Kev in Deva

Sailor's son obligatory Romanian "Rambo" pose Kevin in Deva. :beer:

Same period, same location as the previous shot, but in Black & white:- Sailor's son wearing helmet to the left. Kevin in Deva

Colour picture:- Nice display of uniforms, Back row, Green Beret, Green Collar Tabs White Boot socks, indicates a Romanian Mountain Troops Unit. Leather Belts with Brass R.S.R. period motif belt buckles. The weapons, Romanian version of the AK, A.K.M, folding stock., R.P.D., Light Machine Gun) and on the shoulder, back row the firing tube for a R.P.G. 7. Kevin in Deva.

Platoon / Class Group shot, sailor's son Back row, second from the right. Kevin in Deva. :beer:

Sailor's son on the right:- R.S.R. Period. note the good shine to the boots! Picture taken in Arad, Transylvania, in 1988. Kevin in Deva. :beer:

Slightly off topic, and jumping slightly ahead:- but here is the son serving as a communications specialist with the Airforce in the Romanian Military post Communist period Believe it or not he is now a train driver Kevin in Deva. :beer:

This chap is the sailors son Who was a communications specialist Grade 2 according to the insignia worn. R.S.R. Period. Kevin in Deva. :cheers:

Rear of the picture. Loosely translates to: "A memory of our time together, Viorel Giurgu (?) 23 Aug 1956. Kevin in Deva. :beer:

Hallo Gents First up a member of the Navy. "MARINA MILITARA." R.P.R. Period. Kevin in Deva :beer:

As I suspected, anyway the pictures are here on record to help others know what to avoid! Just love the bit about: Of course the seller might nit have any idea and is posting what his "friend" in Holland told him, he does have a 100% Positive feed rating. Still for the price he is looking for its in his interest to do some research. Kevin in Deva. :cheers:

and the one pictured with red background has one comma after the word le Mer, but the one with the blue background has two commas after the word le Mer,, Totally Bogus Man Kevin in Deva.

Ribbon Ose looks different to, when compared with the item with red background. Sellers answer to a question:- Kevin in Deva. :beer:

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2009/post-950-1232207978.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2009/post-950-1232207994.jpg and the motif on the P.L.M. box looks to be off center. Kevin in Deva. :cheers:

http://cgi.ebay.com/WW1-WWI-GERMAN-SANKE-M...%3A15|294%3A200 All pictures taken from the auction page:- http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2009/post-950-1232207822.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2009/post-950-1232207844.jpg To my eyes the picture with the red background is NOT the same item as the PLM with Blue background Kevin in Deva. :beer:

AWARDED THE VICTORIA CROSS FOR AUSTRALIA 16 January 2009. 8248070 TROOPER MARK GREGOR DONALDSON. For most conspicuous acts of gallantry in action in a circumstance of great peril in Afghanistan as part of the Special Operations Task Group during Operation SLIPPER, Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan. Trooper Mark Gregor Donaldson enlisted into the Australian Army on 18 June 2002. After completing Recruit and Initial and Employment Training he was posted to the 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment. Having successfully completed the Special Air Service Selection Course in April 2004, Trooper Donaldson was posted to Special Air Service Regiment in May 2004. On 2 September 2008, during the conduct of a fighting patrol, Trooper Donaldson was traveling in a combined Afghan, US and Australian vehicle convoy that was engaged by a numerically superior, entrenched and coordinated enemy ambush. The ambush was initiated by a high volume of sustained machine gun fire coupled with the effective use of rocket propelled grenades. Such was the effect of the initiation that the combined patrol suffered numerous casualties, completely lost the initiative and became immediately suppressed. It was over two hours before the convoy was able to establish a clean break and move to an area free of enemy fire. In the early stages of the ambush, Trooper Donaldson reacted spontaneously to regain the initiative. He moved rapidly between alternate positions of cover engaging the enemy with 66mm and 84mm anti-armour weapons as well as his M4 rifle. During an early stage of the enemy ambush, he deliberately exposed himself to enemy fire in order to draw attention to himself and thus away from wounded soldiers. This selfless act alone bought enough time for those wounded to be moved to relative safety. As the enemy had employed the tactic of a rolling ambush, the patrol was forced to conduct numerous vehicle manoeuvres, under intense enemy fire, over a distance of approximately four kilometers to extract the convoy from the engagement area. Compounding the extraction was the fact that casualties had consumed all available space within the vehicles. Those who had not been wounded, including Trooper Donaldson, were left with no option but to run beside the vehicles throughout. During the conduct of this vehicle manoeuvre to extract the convoy from the engagement area, a severely wounded coalition force interpreter was inadvertently left behind. Of his own volition and displaying complete disregard for his own safety, Trooper Donaldson moved alone, on foot, across approximately 80 metres of exposed ground to recover the wounded interpreter. His movement, once identified by the enemy, drew intense and accurate machine gun fire from entrenched positions. Upon reaching the wounded coalition force interpreter, Trooper Donaldson picked him up and carried him back to the relative safety of the vehicles then provided immediate first aid before returning to the fight. On subsequent occasions during the battle, Trooper Donaldson administered medical care to other wounded soldiers, whilst continually engaging the enemy. Trooper Donaldson?s acts of exceptional gallantry in the face of accurate and sustained enemy fire ultimately saved the life of a coalition force interpreter and ensured the safety of the other members of the combined Afghan, US and Australian force. Trooper Donaldson?s actions on this day displayed exceptional courage in circumstances of great peril. His actions are of the highest accord and are in keeping with the finest traditions of the Special Operations Command, the Australian Army and the Australian Defence Force. Personal biography of Trooper Mark Gregor Donaldson, VC Mark Donaldson was born in Waratah, Newcastle, NSW on 2 April 1979. He spent his formative years in northern NSW where he graduated from high school in 1996. Trooper Donaldson enlisted into the Australian Army on 18 june 2002 and entered recruit training at the Army Recruit Training Centre, Kapooka, NSW. He demonstrated an early aptitude for soldiering and was awarded the prizes for best shot and best at physical training in his platoon. Subsequently he was allocated to the Royal Australian infantry corps and posted to the school of infantry at Singleton, NSW, where he excelled in his initial employment training. At the completion of this training he was again awarded best shot and best at physical training, as well as the award for the most outstanding soldier in his platoon. He was posted to 1st battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, Townsville, QLD in November 2002. It was during this time that Trooper Donaldson decided to pursue his ambition to join the special air service regiment. In February 2004, he successfully completed the Special Air Service Regiment selection course and was posted to the regiment in may 2004. He was then posted to I Troop, 3 Special Air Service Squadron. Since that time he has been deployed on operations to East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq. On 12 August 2008, Trooper Donaldson was wounded in action whilst conducting night time operations in Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan. He recovered from his minor wounds and continued on the deployment. Trooper Donaldson was involved in an incident on 2 September 2008 in Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan that resulted in him being awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia. He was invested by her Excellency the Governor-General of Australia at Government House, Canberra on 16 January 2009. Trooper Donaldson remains posted to the Special Air Service Regiment in Perth, WA. Trooper Donaldson is married to Emma and has a daughter Kaylee. His parents are deceased. Significance. The Victoria Cross is the pre-eminent award for acts of bravery in wartime and is Australia's highest military honour. It is awarded to persons who, in the presence of the enemy, display the most conspicuous gallantry; a daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice; or extreme devotion to duty. History. The Victoria Cross was created by Queen Victoria in 1856 and made retrospective to 1854 to cover the period of the Crimea War. Until the Victoria Cross for Australia was created in 1991, Australians were eligible for the Victoria Cross and other awards under the Imperial system of honours. The Imperial Victoria Cross has been awarded to ninety six Australians. Ninety one received the Victoria Cross while others serving with Australian forces and five Australians received the award while serving with South African and British units. Australians were first recognised for their gallantry in the Boer War and more recently during the Vietnam War. Australians have been awarded the Victoria Cross in the following conflicts: * 6 in the Boer War 1899-1902 * 64 in World War I 1914-1918 * 2 in North Russia 1919 * 20 in World War II 1939-1945 * 4 in Vietnam 1962-1972 Nine of the crosses awarded in World War I were for Australians at Gallipoli. Victoria Cross for Australia. The Victoria Cross for Australia was instituted in the Australian honours system by Letters Patent on 15 January 1991. It replaced the British or Imperial Victoria Cross however; a Victoria Cross for Australia has not yet been awarded. Past recipients. Ninety six Australians have been awarded the Imperial Victoria Cross. No recipients had been awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia. The first Australian to be awarded a Victoria Cross was Captain Sir Neville Howse VC KCMG CB KStJ during the Boer War (1900). He also served in World War I and later as Commonwealth Minister for Health, Defence and Repatriation. The most recent recipient of the Victoria Cross was Warrant Officer Keith Payne VC OAM for gallantry during the Vietnam War (24 May 1969). Under heavy enemy fire Payne instigated a daring rescue of more than forty men, many of them wounded, and led the party back to the battalion base. Kevin in Deva.

Might be a silly question, but, After 1938 in Austria could a serving ex-Austrian Military soldier / sailor / airman upgrade his WW1 medal bar with a WW1 Prussian Iron Cross in lieu of the Kriegsverdienstmedaille ? Kevin in Deva :beer:

Hallo Boris does it happen to show, or do you have a picture for the back of the medal? Kevin in Deva.

Prussian War Help Service Cross 1916 - 1924 / Verdienstkreuz f?r Kriegshilfe 1916 - 1924. The one with the bar is a Late War model in Zink, early pieces were in silver. Information with regards this award has been posted in a couple of threads already. Kevin in Deva.

Hallo Iver, many thanks for your post, can they be found with maker marks? the rim of this is scratched and worn and nothing can be made out among the scratches. Kevin in Deva. :beer:

I have to agree, the term "hate belt" is a bit of poetic license in my opinion. I never heard the belts called that until they started being offered for sale on Evil Bay. Firstly being taken prisoner with such an item probably would get you shot after a hell of a beating. Secondly there is no real way to dating when these items were put together, during the war, immediate post WW1, trench art, rear-lines art, civvy street art. I have seen some with Allied, French, German buttons all mixed together. Kevin in Deva.

Your welcome Gordon, thanks to a new camera I got for Christmas I was able to do this. Kevin in Deva. :beer:

March 19, 1909 - January 10, 2009. A brave lady has passed to her Eternal Reward, May she + Rest In Peace + please see:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elżbieta_Zawacka Awards for Zawacka include: Virtuti Militari, Order of the White Eagle and Krzyż Walecznych. Kevin in Deva.

I always thought Treasure Island was pre WW2

Old news from February 2008 I believe, http://www.mahalo.com/Deutschneudorf the find turned out to be nothing of consequence (as usual in such cases on missing nazi gold). Kevin in Deva. :beer:

In my opinion there are more than enough conspiracy tinfoil hat sites out there in W.W.W. land without bringing it in here Kevin in Deva.