Dave Danner

It would appear to be an MVK2, by the color, unless the gilding/bronzing is all gone. Can't tell if the Saxe-Meiningen is on the right ribbon based on that picture. I have a Bavarian/Saxe-Meiningen bar, so the combo of those two states, while odd, is not unprecedented.

The one on the far right is a Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order (Herzoglich Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden). Given the Bulgarian monarch's background, it would likely be from the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Eric is right about the middle one though. It is the Order of Saint Louis (Ordine di San Luigi) from the Duchy of Parma. The Duchy ceased to exist as an independent state on Italian unification in 1859-60, but the order continues to this day as a house award of the House of Bourbon-Parma. And why would a Bulgarian officer have an award of a state that ceased to exist before Bulgaria was founded? Because the wife of Prince (later Tsar) Ferdinand I was Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon-Parma, daughter of Roberto I, the last Duke of Parma. The wedding occurred in 1893, so the card probably dates from right after that.

Definitely Chile. The sash and collar points display the Chilean coat of arms, and the other neck decoration is a Chilean 30-year long service decoration. Can't tell what the other two awards are.

That construction, especially the pin style, makes me think post-WW1, possibly 1930s. A far-from-exhaustive catalog of KEZ variations may be seen here: http://home.att.net/~david.danner/militaria/KEZ_in_Eisen.htm

Robert Graf von Bothmer commanded the ILR during the following periods: 25 November 1916 - 17 April 1917 22 July 1917 - 29 July 1917 28 September 1917 - 3 November 1917 24 November 1917 - 3 December 1917 6 January 1918 - 8 February 1918 14 February 1918 - 26 February 1918 25 March 1918 - 28 March 1918 30 May 1918 - 8 July 1918 I assume he was in temporary command during these periods when Epp was away or in temporary command of a higher HQ, as in most cases Graf von Bothmer was preceded or succeeded by Epp. In other cases, he and Epp alternated with Hptm. Freiherr von Falkenhausen (Richard or one of the others).

The few officers with a "BC" I encountered were reserve officers. I didn't review them exhaustively, though. My understanding from somewhere is that a number of Civil Merit Orders were conferred on Germans who provided non-military assistance to Bulgaria during the Balkan Wars.

Unless you can ID the recipient, the all-red ribbon is not clearly identifiable. Since it comes after the Austrian Iron Crown and before the Bulgarian Civil Merit Order, it is (i) something Bulgarian higher than the Civil Merit Order, i.e., the Order of St. Alexander already mentioned, (ii) something Austrian junior to the Iron Crown such as a Signum Memoriae (which if this were a German diplomat or other government functionary is certainly possible), or (iii) something all-red from some other country.

Duke Albrecht, the son of Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria and heir to the Bavarian throne, died in 1996. He was the only one of the Crown Prince's children born before the war to live past the fall of the kingdom, though Rupprecht had several more children after the war, a few of whom are still alive. Duke Albrecht's son Franz (born 1933) is the current head of the Bavarian royal house Ludwig Karl Maria Prinz von Bayern, Crown Prince Rupprecht's nephew, was born in 1913 and is still alive. By the way, he is married to one of Crown Prince Rupprecht's daughters, Irmingard von Bayern. Maria Elisabeth Prinzessin von Bayern, Ludwig Karl's sister and hence another grandchild of King Ludwig III, was born in 1914 and is still alive. Because Franz von Bayern has no children, and his brother Max (born 1937) has no sons, the line of succession passes to Ludwig Karl's family after they die. So the product of the incestuous union of first cousins, Luitpold Prinz von Bayern (born 1951), is next in line.

This is actually the subject of an article I was writing, which would flesh out the discussion of the various criteria and provide descriptions of the awards for each state. The topic is especially complicated as regards second awards. In some cases, there was no provision for a second award (as in the Hanseatic cities). In some cases, an intervening promotion might make one eligible for a second award of the same decoration in a higher grade, while someone who was not promoted might be eligible for another award, or for nothing at all. And in many cases, because a second award was also usually a higher award, the same type of act of bravery would not necessarily result in another award. Saxony is a good example. If you were a Gefreiter, you might start out with a bronze FAM as a rough EK2 equivalent. For repeated acts of bravery, you might get a silver FAM, so for you, that might be equivalent to an EK1. But for a sergeant, the silver FAM was your EK2 equivalent first award and an Honor Cross with Swords might come for repeated acts of bravery. But in both cases, a really significant act of bravery might lead to a St. Henry Medal instead. If this were after already having a basic FAM, arguably the St. Henry Medal was the EK1 equivalent. The same goes for officers. For a Leutnant, the Albert Order Knight 2nd Class with Swords was usually the first award. If as cadet in 1914 you received the sFAM, that AR2x you got as a Leutnant would be your second award. A Merit Order Knight 2nd Class with Swords might be your second award, but if you were that already-decorated cadet, it might be your third. An Oberleutnant who got the AR2x would expect that VR2x to be his second award, but if he was promoted to Hauptmann, he might skip that and be eligible for an AR1x instead. With good timing for promotions and acts of bravery, a Saxon who marched off to the sound of the guns of August as a cadet might progress through the sFAM, AR2x, VR2x, AR1x and VR1x if he managed to make Hauptmann by war's end. And all of that is without considering where the MSHO fits into the scheme (a complicated topic in its own right: considering the number of awards relative to the size of the Saxon Army, the MSHO might be considered to combine features of both the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern and the Pour le Merite in the Prussian scheme).

This is essentially my rule of thumb as well. I agree with Stogie-Rick's point on "pure" EK-equivalents, which is why I denoted the various levels. A "pure" EK-equivalent would satisfy all three criteria: (1) basic award of the state, (2) awarded without regard to rank, and (3) coming in two classes. Thus, there are only a in few category 3, like Prussia and Oldenburg, a few more in category two, like the Hanseatic Cities, and a bunch in category 1, like Bavaria and Baden. Hesse is a sort of category 2.5, since the Krieger-Ehrenzeichen isn't technically a higher class of the Allgemeines Ehrenzeichen. If you limit your collecting interest to true category 3 awards, you may find yourself chasing relatively rare awards, like the Cross 1st Class for Distinction in War, at the expense of awards far more likely to actually have been encountered by combat soldiers of the various states. If we broaden our scope beyond World War One, we would have to add another criterion: that the award be specifically authorized for a conflict, in which case only Prussia and Mecklenburg-Schwerin qualify. Mecklenburg-Strelitz did not create a 1st Class of its Cross for Distinction in War until 1915; the Franco-Prussian War version came in one class. Of course, when you look beyond WW1, you have to add Prussia to the list again, since for the Wars of Unification (except the Franco-Prussian War), colonial campaigns and Boxer Rebellion there was no Iron Cross. There, Prussia is like the other kingdoms and most other states in having rank-specific basic awards: Crown Order and Red Eagle Order with Swords for officers, Military Decoration for enlisted men. There is another criterion alluded to previously but also important: although primarily a Prussian award, the Iron Cross was awarded without great regard to nationality as well. A few other states awarded their decorations to particularly deserving non-citizens, but many had stricter criteria. This is especially the case with those pinback crosses of the various Thuringian states, which required a close nexus between the state and the recipient. This also affects the judgment as to whether Hesse's KEZ is truly analogous to the EK1.

I guess I can start: Reverse here Reverse here

The division history can be found on the website of the division veterans' organization: http://www.americal.org A friend of mine was assigned to be Assistant Division Commander (Maneuver), and temporarily became also acting Commanding General, in 1970, after the My Lai incident had become public, the Peers Report had been delivered to GEN Westmoreland, and charged handed down against those involved in the massacre. Morale in the division was at its lowest point, given the effect of the incident, growing disenchantment with the war in general, and the Army's difficulties with discipline due to drug and alcohol abuse. He described to me having his .45 with a round chambered everywhere he went in the division CP due to fragging concerns. The attack on 11th Brigade is probably motivated by My Lai. You can read what Lt. General Peers had to say about 11th Brigade CO Col. Henderson's conduct during and after My Lai here: http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/f.../Henderson.html Tarnishing everyone who served in 11th Brigade before, during and after My Lai with the same brush as those involved in the massacre and cover-up seems unfair, and tarnishing the entire division as well. My understanding is that the 196th Infantry Brigade, for example, was pretty well regarded.

To some extent the QLR questions will be moot, or at least completely recast, as of 1 July of this year. On that date the QLR will cease to exist, being joined with The King?s Own Royal Border Regiment and The King?s Regiment to form the The Duke of Lancaster?s Regiment (King?s, Lancashire and Border). The three existing regular battalions will be reduced to two (1 and 2 LANCS), while the TA's The Lancastrian and Cumbrian Volunteers will become 4th Battalion The Duke of Lancaster?s Regiment (King?s, Lancashire and Border), or 4 LANCS. In March 2007, once reduction of the regular battalions is complete, 4 LANCS will become 3 LANCS. QLR is the result of amalgamations of 30, 40, 47, 59, 81 and 82 Regiments of Foot. 30 and 59 are the East Lancs, 40 and 82 are South Lancs, 47 and 81 are the Loyal North Lancs. Was there a West Lancs?

"...unexpectedly fortunate turn [of events] in Austria. ..." The M?hlviertel is a region of Austria along the Czech border. The addressee is Miss Olive Greene, American School, PO Box 111, Izmir (Smyrna), Turkey.

There is no Rau among recipients of this medal in Zelosko's list. However, oddly, it looks like the last name is abbreviated as well as the first: "L.RAU." The only near match would be Ludwig Rauch, a Gefreiter in the 3. Inf.Rgt. who received the medal on January 8, 1871, for bravery in battle at Nuits on December 18, 1870.

Army statistics (as Jeff notes, for WW2 this includes the Army Air Forces): World War Two: 126,318 Korea: unknown Vietnam: 21,697 El Salvador: 1 Grenada: 3 Panama: 16 Persian Gulf War: 108 Somalia: 17 Operation Enduring Freedom: 50 (as of 31 October 2005) Operation Iraqi Freedom: 30 (as of 31 October 2005) I have no idea what the numbers are for other services, or for peacetime awards of the DFC.

That kind of depends on when and where. For a standard infantry regiment, the peacetime structure when the war began in 1914 would have called for a roughly 80-man platoon: four sections of 20 men each consisting of two squads (Gruppen) of 8 soldiers and a Gefreiter. The section (Korporalschaft) leader was an Unteroffizier. But almost immediately on mobilization units began being reorganized to provide the nucleus for other units, wartime casualties reduced unit strength, and the 80-man platoon and 261-man company proved unwieldy. So this peacetime structure didn't last long. Someone with the better references might be able to add to this.

You are misreading the regulations. The distinction under current law is not wartime vs. peacetime, but action against an enemy/opposing foreign force vs. not. As 10 U.S. Code ? 3741, and the parallel statute for the Navy, 10 U.S. Code ? 6241, and Air Force, 10 U.S. Code ? 8741, note, the Medal may be awarded: (1) while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States; (2) while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or (3) while serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party. Category 1 normally obtains only during wartime when there is a declared enemy. Category 2 may be in wartime or peacetime; the distinction is conflict with an opposing foreign force. Both Somalia Medals of Honor fall into this category, as Aideed's militiamen were an opposing foreign force, but there was no declared war and the Somalis were not the enemy. An even clearer case is William L. McGonagle, USN, of the USS Liberty, whose ship was attacked by the Israelis in international waters. There was a war going on, but the U.S. was not a party. I don't know of any Category 3 awards as the opportunities would be small. U.S. exchange officers and NCOs have found themselves in conflicts where the U.S. was not a belligerent, such as Malaya during the Emergency, but these situations are uncommon. There was some talk of awarding the Medal of Honor to a U.S. sailor serving with the Special Boat Service in Afghanistan, but the U.S. was a belligerent party there. In any event, he received the Navy Cross. Andy mentioned him a few posts up. But for purposes of this post, note that this category requires that it is the friendly foreign force that is in armed conflict, while the U.S. may be at peace. Also, these regulations are post-1963 (Public Law 88?77, ? 1(1), July 25, 1963). Until 1942, I believe, the Navy allowed peacetime awards for noncombatant heroism (many of these 19th century lifesaving awards). The most famous non-combatant recipients of the Army Medal of Honor would be Adolphus Greely, whose award is arguably the least justified ever, and Charles Lindbergh. With Frederick William Gerber, whose peacetime award was for "distinguished gallantry in many actions and in recognition of long, faithful, and meritorious services covering a period of 32 years," these are the only "peacetime" recipients of the Army Medal of Honor.

Cross-posting!! Fritz, from IR 27, is your former. Alfred Emil Friedrich could be the other. Being a cavalry officer, he might be the one who compiled Karl von Schmidt's book on cavalry, Instruktionen betreffend Erziehung, Ausbildung, Verwendung und F?hrung der Reiterei, after von Schmidt's death in 1875

If his father was also Alfred Emil Friedrich von Vollard-Bockelberg, it is likely. This Alfred Emil Friedrich von Vollard-Bockelberg was born in 1849. There was also a Friedrich (Fritz) von Vollard-Bockelberg, born in 1851 in Sch?now. He was a Sekonde-Lieutnant in Infanterie-Regiment Prinz Louis Ferdinand von Preussen (2. Magdebugisches) Nr.27. Wounded at Mouzon on 30 August 1870. Won the 1870 Iron Cross 2nd Class.

Here is another picture from August 1940, with Dr. Gustav Krukenberg, then either a Hauptmann or Major d.R., and later an SS-Brigadef?hrer commanding the Charlemagne Division. There's an incomplete bio of Vollard-Bockelberg here: http://www.geocities.com/~orion47/WEHRMACH...l-Heer_U-V.html

Top is military, but not clear what it says. Something about "____ military discipline"? Middle is police, but possibly misspelled. "Police Officers' Command" I think.

So what "foreign" service or campaign medals have been authorized (or authorised) for wear? Off the top of my head, the ones that come to mind are: Turkish Crimean War Medal Khedive's Star Khedive's Sudan Medal UN Korea Medal The various NATO Medals (Former Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Non-Article 5) UN Cyprus Medal other UN Medals ?

The AAM is not from the Mog. The Army Achievement Medal cannot be awarded for combat-related actions, unlike the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. The Valorous Unit Citation for 3-75 for Mogadishu was not authorized until late 1996. The one he's wearing is for Binh Duong Province, Vietnam. The Presidential Unit Citations are from WW2 - Salerno and Myitkyina. You got almost everything else. Specialists in Batt, and even the occasional PFC, are often sent to Ranger School. Note that but for CPT Steele's name behind him, there is nothing visible on his uniform to distinguish a Somalia Ranger circa 1994 from a Panama Ranger circa 1990 except this: no arrowhead on the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. A wider shot would also show no mustard stain on the jump wings. That's the logic process at work. You know it is after the mid-1980s because he has a 3rd Batt flash, and 3rd Batt wasn't formed until February 1986. You know it is before 2001 because of the black beret rather than tan. There were a few operations for which the AFEM was authorized in this timeframe, but the only ones involving 3rd Batt were Panama and Somalia. Since 3rd Batt jumped into Panama, a veteran of the former would have the arrowhead and the mustard stain, so that leaves Somalia. See, we can read stuff like Rick with Imperial medal bars, too! If you've seen or read BHD, you may recall a Ranger who had asthma who wasn't on the initial raid (he was on a detail at the time), who joined the relief column after a little hesitation. That's him. Steve Anderson.

In terms of reading uniforms, what can our forumites tell me about Stimpy's career based on the photo in post #18. I already gave away some bits of information.