Ed_Haynes

I fear that like most States, the UN knows very little about their own medals. I agree totally with Hendrik's analysis that this is an unofficial bar, and I suspect basis Chris' evidence that there are a lot of them around. Beyone the legitimate bars (O.S.G.A.P., CONGO, UNGOMAP, etc.) and the true swamp of bars for the U.N. Special Service Medal, I think there are a lot more yet to be discovered. Curiously, the U.N. seems not to realise that these bars exist (ref. my long and untimately fruitless quest for my UNAMA clasp -- I use the AFGHANISTAN bar of the Canadians, as do most UNAMA folks). Thanks for adding one more data point (however unofficial) in the UN medal list!

Core? The Hard Core?! See, for a start: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2450 http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2331 http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2400 http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=3510 http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2854 http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2851 http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2784 http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2785 Enough already?! If you can take any more, try: http://sagongs.ipbhost.com/index.php?showforum=38

I hope to know more in a week or so, but I am told that efforts are underway to retain his medals and memory in-country, but -- as in most places -- historical consciousness is shallow in today's India and tends to get all wrapped up in jingoistic patriotism.

And one more . . .

And yet another . . .

Very nice Walter . . .

And another . . .

Another . . .

While it may be overly capitalist and bourgeois, . . . . . . best wishes to all!

When, and how, and by whom, would the conversion from screw-backed to pentagonally-suspended have taken place? Might we not rightly anticipate all dimensions (". . . of sight and sound . . . ") of weirdness in this conversion process?

Shown here before, but mine now . . . . What is the "plausible tale" lying behind this group??

You have seen this before, but I am very proud of this one -- obviously. And, since you folks always like to see the backsides, er, back sides, er, um, rears . . . .

Each and every forum has its own character. While I have posted many examples from my own collection on other threads, I shall post here a few items that are more "core" to the evolved focus of this forum. Some of these you may have seen before; I apologize. They are now in my custody for a few years yet. Some of these may be fairly pedestrian for many of you; I apologize. Still, I like them, and they have a loving home. For me and my collection, they represent the "exotic" fringe; this is a fact of life. I welcome any and all commentary . . . .

Welcome Vadim!! Ed Haynes

Oh, this is hard. The VCOs fell below all KCOs (King's Commissioned Officers -- almost all of whom until WWII were, by policy, Europeans) but above NCOs and ORs (all Indian). As a rough equivalent, the rank badges display something: Subadar Major wore a crown on shoulder straps Subadar wore two stars on shoulder straps Jemadar wore one star on shoulder straps (I have used generic infantry ranks, cavalry was different.) As an example: IO-24563 Jemadar Rajpal Singh, MC, 9th Royal Deccan Horse Enrolled 14 May 1937 Driver MT Class I Armament Course - grade Q-1 English 1st class Jemadar 24 Oct 1942 F.S.C.A. from 1 October 1944 to 22 October 1945 Discharged 11 May 1946 (medical board, exemplary character) Although the group is entirely unnamed (!), it came direct from the family with a good bit of documentation, including the photographs shown. The group also includes his ribbon bar, jemadar's stars, and a wound stripe. The unnamed medals are almost certainly the result of his early medical discharge (on account of wounds discussed below?) and a "hurry up" on the issue of campaign medals to a gallantry award winner? Strange he only got a MC rather than an IOM, but . . . ?? 1- Military Cross, George VI, first variety, 1945 MC action of 21/28 May 1945, Burma, London Gazette, 20 September 1945, p. 4677. The recommendation: "On the MAWCHI rd on 21 May 45 Jem RAJPAL SINGH was leading the tp being used in sp of the inf. Advancing, his tank was hit by a 47 mm AP shell. He was ordered by the Tp Comd to withdraw but having seen the flash he held his ground knowing he would be unable to locate it if he went back to cover. His rapid fire then forced the crew to abandon the gun. A 75 mm then opened fire and this he silenced with a direct hit. During this enaggement his tk was hit five times, one jamming the cupola and fracturing the periscope. This action enabled inf to adv and three guns were captured. "On 28 May he was loading with a coy of 4 GR. One of his guns jammed but rather than hold up the adv he pressed on but was hit five times by the enemy guns destroying the tk and killing the crew. The Jem. escaped with severe burns. "This Jemadars courage and steadiness has been a very fine example to all." 2- 1939-45 Star 3- Burma Star 4- The War Medal, 1939-45 (medal mounted reversed) 5- The India Service Medal, 1939-45 And a "before" and "way after" photo of the man.

While not (quite, at all?) what you're asking, they were awarded to VCOs (Viceroy's Commissioned Officers, subadars, risaldars, jemadars, etc.) in the Indian Army from inception of the MC through Indian Independence in 1947. Have several of those from WWII (none from WWI, only know of one of those "in captivity").

Closeup attached. Doesn't look like a woman to me, but the work is pretty crude. As a good friend in Shainghai is very proud that her mother was killed in Korea fighting the Americans in what she described to me as a "Pork Chop Hill" kind of action, . . . . I would guess, given the iconography of the day, that this is a North Korean and Chinese soldier (of ambiguous gender), united in their opposition to American imperialism (or whatever). I have sent scans to friends in China, but they are not very rigorous in reading e-mail. And our usual visiting professor from China didn't come this year. Since I also have a couple of boxes of those (marginal to us) "Mao Pins" I want translated, . . . ! I would guess this is one of that plethora or provincial Korean War medals/badges, and as it was numbered it was apparently one that someone took seriously enough to list out.

I believe a roll existed (exists?) in Colombo. Work currently underway on Ceylonese/Sri Lankan medals may reveal all. I am asking the experts.

Nice, thanks. You may also want to consult Lukasz Gaszewski's fine site: http://www.medals.lava.pl/ru/ru1.htm

The name(s) sure don't help us much. (I love those PRC names!) And I haven't found much that that date could commemorate??

This second badge is interesting. I have three specimens of the same badge (all different from and less crude than the e$cam specimen). They were sent to me by my main medals contact in Baghdad. They arrived in the US two days before the invasion (unopened by US customs, though a package of xeroxes that arrived from France the same day was opened, all the documents were unstapled, and the loose pages repackaged out of order -- I feel safer now). My friend in Baghdad promised an ID of the badges and more information on other mystery Iraqi awards "soon". I have heard nothing from him since. I do know that his neighborhood of Baghdad got "liberated" into dust.

Never seen it before. Suspect ribbon is NOT original, as is the Gulf War II war medal ("Mother of Battles") ribbon. Another Iraqi made-to-order "mule", but the medal looks interesting. Trying to squint-out the legend . . . .

Frankly miscellaneous medals that don't fit neatly into any of the other PRC threads here. The Souvenir Medal for the PLA Awarded by the National People's Saluting Delegation / Whole Nation People's Delegation Pay Respect to People's Liberation Army Commemorative Medal These names are not exactly elegant. Dated 17 Febnruary 1954. Some sort of commemorative medal? RMM 820, p. 85; ZGHZ 355 p. 113

2- completely unknown (at least to me) - dated 1951 and numbered "1523" on reverse

While I hope this becomes a thread for identifying mystery PRC awards (that do not appear in the two standard references -- Illustrated Collection of Badges in the Chinese People's Revolutionary Military Museum and that "other book," small, softback, all-Chinese, something about "Zhong Guo Hui Zhang" -- of which cannot readily be found in those books), I guess we could also "chew on" the fantasy, "mule" medals that frequently appear on e$cam to frustrated PRC medal collectors. 1- Tentative ID as "Jilin Province Merit Medal" - dated 1961