Hauptmann

Jean Paul,

Hope you don't mind... I took the liberty of pulling up the size of the font on this one so it would be easier to read.

Dan

When Ann Deluca-Smith was clearing out boxes in her parents' Rochester Township home last year, she could never have guessed the family treasure she would stumble upon.

Tucked away in a storage box in her parents' attic, Deluca-Smith discovered a trinket reserved for America's most valorous soldiers: a Medal of Honor awarded to her great-great-great uncle Charles Higby during the Appomattox campaign of the Civil War.

The family had been aware of the award, but only vaguely, as they had learned of it through a 2000 newspaper article detailing Beaver County's four Medal of Honor recipients. Other than that, they had little idea of their ancestor's accolade or his life story, explained family spokesmanJay Deluca, of New Brighton.

"My mother was a Higby, and the best we can figure is that it ended up with my grandparents," Deluca said. "My grandmother was terminally ill and the house was sold and the possessions were just kind of cleaned out of the house, and it was put in boxes that my mother took out and put in our attic; we never even knew what it was."

Now the medal is being kept at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum in Oakland, as the family decided it would loan the large, gold colored medal hung from a small flag resting beneath a golden eagle to the museum for display.

The context surrounding Higby's award, which reads "From the Congress to Charles Higby," is ambiguous. He was given the medal for acts of gallantry between March 20 and April 9, 1865, meaning his act of bravery could have come at any point during that window.

What Kraus and Higby's descendants do know is that Charles Higby captured and turned in a Confederate flag, which, by late in the war, had been deemed grounds for receiving one of the medals.

Read the complete article: http://www.chron.com...War-2135733.php

Jean-Paul

Clue #1: The whole situation could have been avoided with a simple apology.

Dan :cheers:

Beautiful! I wonder if there was another one at some point over the black section on the second row on the second bar... either that or he wore it only on his dress blue uniform and figured it wouldn't show on there. But great bars! :jumping:

Do you have the history of them, ie: the name, etc., of the original recipient?

Dan :cheers:

I was in line for the great honor of being the first... but that went to another. I still would have been one of those to immediately follow. But due to my ego and arrogance plus a bit of stupidity with two of my comrades I fell from favor and we burned down in concert. I continued my career, often telling others how I was one who should have had the honor and glory others went on to have including many who did not start will I had left, but they never believed me. I finally met my end by train.

Who was I?

What great honor was I in line for? Who did it go to instead?

What was the incident that caused my fall from favor? Who were my two comrades who were with me during this incident?

Where did I end up in my career?

When and how did I die?

Hope this is a bit of a challenge.

Good luck!

Dan :cheers:

Statue of Kartlis Deda called Mother of Georgians. It's just over the ruins of the Narqala Castle. She holds a sword in one hand and a cup of wine in the other.

Dan :cheers:

I've decided to stay open to comments till Friday evening... so far there's only been the one from Uwe. I want to keep it going but if there's not even enough interest for more comments then perhaps it's best to shut it down... at least for now.

But will continue to stay in a holding pattern. Again, if ya'll want to keep this going please... let's hear from you.

I'm also open to any and all suggestions on things to make this section come alive. I've seen that it has now seen the cinema and library sections combined into one... in many ways that's a good idea. But would love to see alot more activity here. So what can we do to make that happen?

Dan :cheers:

Hi Dan,

I'm interested, but I think, that it is very unfair to take part here as a German.

Uwe

I don't feel that way... the reason for the quiz here, as in other areas, is to have fun... and to learn new things. I'm positive you'd be able to come up with some great questions that would keep us on our toes and help us to learn more about this period in German history. Plus, we also hope that more activity here will also promote more activity in the section as a whole.

The only problem is that if only a very few members participate it just doesn't keep things moving as it should and becomes kind of a closed circle which defeats the purpose. We need to get more folks involved and keep up a good pace so as to keep up interest.

I'm hoping to hear more opinions throughout the day. I'm hoping we can keep this going but I definitely need to know that there will be participation and interest. Of course if there's not enough now, perhaps we could postpone it and start i up again in a few months.

In the meantime, I'm staying in a holding pattern and awaiting more feedback.

Many thanks!

Dan :cheers:

Well, don't know if this has happened before in the other quizzes. I'd think Gordon would still have the honor of the next question if he wants it as not sure how else to handle it.

But let me ask... is there even interest in continuing the quiz here? I'm happy to do so, but so far it's stalled a couple of times now, and there don't seem to be alot of members jumping in to give it a try. So I need feedback... keep it or shut it down.

I'll stay in a holding pattern till about this time tomorrow night and make a decision then based on any (or lack thereof) feedback on this.

Dan :cheers:

To think that Brezhnev was awarded(!?) the order of victory in 1978 - for what exactly I am still unsure.... This was revoked in 1989....but still...we are speaking of the USSR's TOP award!!!

Jim

Well, I think it goes back to the old Mel Brooks line... "It's good to be King."

Dan :cheers:

Right on Jim! Over to you now.

Dan :cheers:

A quick update:

The score is presently as follows:

2 points - Naxos

1 point - Gordon

Dan

I studied metallurgy. I was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1935. In the Great Patriotic War I was a Lt. General. Along with two others, I initiated a Soviet award.

Who am I?

What was the award and who were the others who helped to initiate it's creation?

What became of me after the GPW?

Dan :cheers:

Hey... my B-day is Saturday... think there's any hope I'll find one in my mailbox?

Dan :cheers:

Okay, I'm probably wrong but I'll give it a try:

1 - Who am I? Anatoly Vasilyevich Liapidevsky (1908–1983)

2 - What was my military rank and what branch did I serve in? Ended as Aviation Major General, Air Force but had served in the Baltic Fleet and Army.

3 - Whose lives (and how many) did I save and in what year? Twelve people... ten women and two children in 1934.

4 - Give some background about the circumstances that led to my award. He took part in rescuing the Steamship Chelyuskin. Carried out 29 search operations in a blizzard and in bad weather before March 5, 1934, having found their camp, landed on an ice floe and brought out 12 people - 10 women and 2 children. Was awarded HSU #1 (ie: he was the "first" Hero of the Soviet Union.).

There were others who participated in this rescue: Sigizmund Levanevsky, Vasily Molokov, Mavriky Slepnyov, Nikolai Kamanin, Ivan Doronin and Mikhail Vodopianov, so "if" I'm correct it's because Liapidevsky was HSU #1.

Dan :cheers:

Prior to the creation of the Long Service medals:

Order of Lenin = 25 years long service

Order of the Red Banner = 20 years long service

Order of the Red Star = 15 years long service

Military Merit Medal = 10 years long service

Also, in a number of cases awards of the Lenin (and probably others) were made on birthdays of say long service Generals, Marshals, Admirals, political figures, etc. This was especially the case under Brezhnev... in fact during his time in office many higher awards tended to lose their prestige.

This is also why if you're looking to research a Soviet Order (ie: one of the above) you have to be prepared to end up with it being awarded solely for long service and not combat. It's possible to come across groups of all of the above, all awarded for long service with the individual in question never seeing any combat.

You can find more here:

http://soviet-awards.com/forum/soviet-military-awards/medals/4311-long-service-medals.html

Dan :cheers:

Gentlemen... we need to find a solution to this as the quiz has bogged down. I'd like to propose that you start a separate thread in this section to discuss the cord, that pending Gordon's okay that we award the point to Naxo's and that he come up with a new question? If Naxo's wishes to pass on the question I propose letting Gordon have another go at it.

That way, we can get things moving again but at the same time learn more about the cords without holding things up here on the quiz?

Let me know if this is acceptable to both of you and if so I'll post the stats update and we'll await the next question from Naxos.

Many thanks!

Dan :cheers:

If the same held true for those in civilian careers as with the military then the Lenin could have been for long service.

Dan :cheers:

Congratulations Jim... you nailed it! Actually feels pretty good to have come up with something that lasted more than ten minutes before being answered.

It's in your court again.

Dan :cheers:

The two buildings represented their nations... who although not at war at the time were definitely rivals. Because of their placement at this event the rivalry was definitely very pronounced.

This was a major event at the time.

Look carefully at the pictures... look for details which are clues to the nationality represented by each structure. Also note their surroundings... this location is very well known the world over.

Dan :cheers:

Two buildings... facing each other... something is missing...

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2011/post-873-0-83380400-1312672363.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_08_2011/post-873-0-89572900-1312672374.jpg

What are the two buildings?

What is missing?

What year was this?

Where was this?

Dan :cheers:

No worries there... it just happens to be something I've seen quite a number of times before so it "clicked" in my otherwise befuddled brain.

I'll come up with the next question in just a few...

Dan :cheers:

1. WHAT IS IN THE CENTER OF THIS STRUCTURE? A small wooden hut.

2. WHO LIVED HERE? Stalin's parents... it's where he was born.

3. WHERE IS IT LOCATED? Gori, Georgia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin_Museum,_Gori

Dan :cheers:

The score is presently as follows:

1 point - Naxos

1 point - Gordon

Dan

You're right... agreed.

Dan :cheers: