Ed_Haynes

Yes, fascinating new things (that send me off to my map). Many thanks!

Every scratch-out has a story?? Ain't research a drag? NOT!!

Well done, Dave! Even though these "Home of Heroes" were the ones behind the whole "Stolen Valor" monstrosity, their site is still a usefuil resource.

Wow! One more thing that I see on this forum that I never expected to see ANYWHERE!

While I can't, and won't, dismiss this one as easily and glibly as some seem to be able to, I do see some issues for concern. But I need to have a real one in hand for comparison, something I shall do when possible. I also need to check my notes and see if I jotted down the numbers on the fake ones I saw in UB. Somehow, this number seems ominously familiar. There are some very dangerous fakes of this award out there, especially dangerous if all one has to work with is a scan. In hand, the message is clear.

Welcome aboard. If you look around, I think you'll find focused threads on most of the lovely items in your impressive collection.

Their distribution is very very sloppy, randomly bizarre.

Yes, Dave, an EXTREMELY good article despite this. The last piece I published in JOMSA suffered from severe late editing, after I'd seen the final proofs, which rendered parts of the piece gibberish. The editing needs to be more professional.

Add to the tears the fact that it is the lowest-reported pinback SB number.

Well . . . of Europeans over China. Depends who "good" and "evil" are in that interaction?

Have seen BWM ribbons similarly faded.

Yeah, saw this sad one in UB.

Yet it seems they were worn this (wrong) way. Leave it alone?

OBE or MBE, hard to tell. One would need to check the records (and most of these honorary awards in WWII were not gazetted).

GBE (sash badge and breast star), KBE (neck badge and breast star), and CBE (neck badge) have enamel, the OBE is gilt, the MBE is silver. Both the OBE and MBE are breast badges. The military ribbon has a central stripe, the civil ribbon does not. The Soviets habitually wore these awards wrong, often hilariously wrong. Much as the British would mount an OPW on a medal bar. Is that clear??

Though I found it absolutely amazing that, despite what the text says, they show the picture of Koldunov rather than Kravchenko. A serious editing problem, Dave?? See: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=6207&hl=kravchenko Since I have Kravchenko's group (but not, alas, Koldunov's!), here is Kravchenko (before he got his "crab").

Thanks for this!

Jan beat me to it. Now, it would be interesting to see what sort of formal visit took place on 17 Junr 1982. Nice 'un! Welcome to the marvelous world of Mongolia!!

Yes, that too! And, as we have said repeatedly, we need to be careful about our nomenclature: GBE, KBE, CBE, OME, MBE.

See Megan's site: http://www.medals.org.uk/united-kingdom/un...-kingdom025.htm

Lovely lovely piece (my copy FINALLY came)!!

Right, Jim. But isn't it the intelligent ones who ought to bother us the most? This isn't some mindless hormone- and hate-driven thug. Those we can comprehand, and dismiss. It sounds like this case is more complex and, perhaps, more troubling?

Absolutely, but that doesn't mean he was "augmenting" his medals with the contemporary equivalent of those shameless "commemorative" medals you see you commonly today.

Obviously the bar to that famous hero, Hauptman Walther von Mitty.

Long articles take longer than short articles and there is a desire to keep balance in individual issues. This one may get flak for the editor, with so many "exotic" articles (so deemed by those who would rather sit and kvetch than write). There may also be other things at work we do not understand.