NavyFCO

An interesting (albiet sad) story follows this research...I had this great group to the fellow (Lenin, Red Banner, etc.) plus photos plus other assorted items that all came from the veteran's (a Colonel, pilot in the Air Force) son in the Ukraine. Well, I owned the group and researched it. Turned out that the Colonel was more of a ground guy than an aviator. So I turned the group....took me forever to get any money from it (ended up losing money on it) mostly because the guy didn't have any flashy combat flight citations. Well, about a year later, I see the research for sale plus a couple documents from the same guy that bought the group from me. APPARENTLY, the story he told me (after I told him what I thought of him for splitting the group) was that the buyer didn't want the research with it, so he was "forced" to keep it. Yeah, whatever...he sold the group with the Colonel being a combat pilot instead of a ground staff guy and was able to get his money out of it.... So, I got the research and items from the group and kept them ever since. Sad. Dave

Ed- Clean out your inbox. Something I forgot to tell you about this medal..... Dave

Yes, being worn by a veteran. Unfortunately, no pictures... Dave

I've had quite a few Chuikov autographs, and that one appears to be like the others. Pretty nice, if I might say so myself (totally forgot those documents were even in the group!) Dave

And a photo of the entire group...

Here's the group I had with the most wound stripes...all earned during the crossing of the Dnepr!

Here you go. I tried desperately to sell this group for $6300. I think I finally realized $6000 for it. Of course, I was happy because I paid $4800 for it and had been advised by a friend that "it's nice, but you may want to hold out for something better..." Do note that it includes the HSU with Lenin and all three docs WITH a Kutuzov 3rd............................ Oh, and I found my description for it... This is an INCREDIBLE group to Hero of the Soviet Union Colonel Dmitri Markovich Rumyantsev, Hero of Heroes, Battalion Commander of the 164th Independent Sapper Battalion, 52nd Rifle Division. This group includes: Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union 3421 Order of Lenin 17040 Order of the Red Star 100478 Order of Kutuzov 3rd Class 4564 Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class 95871 Order of the Red Star 1925852 Order of the Red Star 3171141 Medal "For Military Merit" unnumbered Medals: Defense of Moscow (with document) Victory Over Germany (with document) Victory Over Japan (with document) Capture of Budapest (without document) Capture of Vienna (with document) Liberation of Belgrade (without document) Liberation of Prague (without document) 100 Years of Lenin's Birth (with document) 20, 30, 40 Years of Victory (with documents) 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 Years of Soviet Armed Forces (with documents) "Veteran of Labor" (with document) Irreproachable Service 1st Class (with document) Foreign Awards: Yugoslavia - Partisan Star 2nd Class 2366 (with document) Bulgaria - "Patriotic War 1944-45" (with document) Bulgaria - 40 Years of Victory (with document) Documents: Large Document for the Hero of the USSR (with red folder) Small Document for the Hero of the USSR 1950's Officer ID book (with photo) Document for the Badge of Honor of the Soviet War Veteran's Committee Document for the badge "Veteran of the 57th Army" Document for the Jubilee Badge of the Soviet War Veteran's Committee Booklet of the "Declaration of Comrade Stalin to the Liberators of Belgrade 1944" Large, multi-language, colorful certificate from the Kazakh SSR The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was granted to him in 1944, for single-handedly establishing a bridgehead across the Dnestr River under heavy enemy fire, using captured pontoon boats, ensuring the Division crossing the river, allowing them to take an important town and bridgehead! His Order of Kutuzov was awarded in 1945 for cutting a path through heavily forested and mined areas for the Division. His battalion cleared 1035 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, cleared 3 wooded obstacles, built a bridge over one anti-tank ditch, and rebuilt the bridgehead over the Altul River! His Order of the Red Banner was awarded in 1944 for clearing 1325 anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, laying 522 more mines for an offensive barrier against attacking Germans troops, demined three warehouses, scouted 6 fortified area, 4 bridges, 60 kilometers of road, built 8 bridges ahead of the lead advancing Soviet units, prevented the Germans from blowing up the bridge over the Ingul River, and organized the crossing of the Division over the South Bug River, all the while with his sappers far ahead of the lead Soviet units, under constant heavy enemy fire! (One of the few two-page citations I've ever seen!) His Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class was awarded in early 1944 for having cleared 9200 (!) anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, dug 7 kilometers of trenches, emplacing 2878 meters of barbed wire, cutting 7 passes through fields of enemy barbed wire, clearing 9 passes through enemy minefields, organizing the transfer of two divisions across the North Donets River, and built 19 bridges, always ahead of the lead Soviet units, under heavy enemy artillery, mortar, and aerial bombardment, and infantry attacks, including the successful repelling of a much larger German attacking force with only a handful of sappers! His Order of the Red Star was awarded in 1945 for finding water for the Division during their crossing of a large, barren desert in Mongolia, finding passes over a large swamp, building three primary roads over the swamp, and finding secure crossings over several 'tempestuous' rivers. Finally, his medal "For Military Merit" was awarded for scouting enemy defenses, and blowing up a bridge far behind enemy lines! His second "Military Merit" medal, and second Red Star were awarded for long service in 1946 and 1951, respectively. The group is complete, with the exception of one "Military Merit" medal, which was lost by him. Included is the medal he wore in it's place, which came from his daughter when the group was purchased last year. The group includes full archival research from the Archives of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, which includes all citations for awards, service history, biographies, and English translations. To find a Hero of the Soviet Union group with the Star, Lenin, all three documents is hard enough to find as it is... To find one with a Kutuzov, multiple campaign and foreign awards, and citations for his other awards that are all for serious combat valor is just AMAZING! A truly AWESOME group! $6150

An interesting aside about this group is that it was almost an incomplete group... I originally received the group without the For Valor medal, as the family couldn't find it. It took nearly two years before they found it and it made it's way to me...what a difference it makes when you keep pursuing it! Dave

However, the rest of the copy of the newspaper (Pravda, if I remember right?) includes the date of Ukaz, which corresponds to the date in the book. So, chances are, it's her (plus, she looks like someone who spent a career as a high school teacher in Archangel!) Yes, the medal next to the RBL is the Labor Victory. Dave

Here are his trousers. A bit linty, but still his... :-)

I actually have his trousers, and they are full length with about a 2.5 inch wide gold bullion stripe down the side. They just don't photograph well, I'm afraid... Dave

Chris: I'm guessing they were full sized...here's a close up of the loops on the chest... Dave

It's in the 30 September 1950 edition of the Times, but for some reason I keep getting the 404 "page not working" any time I click on the link to the story. Apparently his funeral was held on 3 October...but no joy on that one either. Anyone with better luck? Dave

And here's his backside... :rolleyes:

Very cool! I wonder if a member could snap a picture of his picture??? Here's a picture of the jacket. The condition isn't the best, but the price was right...and now the history is OUTSTANDING...this is a great one for my one "foreign" piece in my collection. I think he looks great on display next to my desk. I wonder how much it would cost to put together a reproduction medal bar for him? Dave

So I'm guessing that this uniform dates from his pre-1914 days on the Gold Coast as he's referred to as a Major, whereas I think a later uniform would have refered to him as a Colonel or Lt. Colonel. Pretty darn cool! Dave

WOW! Well, very, very cool! THANKS!!! Now I need to track down pictures of the medals he would have gotten. I'm afraid that I've disposed of all of my British medals books, sadly. WOW - thanks again Rick!!! Dave

All: I recently bought a WW1 vintage British diplomat's uniform. I've wanted one of these for probably 20 years, and finally got one at a really good price. This one is named to a certain Major Bryan on the tailor's label. I'd like to see if I can find out more about him as it looks like he had one heck of a career...he has five loops on his chest for a medal bar that stretches about 6 or so inches long (maybe about six medals) and then loops on the lower breast for a pinback breast badge of some sort. Does a register of diplomatic officers (or officers on diplomatic duty) exist? Or would there be a way to figure out who Major Bryan was? Any help is greatly appreciated! Dave

Yes, transfer this group to the fakes section: 1. The pages in the book were bleached and new entries were added. 2. I don't like how the OGPW2nd looks, but I will defer to people more savvy with these to point out the flaws. 3. The Red Star is a later variation with the serial number erased and re-engraved. Junk! Dave

Here's a copy of the article, sadly without the pictures. I'll see what I can do to get one up with them. Enjoy! Dave Schwind_Soviet_Awards_Article.pdf

Here's a fairly famous shot, just to whet your whistle....

Do you want photos of the award presentations, or photos of the awards being worn? Or both? My article about Soviet awards to Americans in the JOMSA had several of both, as well as stats and ancedotes about the award ceremonies. I'd scan the article in, but I'm not 100% sure of the copyright policy once it was published (maybe Ed can chime in?) Dave

Unfortunately, the group is missing a very interesting award - his US Distinguished Service Cross! Dave

Yes, I would venture to bet that this Red Star was given to him for wounds recieved in action during the War. Dave

This group is fine (at least from the Soviet perspective). Several thousand of these medals were given out to surviving Allied (I know of British, French and US, at least) veterans in both 1985 and 1995 (and to a more limited number, 2005) to commemorate their contribution to victory during WW2. Interestingly, I have seen very few with their corresponding documents, and even more interestingly, I have seen several with blank documents that were issued with the medal itself. I know of veterans who received these for participating in the "Murmansk Run", Atlantic convoy duty, US Army Air Force units stationed in the USSR, lend-lease ferry duty, Arabian Gulf convoy duty, and for the Soviet-American lines meeting through Germany in April/May 1945. Hope that helps. Dave (author of the article Soviet Awards to Americans in WW2)