Dave Danner

If it is a World War One award, decidedly rare. From 1914 to 1919: Golden Merit Cross with Swords - 166Golden Merit Cross - 21Silver Merit Cross with Swords - 132Silver Merit Cross - 59

This site has a pretty good overview of patches, including divisions, corps, etc.: http://sapeur14.free.fr/ma%20collection/insignes/accueil.htm This a commercial site, but it has a huge variety of badges and insignia, so it makes a pretty good reference: http://www.i-m-l.com/

For reference or purchase?

In the other thread where these medals came up a few months' back, I provided a link to the latest versions of the regulations governing the medal. http://www.bo.sga.defense.gouv.fr/pdf/2004...6/6054-6076.pdf http://www.bo.sga.defense.gouv.fr/pdf/2005...2/2953-2975.pdf

The one thing I have of note is the different styles of medal. I also have a silver version in the second style, but I don't have a scan of it.

It isn't Turkish. It a Nichan Iftikhar (Order of Glory) from Tunisia.

Geopolitical realities were driving Prussia/Germany and England into rivalry, so it would be overstating the case to focus on personalities. But another interesting variant of what you note is what would have happened had Kaiser Friedrich III not died so soon. As Victoria's son-in-law, married to her eldest daughter, he was closer to her than his son Wilhelm II ever would be. Put him on the throne from 1888 to 1901, when both Queen Victoria and his widow died, and you have ten plus years where England and Germany might not have drifted as far apart. Of course, Belgium, Romania, Greece and Russia also had German rulers or close relationships to German ruling houses, but that didn't stop them from joining the Allies.

If you grant the "black-white" only, it could also be a 1914 EK2 and a colonial Military Decoration 2nd Class. However, I think a longer-serving guy with colonial service would probably be more likely to go by the book and have his other awards.

It gets creepier. The Grand Duchess of Hesse when the Victoria Diamond Jubilee Medal was issued in 1897, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig's wife, was Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. She too was Queen Victoria's granddaughter. Go here - http://lafayette.150m.com/sax1298a.html - for a cool picture of the heir to the Saxon throne, Friedrich August III, and several German officers and a British officer all sporting the Diamond Jubilee Medal. Note that whoever maintains that site has a lot of unknowns on that page. The collective brain trust here could probably fill in the blanks.

Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine (Gro?herzog von Hessen und bei Rhein), was also Queen Victoria's grandson.

There were 144 awards of the Cross 3rd Class with Crown and Swords between 1914 and 1920, primarily to Majors (which given the gilt swords would also fit with a Z?hringer L?wen Knight 1st Class with Swords (514-525 awards in WW1).

Princely House Order of Hohenzollern Cross 3rd Class with Crown and Swords. The narrowly tapering base of the crown is consistent with the princely crown of Hohenzollern. The OZL is also consistent with an officer in F?silier-Regiment F?rst Karl Anton von Hohenzollern (Hohenzollernsches) Nr.40.

Assuming you mean Lippe-Detmold, to be accurate there weren't two classes. The decoration suspended from a ribbon, analogous to an EK2, was the War Merit Cross (Kriegsverdienstkreuz). The pinback decoration, analogous to an EK1, was the War Honor Cross for Heroic Deeds (Kriegsehrenkreuz f?r heldenm?tige Tat). The War Honor Cross for Heroic Deeds was not a higher class of the War Merit Cross. Its award criteria were slightly different and there was no requirement that you have the War Merit Cross before you were eligible for the War Honor Cross for Heroic Deeds. As for Schaumburg-Lippe, the Cross for Loyal Service (Kreuz f?r treue Dienste) also only came in one class. The pinback version wasn't a higher class, but a special version of the cross for members of ruling houses. That didn't seem to stop a lot of these from being made after the war and also sold as "1st Class" versions of the Cross for Loyal Service.

With Brunswick, however, it is the case that the pre-1918 Kriegsverdienstkreuz was officially redesignated the KVK 2. Klasse. Anhalt's Friedrichkreuz was just that. Unless someone has evidence of a Princely Decree or other pre-abdication regulation bifurcating the award, referring to it as a 2nd Class only creates the confusion noted above. The proliferation of post-war "1st Classes" notwithstanding.

Maj. Gen. Robert T. Frederick, the commander of the First Special Service Force, received eight Purple Hearts in World War II, along with two DSCs. Lt. Col. Richard J. Buck also received eight Purple Hearts - 4 in Korea and 4 in Vietnam. Col. David Hackworth also received eight Purple Hearts (4 in Korea and 4 in Vietnam), plus two DSCs and 10 Silver Stars. Medal of Honor recipients Col. Robert L. Howard and Capt. Joe Ronnie Hooper both received eight Purple Hearts during the Vietnam War. There may be at least one other with eight ? a 2002 article from the Topeka Capital-Journal refers to Master Sergeant Roy Hamilton having received one in Korea and seven in Vietnam ? but I can't find confirmation. Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Col. Matt Urban received seven Purple Hearts in World War II. 1st Lt. G. Murl Conner also received seven Purple Hearts in World War II and there is a drive ongoing to elevate his DSC to a Medal of Honor. There is also a move in this regard on behalf of Maj. Gabriel Navarrete, who received the DSC and seven Purple Hearts with the 36th Infantry Division in Italy. DSC recipient Col. Patrick N. Delavan received two Purple Hearts in Korea and 5 in Vietnam. Self-described "The Veteran's Advocate" Pat Kiggins indicates that he received seven Purple Hearts in Vietnam. Another Vietnam veteran, Capt. David Christian, also received seven, as did Staff Sergeant Patrick James Caffrey. There are others with seven Purple Hearts out there as well.

One additional note. He was raised to the Adelstand in 1905. This was the same year that Bernhard von B?low was raised to F?rst. This was on the occasion of Crown Prince Wilhelm's marriage, so M?ller's elevation was probably related.

Theodor Adolf von M?ller was born 10 August 1840 and died 6 December 1925. He was the only child of Friedrich Wilhelm Adolph M?ller (20.5.1805-25.7.1878) and Henriette Friederike W?rmann (17.8.1808-29.6.1848), so the Lt. z. S is not his nephew. He was Prussian Trade Minister from 1901 to 1905, in the first term of Prime Minister and German Chancellor Bernhard von B?low. He was a representative from the National Liberal Party (Nationalliberale Partei). The Frau Staatsminister was Karoline Eleonore Tiemann (15.7.1853-16.11.1935). Their eldest daughter Irmgard Auguste Elfriede von M?ller (born 16.2.1874) died two months before him on 14 October 1925. Her eldest son Uffz.d.R. Theodor Gottfried Oswald Bendemann was KIA 13 February 1945. First son Rittm.d.R. Gerhard Bernhard Carl von M?ller was born on 14 April 1876. I don't see his date of death. His son Gerd was KIA in Biala-Podlaska on 4 June 1942. Second daughter Hedwig Caroline Emilie von M?ller (15.8.1877-6.10.1963) was the second wife of Hans-Otto Arthur Freiherr von Soden (1881-1945), Professor of Theology at the University of Marburg and a Divisionspfarrer. He was the author of Die Cyprianische Briefsammlung: Geschichte ihrer Entstehung und ?berlieferung and editor of Das lateinische Neue Testament in Afrika zur Zeit Cyprians: nach Bibelhandschriften und V?terzeugnissen. His collected writings were published after his death as Urchristentum und Geschichte (1951). Second son was Oswald Friedrich Werner von M?ller (7.7.1879-21.6.1932). He was a surgeon and obstetrician and a Stabsarzt d.R. Third son was Theo (Theodor Adolf) von M?ller (112.1881-28.5.1887) who died at age 6. Third daughter was Magdalena Auguste Linda von M?ller (13.2.1883-19.1.1919), who was the first wife of the aforementioned Hans-Otto Frhr. von Soden. Hedwig married Hans-Otto on 24 August 1920, a little over a year and a half after her little sister's death. Fourth daughter was Auguste Bertha Ottilie von M?ller (14.8.1884-?), married to Robert Berthold Kahl, an architect and Hauptmann d.R. Fourth son was the Berthold August Arnold von M?ller, born 29 August 1888, in Rick's excerpt above. As the excerpt notes, he was a Ph.D. and was killed in action on 28 June 1915 as an Uffz. d.R. Fifth son was Hptm. d.R. Roland Friedrich Albert von M?ller (4.6.1893-11.2.1957), who appears to have run the family business after Gerhard's son Gerd was killed in action. Historical documents on the family business may be found here. The company is still around: http://www.moellergroup.com/

Kind of like this:

Mike, Some extra context. The Friedrichs-Orden mit Schwertern was W?rttemberg's main military order in World War One, basically equivalent to Bavaria's Milit?rverdienstorden and Baden's Order of the Z?hringen Lion. W?rttemberg's awards were based on rank, so this grade would typically go to captains and majors. Lieutenants got the Knight 2nd Class. Lt. Colonels and some majors might get the Order of the W?rttemberg Crown with Swords. Enlisted men were stuck mainly with the Silver Military Merit Medal. And for some Third Reich context, here are a few of the more prominent TR personalities who had your grade, the Knight 1st Class: GFM Walther von Brauchitsch - also had the RKGFM Georg von K?chler - also had the RK (1, 30.09.39), Oakleaves (273, 21.08.43)GFM Erich von Lewinski gen. von Manstein - also had the RK (19.07.40), Oakleaves (209, 14.03.43), Swords (59, 30.03.44) GFM Erwin Rommel - also had the Pour le m?rite (10.12.17), RK (43, 27.05.40), Oakleaves (10, 20.03.41), Swords (6, 20.01.42), Diamonds (6, 11.03.43); W?rttemberg Milit?r-Verdienstorden (08.04.15)GFM Hugo Sperrle - also had the RK (17.05.40); W?rttemberg Milit?r-Verdienstorden (21.06.15)Generaloberst Ludwig Beck Generaloberst Werner Freiherr von FritschGeneraloberst Curt Haase - also had the RK (08.06.40); W?rttemberg Milit?r-VerdienstordenGeneraloberst Georg Lindemann - also had the RK (162, 05.08.40), Oakleaves (275, 21.08.43) Generaloberst Richard Ruoff - also had the RK (30.06.41); W?rttemberg Milit?r-VerdienstordenGen. d. Inf. z.V. Hans Schmidt - also had the RK (530, 22.09.41), Oakleaves (334, 24.11.43), DKiG (06.11.42); W?rttemberg Milit?r-VerdienstordenGen. d. Art. Hans Behlendorff - also had the RK (562, 11.10.41)Gen. d. Inf. Walther Fischer von Weikersthal - also had the RK (06.08.41); W?rttemberg Milit?r-Verdienstorden; W?rttemberg Goldene Milit?r-VerdienstmedailleGen. d. Inf. Hermann Geyer - also had the RK (25.06.40); W?rttemberg Milit?r-VerdienstordenGenlt. Otto Ottenbacher - also had the RK (13.08.41); W?rttemberg Milit?r-VerdienstordenGenlt. Hans Graf von Sponeck - also had the RK (14.05.40)

Just to be clear. This is not a neck badge. This is the Knight 1st Class. The Friedrich Order's suspension is a little odd, making it look like a neck badge. This is a Commander's Cross, the neck badge: The most obvious differences are the size and the blue enameled ring around the center medallion with the "GOTT UND MEIN RECHT" motto. $400 is a good price for the Knight 1st Class, especially cased, even with the little enamel crack.

The design is obviously a crude copy of the Order of Devotion from Syria. The obverse of the Syrian order states al-sharaf wa al-akhlaas, or "Honor and Devotion." The reverse of the Syrian order has the letters "J . S", for al-jamhuuriyya al-suuriyya, or Syrian Republic. On yours, that second letter is not a shiin. The three dots for a shiin are above the letter, not below. The dots there appear to be a mess-up of the single dot on the Syrian order, which is just the period between the two letters. You can see the Syrian order here, at David Devine's site: http://rustyknight.topcities.com/Wisam.htm

That is proper Prussian precedence. The DA-Kreuz took precedence over campaign medals. For Prussian campaign medals, precedence was: - D?ppeler-Sturmkreuz 1864 - Alsen-Kreuz 1864 - Kriegsdenkm?nze 1870/71 - Erinnerungskreuz " K?niggr?tz," "Der Main-Armee 1866" or "Treuen Kriegern 1866" (only one could be worn) - Kriegs-Denkm?nze 1864 - Hohenzollernsches Denkm?nze 1848/49 When the various colonial-era medals - Kolonial-Denkm?nze, S?dwestafrika-Denkm?nze, China-Denkm?nze - were added, they came after the KDM 1864 and before the Hohenzollernsches Denkm?nze.

Jason, aside from the KVM that's an interesting combination. Combatant EK and Friedrich August Cross, with combatant Ehrenkreuz f?r Frontk?mpfer, plus the Red Cross Medals and a non-combatant Hungarian WW1 Commemorative. Front half says combat soldier and back half says medic.

Nice group! Has anyone ever seen a double-Danish medal bar, with both the 1848-49 war and 1864 represented? I know Baden, Bavaria, Braunschweig, Schaumburg-Lippe, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Nassau, Oldenburg, Reuss, Saxony, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Schleswig-Holstein, Waldeck and W?rttemberg all had service medals or campaign crosses for the first conflict, or at least for Eckernf?rde. Does anyone know of others? I always assumed, for no good reason, that Prussia's Hohenzollernsche Denkm?nze and Anhalt-Bernburg's Alexander Carl-Denkm?nze were for either the war with Denmark or the suppression of the Revolutions of 1848, or solely for the latter, but I realize I don't actually know.

Add Bulgarian. One of the breast stars looks like it might be the National Order for Military Merit. Also, the medal at the end of the medal bar may not be a Spanish MMO, but a Bulgarian Order of St. Alexander. It's hard to tell.