundeswehr, he commanded I (German) Corps. Decorations include: Knight's Cross German Cross in Gold 1914 EK1 with 1939 clasp 1914 EK2 with 1939 clasp- EK I: 00.08.1915 Hamburg Hanseatic Cross Saxe-Meiningen Cross for Merit in War Wound Badge in Silver War Merit Cross I. and II. Class with Swords Finnish Cross of Liberty I. Class with Swords Gro?es Bundesverdienstkreuz

GenMaj. Richard Schimpf. Born 16 May 1897, died 30 December 1972. Entered service as a Fahnenjunker with 9. bayerisches Infanterie-Regiment Wrede. He transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1935 and held various command and staff positions until taking command of Luftwaffe-Division Meindl in September 1942 and 21.Luftwaffe-Feld-Division in November. He took command of 3. Fallschirm-Division shortly before the Normandy invasion and was severely wounded fighting the Allies in France in August 1944. He returned to command his division in January 1945, leading it until the end of the war. He reentered the Luftwaffe in 1957, commanding Wehrbereichskommando III (D?sseldorf) until 1962. Decorations include: Knight's Cross German Cross in Gold 1914 EK1 with 1939 clasp 1914 EK2 with 1939 clasp Bavarian Military Merit Order 4th Class with Swords Wound Badge in Black Medaille "Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/1942" Hungarian Pilot's Badge Gro?es Bundesverdienstkreuz.