Ed_Haynes

Most of these are pretty easy, two aren't: 1- Red Banner of Combat Valor; Order of Comnat Valor; Polar Star; Honorary Medal of Combay [all probbaly long service awards?] 2- 40 Years MPR; 50 Years MPR; 60 Years MPR; 50 Years Army; 60 Years Army 3- 30 Years Khalkin Gol; 40 Years Khalkin Gol; 30 Years Victory; 50 Years State Security; USSR: Military Merit Medal 4- USSR: 50 Years Armed Forces; USSR: 60 Years Armed Forces; USSR: 70 Years Armed Forces; USSR: 30 Years Victory; USSR: 40 Years Victory 5- ___???___; ___???___; Cuba: 30 Years FAR; Poland: Brotherhood in Arms 6- Czechoslovakia: Brotherhood in Arms, 2nd class; DDR: Brotherhood in Arms, 3rd class The first two on row five could be almost anything. Almost any of the Bulgarian jubilee medals? Ten Years Yugoslav Army? What????

Jeff is the host of this very sub-forum. For the auctions with which he is associated, see http://www.fjpauctions.com/ and purchase at a reliable auction (= non-online) will be the best way to collect these. You'll probably want to stay with medals where the number can be traced to a recipient. And don't expect this to be an inexpensive field of interest. Or, better yet, join the OMSA and attend next year's convention in Minneapolis.

For the US, this was at best a curiosity story, hardly big news, taken from a French newspaper as mere column-filler? My guess is that someone saw a "1914" and an "1813" and conflated and cross-bred the two observations.

Thanks for the interest! Sorry, I don't know. My interests (and holdings) in Soviet uniforms die out pretty quickly after 1942. They are of the distinctive Mongolian design. Nothing on this one. Let me check pictures to try to answer this, but few folks in photos wear hats. Let me know if close-ups of anything are desired.

Thanks!

And the right chest. There were clearly other (several) badges that have been worn here and I must question the originality of the Soviet badge (ЛВВПУ = ???). Thoughts?

And cuffs.

Closeup.

Another view.

See: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=18232&st=34

Things have been rather (= VERY) quiet outside the German sub-fora, so let me try (again) to get some interest going elsewhere. I hope someone bothers to look. A major general. Too large for the mannequin, sorry. Also have the pants. His sewn-on ribbon bar has been shown at http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=15730&st=126 and older patches found in the pocket at http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=24432&st=25 and I still look around for other hidden wonders or tags.

For those who (unlike me) can read it, this may be useful: http://www.france-phaleristique.com/fourrag.htm

Thanks for this, Avsar!

What is it you want to see so badly???

Have a good trip, Chuck. We await anything you have to show or share or report.

Many thanks for this. We need to do all we can to stop what seems to be the slide into silence in these non-German fora.

Very interesting. Thanks, "Sparks". If we could only read the site .

Many here seem to be alluding to knowledge that is neither proven nor public. Until these arguments are made public, with sources (and "I know" won't be enough to inspire any confidence at all), I think we need to consider the question completely open, with much asserted, nothing proven.

Here are the two together, in British order of wearing not Egyptian. The Khedive's Star has been bashed about, but you get the point. Named to Sowar Hirah Singh, 13th Bengal Lancers. I'd not do anything to alter the mis-ribboning as shown though, but it is good to know what would have been proper.

Yes, a private society medal. Completely unofficial. Likely just a German who settled in the US after WWI. Paul has threads on all possible combinations of this interesting issue (WWI German => WWII US, WWI US => WWII German, etc.). Can we please try to reduce confusion by posting in the correct thread? Also, Paul's question was regarding the US, not French, or British, or Chilean nationals.

In the pocked of a recently arrived uniform. Nice bonus.

A very nice (and interesting) sewn-on ribbon bar that came with a uniform that has just arrived (photos of that when weather allows).

I have seen evidence of US citizens of German origin who happened to be in the wrong place (Germany) at the wrong time (after 1939) getting drafted into German service not by their choice. (Similar things happened in Japan.) But as to WWI US veterans . . . I'd be very surprised. But who knows?

No evidence for that. In some cases, I know the medals came from the veterans direct to My Source.

Absolutely. And as most veterans are still alive, they are especially hard to come by. And I have no clue how it is that THIS research is possible, while most research for still-living-in-1991 GPW veterans never came to the central archives.