Greg Collins

As I wrote in yesterday's blog, I have thought about sharing a few "sea stories" with you. Don't expect great revelations here; just a few that I can't seem to get out of my head, no matter how hard I try. They are personal in nature and may give insight as to why I am somewhat "twisted". Communication, I have painfully learned, is the cornerstone of a lasting marriage. All to often we fall prey to our own baser instincts and concentrate on the physical, only to "pay big time" at a later date. So it was with my first marriage. Here's a little taste of what lasted seven years for me (1978 through 1984). I was married, for a time, to a girl from the “sunnier climes”- the Philippines, to be exact- who never quite got the grasp of the English language although, to be honest, her English was heads and shoulders above my attempt at Tagalog (the national language of the Philippines). Anyway, one morning I arose at the customary 4:30 am to grab a shower and a couple cups of coffee prior to heading across the Terminal Island Expressway to get to the USS New Jersey BB-62, which we were re-assembling back in ’82. This particular morning, the wife was awake, sitting at the dining room table and, as a large bonus, had coffee ready! As I mumbled my early morning greeting and closed in on the warm, brown elixir of life, I heard her say, “Honey, hand pour me please de hello pahgaes”. I took a long slug of coffee and replied, “Huh?”. “Hand pour me please do hello pahgeas”, she said. I dropped my head, shook it side to side a bit as if trying to dislodge some blockage in my ear and replied, “Huh?”. She repeated the phrase again, but with much irritation. Finally I told her, “Honey, I can hear what you are saying; I just don’t understand what you’re telling me”. Exasperated, she explained, “Joo know, de book pour de telephone coeloured hello…”. To which I replied, “You mean the g*d d*mned Yellow Pages?”. She did. On my way to the ship that morning I was reminded of an earlier (probably ’79), similar incident in Yokosuka, Japan when I was on the USS Kirk FF-1087. As I was the only one of a close-knit group of buddies to have a house on the economy (in town) and a wife who could really cook several Philippino delicacies such as pancit and lumpia, I was elected to host our drunken get-togethers (I did say this was Navy, didn’t I). Well, I had duty on the day before one of these events and I told a couple of the guys, “Look, if you want to do this tomorrow, you’ll have to get off your *sses, go to my place, pick up the wife, take her to the commissary and then get her back home”. “No problem”, came their reply. Later that day- much later- and as I was on rounds on the ship, one of the guys approached me and said, “That is the last time I ever go to the commissary with your wife”. “Why, what happened”, I inquired. He stated, “She had me looking high and low for car-oats”. He went on, “I was climbing the shelves in the cereal aisle looking up and down for the s*ns of b*tches”. I interjected, “Didn’t she mean carrots?”. He glared at me and mumbled’ “*sshole” before turning and walking away. I smiled and chuckled as I hooked a right at the Hughes Tool Company shack and turned toward the dry dock. Have a Great Holiday!, Greg

Well, the 21st has come and gone and we're still here... not sure if that's a plus or minus but, hey, it IS. So, on we go until the next projected apocalypse. Nothing much happening here except it is getting colder. I apologize to those living in the colder climes- Canada and Russia come to mind- but we're just not as used to it here and it does get "raw" at times. Anyway, I'm taking advantage of the indoor time to continue cataloging the collection. This has become something of a daunting task due to the size of the "beast"- what you're seeing in my galleries is only a third of it, at best. Acquistitions continue, although at a much slower rate than in the past (the economy). What I have been concentrating on is, primarily, Border Guard items and have found some pretty nice pieces at good prices. I'll take this opportunity to give a shameless (and uncompensated) plug to Igor at Collect Russia. Despite the talk of his high prices, I have been able to find several very good deals from him- very good deals- and with the bonus of knowing absolutely that these pieces are genuine. So, many thanks to Igor- again. And, as always, I've posted these jewels in my USSR gallery, so have a look. Am toying with an idea for future blogs; I have alot of interesting/weird/humerous etc. stories from a fair amount of travelling which I often resort to, from time to time, in my interactions with younger people. Most deal with clashes in culture, "fish out of water"- that kind of thing. Anyway, I thought I'd share a few of these with you as they all pertain directly or indirectly with the military of my day (I say "of my day" because there have definitely been some changes since I was there... whew!). Most will be humerous, many will be off-colour, some will be happy and some of a sadder nature. Two things before I go: thanks to Nick for seeing fit in including me in the calender- twice! Very gratifying. And, finally, my very best to all for the season in what ever way you chose to celebrate it. All the Best, Greg

Peter, Not retired yet, but have sworn to absolutely do it at the first opportunity (when the state decides to shut down a prison, they will often offer to add to years toward retirement so older staff will move aside for a younger officer from the prison that was closed). Hoping that I do not have to wait until 65 (didn't begin this gig until I was 45, and the 8 years in the Navy does not count toward state employment- boo hiss!). I expect money will be somewhat of an issue- due to state austerity measures, we haven't had a raise in 3 years so we're getting used to that; I already know about energy. My bucket list has already been downsized considerably. Camera is dusted off and at the ready. Hope to do some damage (constructively, of course) to the competition this year! Greg

I have been absent from the blogging scene of late… I could list all kinds of excuses but, as most of them revolve around being 58- and a lot of you are in the same shoes- you can fill-in the blanks. For those who have not reached this point in your “development”, I admonish you to enjoy the youth you currently enjoy as it truly is fleeting. For those who have passed me and are looking at 58 in the rear-view, please resist the temptation of telling me what comes next as I just LOVE these surprises :-( . I have religiously followed the forum and, surprisingly and gratefully, was chosen as a 2nd Place winner in the August competition (thanks to the judging staff). It’s always a “pig in a poke” anticipating if another will find the interest or excitement that you found in a particular piece or pieces. And I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the plaque. I have also been quite busy adding to a couple/few of the galleries I maintain here- a labour of love. I try to put forward some interesting stuff in a way that folks will enjoy the look. Since my last blogging, I’ve added to the USSR, Veteran’s, PMR and DDR galleries; have a look if you have the time… more than a couple of interesting/unusual pieces there. The cooler temperatures have arrived and it’s beginning to feel, and look, like autumn here in Central Virginia. The leaves are beginning to turn from green to gold to red- many love this time of year BUT, the “grump” that I am is reminded of Sean Bean’s recurring line, and family motto, in The Game of Thrones, “winter is coming”. Hope it’s not too hard on us this year- it wasn’t last year, but it does run in cycles. Again, check out the galleries, Take Care, Greg

Here's a short, cheerful poem entitled, "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" by Randall Jarrell that was published in 1945: From my mother's sleep I fell into the State, And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze. Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life, I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters. When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose. Sort of puts the hero crap into the realm of reality, in my opinion...

An absolutely incredible individual... thanks for the post.

Absolutely, Nick. I guess I should have said that it was a medal "commemorating" the 60th anniversary of the 64th. Like most of these types of medals, it's probably a fund-raising gizmo.

My guess is that since this is aimed at a particular veteran group, rather than veterans of the entire Red Army, production would have been limited. However, and this is sad to say, with the passing of veterans (we lose them daily), the kids and grand kids seem to want to get rid of the grandma and grandpa's "old junk"... and it usually finds it's way to an online auction site. Hence, I have a small collection of veterans' badges and medals- but this is the first time I've seen this particular medal.

It's a veterans' medal (not an official government award) for "60 years of the 64th Aviation Fighter Corps". The large, central type on the stamp reads, "military brotherhood".

Haven't written in a while; otherwise occupied lately. Anyway, I have a few days off which, when added to the days I'd normally be off comes to a total of seven days, thought I'd drop a few lines to let everyone know (A) I'm still sucking air and am warm and upright, and (B) what I'm up to as far as collecting goes. I've been concentrating on my primary interest lately, which is state security/internal ministry/border troops/fire brigades, and my focus, at least at present, is directed toward the USSR. To tell you the truth, it's been kind of nice to return to the USSR after spending so much of my collector time elsewhere. Anyway, while I am limited (financially) to what I can seek ("egg" badges are out for me at present), I've found some gems that are within my realm. I've added the following to my USSR gallery in case anyone would like to take a look: - Medal for Distinguished Service in Defense of State Frontier (3rd variation) - Medal for Distinguished Service in Defense of Public Order (2nd variation) - 60 and 70 Year Border Troop badges (the official badges) - An early 1985, two piece gold Outstanding Militiaman badge (set completer) - A '62-'66 Belorussian MOOP badge (set completer) - A set of KGB type 1 service medals - A '92 70 Years of the North Western Border Guard veteran's badge (set completer) - A 60 year Tajikistan Border Troop veterans badge (not posted yet) - Several Georgian MVD documents, including I.D.'s (not posted yet) - An interesting 50 year anniversary badge of the MVD unit concerned with the misappropriation of state property (not posted yet) So yeah, I've been busy. And, I continue the search (in case you may have some things you're looking to get rid of... hint). Other than that, life goes on here pretty much uneventfully. It's supposed to be quite warm over the next several days- 93 today, climbing to 103 by Saturday. That and, of course, we live without air conditioning- we generally don't need it, but it would come in handy for the few days we have like this. Anyway, if I don't fry or bake to death, I'll write more soon.

Nice!

Just took a look at Dr. Battushig's book and, after looking at the example of the post '90 version (brass) of the award (which is showing several of the same features I listed above), I really can't tell whether yours is genuine or fake. Sorry for the inconclusive answer.

Mogul, While I do not own one of these awards in my Mongolian collection, I will say that there are details I don't like that I'm seeing here, especially in the reverse image. Very rough, uneven edges are all over the place, the scratching below the pin assembly, the pin assembly itself seems to have been cut with metal shears. The front seems to be showing a fair amount of verdigris at the bottom (could be the lighting)- unusual for this award. While the red and yellow painted areas look basically ok, the blue and green areas look sloppy and both colours are considerably off-tint. Take a look at this: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/13677-fakes/page__st__20 Posts #34 and #35 and form your own opinion.

There are a fair amount of these "floating around", though rarely for sale- families tend to keep those as cherished memories of the dearly departed- remember, we're talking Southern Culture here, and from baby boomers (me) back, that tends to be the way it is. Younger generations have a somewhat more relaxed approach. The three organizations mentioned so far (UDC, SCV and MOS&B) have chapters or camps (SCV terminology) in most towns or cities of reasonable population throughout the South. Here in Virginia, if you have at least one traffic light and a gas station, you probably have an SCV camp nearby. And, where these camps or chapters exist in concert with local veterans, these medals exist.

The qualifications for this award are that the recipient either has been in an established war zone (by established, I am referring to a hostile environment with it's own medal: Viet Nam, Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, etc.) or other hostile zone for which an Expeditionary Medal is awarded (an example of this would be Beirut in 1983). The ribbon colour will change according to the conflict. So far, the requirements are virtually the same for membership in the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Here's the catch: the recipient must be the documented descendant of a Confederate soldier or sailor. The Sons of Confederate Veterans has a comparable award, as does the Military Order of the Stars and Bars... although, with that particular organization, you must be the documented descendant of a Confederate Officer or cabinet member of the Confederate government.

Thanks for the follow-up. Very interesting order... similarities with the Order of the Red Banner are unmistakable (torch and star center; makes me wonder which inspired which due to the date given); wreath made of both oak- strength- and laurel- victory- leaves, derrick and anvil and the almost obligatory red banner with "Workers of All Nations Unite" emblazoned thereupon. Very nice piece. Congratulations on owning it!

Thanks Mogul... I've not seen one of these before. The rivets on the flag and torch are interesting in that they can be seen from the front. Also interesting is the construction of the badge as evidenced by the prongs on the backplate. I'm curious as to the first letter of the republic's abbreviation at the top right of the star "_SFSR". What is the first letter and do you have an approximate date on this piece?