Gldank

Maybe a civilian government official commissioned into service. This has happend early in United States history. During our Civil War, the government of oposing forces would commission highly educated or placed civilians as officers and then these officers would raise troops for the cause. This happened in my country to teachers, mayors, lawers etc. Many never having any formal military training. Could this be the case here? Just an idea. If he had received his civilian awards after his military service, I would suspect there would be more military related awards and orders.

I think this is what you are looking for. The Blood Givers Medallion. Different styles but all for 25 pints. I pick them up for $10-$15 USD. More like $15 with the box. There is a different medallion for Plasma Givers.

No, I did not pay a lot for it. I figured it may be a copy due the the crown style being very modern. It is well made and I like it very much. Thank you. James

Dear James,

I have to mention you that your model of the Order of Leopold II of the Congo Freestate is a copy.

I hope you didn't payed for it the price of a good one

Sorry

Guy

I am not sure what this is. Does anyone know. My guess is that it is a Firebrigade 25 Year Service Medal. I have it filed under my Belgian Red Cross items but want to catalog it correctly.

I like the Congo Leo II very much. I purchased one from a forum member last year.

Fire Brigade

Civil Decoration

Civic Medal of Premiere Class for Acts of Courage

A sample

Another variation.

Here is a better scan out of my guide.

Here are some of the 25 Pint Bloodgiver medals.

Jeff, I actually have a copy of a guide that was passed out at a Belgian Numismatic Society Conference due to the 25 Pint Bloodgiver Coin/Table Medals. Interesting to see the bars with American style pins. Many of my older ribbon pelican disks have pins too.

There are different bars too.

A page out of my Belgian Red Cross Book.

Hello Jeff. Yes, I just did not have a chance to include them. The silver and gold disks were replaced by bars but the bronze disks are still used. I will also scan the pages out of my Belgian Red Cross Guide. It is hard to see but the bar on the medal ribbon has a gold pelican and the others are silver.

Here is the Blood Givers... There are also table medals for lesser pint donation.

Here is from my collection. I have many others but I put these together to help answer questions. I have a small guide on Belgian Red Cross Medals.

The smaller crossed swords are regulation but the vets liked the larger swords. I have many samples of small, medium and large swords so there are many variations out there.

Very nice! :rolleyes:

Keep in mind guys that the history of American medals is quite different from the European idea of orders and medals. The United States was founded by consciously breaking away from their European roots. When our country gained independence, we wanted also to break away from many European ways. One of these changes was not having a caste system of orders and medals. This was seen by our founding fathers as imperialistic. The US Purple Heart started out as a cloth patch in the 1700s. It was not until the 1800s that America really found a need to have military medals but even then there was only one. This is why that by WWI, high ranking US military people had very few medals on their chest as compared to their German, English and French counterparts. Even as late as WWII, the American military still had not caught up to the amount of European orders and medals that could be bestowed on the military let along it’s civilian population. It was not until the advent of the US Legion of Merit did the United States have a medal that could really be compared to a European order. Many of our US military medals are cheaply made. Even our Medal of Honor is not made of precious metals made by famous jewelers hanging from expensive silk. It is made of cheap materials. Why? Because acts of valor and courage speak for themselves in America.

I spent 25 years in the US Navy. I never shot and killed another human in anger and I thank God for it every day. But I have been shot at. I did not receive my medals sitting behind a desk either. My son, presently in the US Marine Corps has served under fire for long periods of time and he deserves every medal my country can bestow on him. We two have received both the US Global War on Terrorism Service and Expeditionary Medals. And I am proud to have served. I do collect Belgian medals and orders. Europeans as well as other countries produce beautiful medals but it is the act that is more important to me than the gold, silver and enamel contained in them. Thank you Harvey for your posts!

Thank you farmer for your post. Very interesting. :cheers:

Hmmm, you may be right. Thank you. James

James,

# 13 might be the ZUPRO (Polish Combattants in France) merit decoration (For Yours and Our Freedom) - unknown class but most likely the lowest.

# 14 is possbly a Le Croix du Combattant de l'Europe. European Combattant's cross for WW2 (it does not have the wreath of stars - perhaps due to the space issue).

Regards

I purchased these books over the years from a friend in Belgium. The last two are very large books and quite expensive. Also, I see all of these for sale on Belgium eBay from time to time. Good luck. James

thanks for posting all of these pictures , so i can begin to search for these books here i belgium

strange thing is that i have a large collection and do not have any of these books .

A must for the Belgian Resistance collector.