JBFloyd

Are there rolls of recipients? Foreign recipients? I have an American group with a civil Orange Nassau, knight, and would really like to find out when/why he received it.

The "return" policy would apply to issued pieces. Few countries really chase the families of deceased recipients, but will often make a token effort. I don't know of any cases where there was a knock on the door as the family returned from the funeral. Foreign recipients add a bit of public relations to the mix, as well. The Danish government asked for the return of Dwight Eisenhower's Order of the Elephant after his death, but an appeal from the Eisenhower Museum allowed it to stay there.

To Mark's question, The last page of the statute book says: "According to the statutes of the Order of Orange Nassau, the insignia thereof must be returned in the event of the death of a member or of his promotion to a higher class of the Order. In the case of the death or promotion of a member of the Order residing in a foreign country, the insignia can be transmitted to one of the Netherlands Legations." That's from Royal Decress, No. 12 of 12 April 1923.

Can anyone tell me what this represents (other than a moth's breakfast)? Looks like an ROTC/school patch of some sort. It came with a WWII 24th Division medal group.

D'oh! It helps to be fully awake before answering multiple inquiries. There are no entries for Zanzibar in Mulder's bibliography, so periodicals are the only likely source until Tammann's book sees the light of day. As already mentioned, the OMRS Journal has had some entries on Zanzibar. OMSA has no entries in that field. But, for the hundreds of Madagascar collectors out there, my previous input applies.

Peter Mulder's bibliography only lists two printed sources on Madagascar: J. et S. Chauvicourt. Medailles et Decorations de Madgascar. Tananarive, 1969, 82pp,100 ills. (This was an issue of "Numismatique Malgache") Paul Rullier. Les Decorations du Royaume de Madagascar. N.P, [c.1959], 69pp.

Always interested in foreign awards to Americans, especially with documentation. Also interested in American awards to foreigners.

Capt Aly also received the Air Force Commendation Medal for this action. He had earlier earned an Air Medal in the South Pacific and another as a pilot in the Berlin Airlift.

...the documentation makes it of special interest to me.

A simple officer's cross, with swords. But...

Landwehr IR 126 served with the 7th Landwehr Division, which served in Alsace through 1917, when it moved to the Eastern Front. In 1918, it moved to the Ukraine. It was made up of older men and not highly rated as a fighting force.

The OMSA convention will be held 14-17 August 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Riverfront, Jacksonville, Florida.

It's a generic veterans' society long membership medal. The original ribbon would have been in state colors or imprinted with the society's name and city.

I cannot track down my Transport Medal roll. Can someone with a copy tell me the rank and ship of "G.M. Wise". He has the "China 1900" clasp. Thanks.

Air Medals were based on missions flown or hours flown, in various capacities. That's the part that's easy to follow. After that it gets very confusing. In the Air Force in VIetnam, fighter crews generally got an Air Medal for 5 combat sorties; airlifters got them based on hours flown. The number of missions required also varied over time. I know several forward air controllers who worn multiple ribbons to hold their Air Medal oak leaf clusters. At the same time, the Army awarded Air Medals to those who had duties involved regular flights, but who were not aircrew (e.g., unit commanders using helicopters for on-scene command posts). The ARmy went to numbers instead of oak leaf clusters to manage the display of additional awards. 34 Air Medals is not unusual at all. I knew several with 70+ and the highest number I recall seeing was 124 awards. Also, the stars on campaign medals represent specific campaigns. These campaigns are designated by each service by specific dates and geographic boundaries (to earn the star, you had to be in the area within the dates). There are so many exceptions, amendments and changes to the rules, hoever, that is no short answer to the questions.

"Cash in the room" certainly is best, but all too often there is no longer a "room". Or, where there is a room, the bidders are spread throughout the world. Vetting bidders is difficult and an administrative nightmare. You'll that many houses require some "deposit" with bids from unknown bidders, but that is rarely enforced. So, you accept the risk in taking bids from unknown bidders (many of whom become good customers later on). There are certainly times when payment drags out. The auctioneer is left with several options: (1) enforce the bidding contract through legal means (too costly in 99.9% of the cases); (2) pay the consignor and hold the debt (done when the bidder is known and temporarily unable to pay -- better to hold the debt and retain the customers, but obviously with some risk); (3) cancel the sale (usually leaving all parties unhappy); (4) let it drag on (making the seller unhappy and giving the buyer the impression that the contract is meaningless). All the options have unpleasant aspects for all parties. My experience is that only a handful of bidders are dishonest about their bids. The problems arise when bidders overextend themselves (e.g., bidding on a number of lots, expecting to lose some, but getting them all). I've had bidders lose their jobs between winning a lot and the payment date, and one who wound up in the hospital after a stroke (not caused by the invoice). The auction house has to deal with such situations on a case-by-case basis.

Masonic. Knights Templar Cross.

The King of Morocco was a prolific traveller in the 1970s, so the Ouissam Alaouite perhaps relates to her term as deputy lord lieutenant and a visit by the King to London. Great group!

An officer's badge, with a silver disc replacing the missing the reverse medallion which had the national coat of arms.

Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky.

I'll add a follow-on to Ed's comment. The absence of a 1939-45 or Africa Star would seem to confine her to the UK for most the war years, although service in Morocco post-1943 would not have merited the Africa Star. Also, the commander's grade of the Ouissam Alaouite would indicate a senior position at the time of award (I have a US colonel's group with a commander's grade). Whenever awarded, the Ouissam Alaouite looks to be the key to finding her. Many hours of Gazette searching may be ahead.

Colombia did not participate in WWI. The country was officially neutral until 1943, when it joined the Allies. It did not contribute any combat forces to the cause. To expand its international influence, the Colombians sent an infantry battalion and a frigate to Korea. As already mentioned, the Colombians acquitted themselves very well in Korea, seeing hard combat at Old Baldy, in particular. The Spanish-language UN Korea Medal was primarily for issue to the Colombians.

It's not an order you commonly see, but not exceptionally rare either. For anything to do with Spanish awards, see Antonio Prieto's site (avaialable in English and Spanish): http://www.coleccionesmilitares.com/medallas/index.htm

Stratton, of Chattanooga, and Schwaab , of Milwaukee, were two of the major manufacturers of unofficial medals commemorating Mexican Border Service. This is the most common of the Stratton designs. They made several variations of this design, but I was never able to get much info on the company itself, or who their target markets were. However, it appears that these were sold to men on the Border who wanted something to show for their service. This is something I write some time ago as a first hack at a chapter in what became Tony Margrave's OMSA monograph on Mexican Border medals: "While a few states and cities awarded medals to the National Guardsmen who answered the president's call in 1916. there was scant federal notice. The Mexican Border Service Medal wasn't approved until July 1918, and then over the objection of the War Department. By then, many of the Border Service veterans were in combat in France. Before the states and federal government recognized the National Guardsmen, many of the regiments and private companies filled the gap with their own creations. Many of the National Guard units mobilized for Border Service had a history of developing their own medals. To augment the state long service and marksmanship awards of the time, National Guard units often had elaborate systems of service medals and badges. Photos of the time often show National Guardsmen also wearing unofficial badges and pins to commemorate their summer training camps or visits to other National Guard units for training or competition. Within this context, many National Guard units established their own medals for Mexican Border service. These ranged from simple bronze medals, such as that of Troop F, 1s' New York Cavalry, which had a top bar for engraving the recipient's name; to the 7th Regiment, New York National Guard Medal, in bronze and enamel, which was given for the annual regimental games held on the Border (a known example is engraved ''Inter-Company Roller Skating Relay" on the reverse); to the medal of the Medical Detachment, 2nd Missouri Infantry, with is gilt and enameled; to the medal of the 74th New York Infantry Medical Detachment medal which is gold. In a category between regimental and private purchase awards lies the Mexican Border Service medal awarded by the John Wanamaker Company, a department store headquartered in Philadelphia. This two-piece bronze badge was given to employees of the store who served on the Mexican Border. Most of these employees would have served in Pennsylvania and New Jersey National Guard units. Entrepreneurs of the time struck their own medals and badges and sold them to the soldiers. A wide array of these medals and badges appear in the collector's market. Probably the most commonly found of the unofficial medals is one produced by Arthur Killean, of Grand Haven, Michigan. This two-piece bronze badge, which is very close to the design of Veterans of Foreign Wars membership badge, is common enough that many collectors believe that it was awarded by the town of Grand Haven. Because one version of the badge has the struck inscription "A. Killean/32nd Regt/MNG/Grand Haven/ Mich" on the otherwise blank reverse, it appears that Killean is the recipient, not the manufacturer. A second version lists the major engagements along the border. Killean also produced several other badges for those who served on the Mexican Border. Two poked fun at the life of the average soldier with inscriptions like "I'm In The Army Now" below crossed mallet, pick and shovel, or the same device with the inscription "How We Cleaned Up On The Border". These appear to have been fobs. Another very common type of privately purchased badge was a rectangular pendant struck by the Lincoln Manufacturing Works, of Boston. These bronze pendants were used as fobs or mounted on ribbons for wear. The obverse usually had three lines of block-letter text, which was simply the unit designation. The reverse had a variety of design elements, but the most commonly found style depicted a scroll inscribed "For Service on the Mexican Border". Lincoln fobs or medals are known from Troop G,1st Colorado Cavalry; Company F, 5th Maryland Infantry; Machine Gun Company, 2nd Massachusetts Infantry; Companies B, F and H, 1st North Dakota Infantry; and Company A, 8th Pennsylvania Infantry. There were certainly others produced for commercial sale. These fobs, with different reverse inscriptions, are later seen for units departing for service in World War I A series of fobs shaped like Mexican sombreros was also sold to soldiers. These were bronze, with variations in the wording and location of the inscription. Some had reverse inscriptions as well, but most Sombrero Fobs had blank reverses. A smaller version was suspended from a top bar inscribed "Souvenir". One badge appears to have been targeted at all Mexican service veterans. Struck in bronze or white metal, these badges usually depict an eagle with upstretched wings standing on a national shield or the letters "US". This pendant, hangs from a pin-back top bar which might refer to service at Vera Cruz in 1914 or to specific locations along the Mexican Border. This basic design is seen marked by Schwaab, Marston and Walter & Son. Several companies produced generic Mexican Border Service badges. These often appear with minor variations in the inscription on the top bar or pendant and were struck in brass, bronze and white metal. While most appear to have been targeted at the soldiers, some were clearly meant to be sent home to family and friends." The death of Captain Boyd was a big deal at the time. The action at Carrizal had other sidelights, including the performance of black troops. A New York Times article of the day covers a bit of the story: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/...9609C946796D6CF

The latest Army regulations contain a long list of medals and decorations that may be accepted and worn. An interesting point is that the regs specify that some may be accepted by NCOs and some by officers. What I have not been able to determine is exactly when/how the US services got around the "foreign emoluments and office" problem (Article I, Section 9, US Constitution). I assume that Congress had to take some action to make this happen, but I've never seen the details. Usually, blanket authority was given to accept awards from allies in wartime, so maybe we've redefined wartime. These days, almost every general seems to sport a Brazilian Order of Military Merit, for example. Or, a Republic of Korea gong. I've never seen the regs address the situation Ed alludes to (wear of "non-Allied" awards). The early days of the Special Forces had numerous instances of former Wehrmacht or Warsaw Pact soldiers serving, so such requests must be handled (and generally denied) individually.