ARAB MEDALS -- Syria

[Ed_Haynes]

Wisam Batal al-Jamhuriya / Hero of the Republic

Awarded to members of the Syrian Armed Forces for extraordinary combat performance which results in a decisive shift of battle in favor of Syria and to air force pilots for five air victories. The medal may also be awarded to civilians and to other Arabs engaged in battle side-by-side with Syrian forces. It may be awarded more than one time (in which cases the ribbon, when worn alone, bears a bronze Syrian eagle) and may be awarded posthumously.

Established: By Legislative Decree No. 75 of 20 October 1973.

Obverse: An eight-ended jeweled star with square points with smaller points between these. In the center an ancient Arab waraior on horseback. Worn around the neck from a depiction (enameled?) of the Syrian arms.

Reverse: Presumably plain.

Ribbon: Pale blue (also said to be black?), with six white stripes. Worn as a neck badge.

All I have is a drawing, sorry.

Edited May 14, 2008 by Ed_Haynes

[922F]

Wonderful!

[samurai]

Edited July 22, 2008 by samurai

[Ed_Haynes]

<img src=http://www.syrianmedals.narod.ru/civilmerit3old.jpg>

Thanks for including a link on your web page to the source for your text.

Edited July 22, 2008 by Ed_Haynes

[samurai]

Thanks for including a link on your web page to the source for your text.

It was pretty hard to get used to the current UPLOAD system :D

[Ed_Haynes]

It was pretty hard to get used to the current UPLOAD system

This might be added to your website: http://faculty.winthrop.edu/haynese/medals/Syria/syria.html

Some wonder why I have not been updating these sites????

[samurai]

This might be added to your website: http://faculty.winthrop.edu/haynese/medals/Syria/syria.html

Some wonder why I have not been updating these sites????

Mr. Haynes, in Syria I heard that some of syrian military decorations like Miidaliyya Yom al-Bhariyya / Navy Day Commemorative Medal exist only as ribbons. Have you ever heard of that?

[Ed_Haynes]

Mr. Haynes, in Syria I heard that some of syrian military decorations like Miidaliyya Yom al-Bhariyya / Navy Day Commemorative Medal exist only as ribbons. Have you ever heard of that?

Yes, I have information, but no examples. The confusion, in part, arises from that quirky UAR period. This makes disentangling "Syrian" and "Egyptian" awards most compex.

I believe (?) these are medals, but I (too) have never seen.

Owain???

[samurai]

I also have some doubts about this medal. I know it as Lebanon service medal, but I am not sure that is the right name of it.

[samurai]

BTW, I opened a new gallery with my Syrian medals and Orders. You might be interested, but I confident there`s no new stuff for you

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?autocom=galler...um&album=65

[Ingsoc]

My latest purchase: Syrian campaign medal for the 1948 war with Israel

[Christian L]

The Documents are extremly nice!

As i expected there are no documents at all.

At least after talking hours to a Syrian Soldier, who lives now close to my home, he told me that neither himself nor any of his comrades got any of his medals together with a document, case or even envelope.

He told me, that if anyone got awarded a medal, the had to line up and the officer was pining the medals directly on the ribbon - thats it.

Nothing else!

Christian

[Elie Ghossoub]

Hi,

I was browsing this site and saw your comments on this medal, it is the Peace in Lebanon Medal, well this is for sure not a Lebanese medal, it is a Syrian medal awarded to high officers (never soldiers) for their service in Lebanon assuming to preserve the peace in the late 1977.

And Syrian soldiers, even most officers since the 70s they are only awarded ribbons and not the actual medal, I dont know if they issue a certificate but I know it comes as a direct order from the army commendment as a document to the corp or place the military man is serving and so it reflects on his salary so the more medals the soldier (any military soldier) is awarded the more his salary would increase and so to decrease cost, due to the big army size, few are really awarded multi medals. I can even say that the last medal created was in 1977 (few orders as exceptions), so no new medals have been made or designed, maybe also the lack of military actions is a cause. Even that Syria participated in the Kuwait Liberation coallition in 1991, they did not create a medal but they awarded the ribbon or in some cases the medal made by the Saudis or Kuwait like the liberation of Kuwait or bravery medal, that is less expensive for the government .

So we can see that they keep using the old medals. We can see also that some medals are found everywhere because a huge stock was made before and directly after the revolution that is when Syria was in its Golden financial age. They were all made abroad in Swiss of France and now they re-make them in low quality and they are not replicas by low quality mints and same thing goes to the wings that have another story

I attach a ribbon bar of most Syrian medals and orders, dont ask me what some ribbons refer to as I dont know

if you have doubles I can buy or try swap.

Yours,

Elie Ghossoub

I also have some doubts about this medal. I know it as Lebanon service medal, but I am not sure that is the right name of it.

[Ed_Haynes]

Love that ribbon bar!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Off to decipher . . . .

[Paul R]

[Welcome Elie!!

That is one amazing ribbon bar. I bet it can be traced to a top ranking personality!

[Elie Ghossoub]

Hi,

Thanks for the feedback. In fact this is the biggest one belonging to a General, they are many in the Syrian army.

I have smaller of 17 medals and less as well I will post one now that has a medal not in the other one in the second line I guess.

[Ed_Haynes]

Another LOVELY ribbon bar, Elie. Thanks.

If the incredibly cranky internet this morning allows, let me try at an identification.

The first one (reproduced below):

1- Order of Civil Merit, Excellent Class; Order of Civil Merit, 1st Class

2- Order of Bravery, 1st Class; Long & Exceptional Service; Order of Devotion, Excellent Class

3- Order of Devotion, 1st Class; Medal or Training. Palm???; Union Order; Victory Medal

4- Medal of Training, Star???; Army Day Commemorative Medal; Syrian Arab Army Medal; Medal of 8 March

5- 25th Anniversary of the Syrian Army; Medal of 6 October; ??? (Kuwait Liberation?); ???

6- ???; ???; ???; Something Kuwaiti but I can't remember what

7- ???; Saudi Combat Medal; Saudi Kuwait Liberation; Kuwaiti Kuwait Liberation

Help?????!!!!!

Edited March 14, 2009 by Ed_Haynes

[Ed_Haynes]

And my guesses on the second one:

1- Order of Civil Merit, Excellent Class; Order of Military Merit, 1st (?) Class

2- Order of Civil Merit, 1st Class; ??? (I should know this!); Order of Bravery, 1st Class

3- Order of Devotion, Excellent Class; Long & Exceptional Service; Medal of Training, Palm???; Order of Devotion, 1st Class

4- Medal of Training, Star???; Union Order; Victory Medal; Medal of Training

5- Army Day Commemorative Medal; Air Force Medal; Syrian Arab Army Medal; Medal of 8 March

6- 25th Anniversary of the Syrian Army; Medal of 6 October; ??? (Kuwait Liberation?); ???

Would guess he isn't wearing foreign things?

Edited March 14, 2009 by Ed_Haynes

[Ed_Haynes]

I am now very confused about two issues (beyond specific identifications):

1- The order of wearing. But it seems the generals (and their military tailors) are most confused as well?

2- The Wisam al-Tadrib / Medal of Training: Does it have classes?

Again, thanks for these. I love puzzles and love learning (and being confused).

[Elie Ghossoub]

I guess you are right they are both confused, without proper training, military tailors become normal tailors with no respect to the order of wearing of the medals.

Yes the training medal or ouissam el tadrib has 3 classes 1-2-3 the first being with a Leaf, the second with a star and the third simple. I guess they differ by the time or how many trainings have been made. so it is not like other medals being Gilt, Silvered and bronze. I mean the first one could be directly taken and not gradually, for example in Lebanon if someone took the Merit medal class 2, after a period if he retakes it, a star is added to the ribbon (bar and medal), I am not sure if this is the case here. But I know Syria high officers are treaded differently than normal soldiers.

I have a quastion about the order of wearing the medals: is there an international policy and procedures for that? or it differs from country to country?

I am now very confused about two issues (beyond specific identifications):

1- The order of wearing. But it seems the generals (and their military tailors) are most confused as well?

2- The Wisam al-Tadrib / Medal of Training: Does it have classes?

Again, thanks for these. I love puzzles and love learning (and being confused).

[Ed_Haynes]

Thanks! This is very helpful.

I have a quastion about the order of wearing the medals: is there an international policy and procedures for that? or it differs from country to country?

Each country has its own individual order for wearing and, presumably, these are published somewhere in all the mountains of paper that each government generates. They are published, made as rules and regulations, and then ignored by those in- or out-of-uniform. Plus, they change over time.

[ChrisW]

As you say, Ed, it's difficult to disentangle the Egyptian and Syrian ribbons during the UAR period.

It's interesting to see that some of the ribbons on this Syrian ribbon bar are identical to Egyptian ones -- Army and Air Force commemorative medals, Victory, etc.

I always thought these were purely Egyptian awards; they certainly continued to exist in Egypt after the UAR period.

[Ed_Haynes]

Yes, Chris. Very complex. It is my understanding that, with unification in 1958, both Egypt and Syria kept their own preexisting awards (kind or a pre-nuptual agreement?). But any new UAR award (and there were many) continued in both areas after the split in 1961 (legally, 1971) as a sort of joint custody.

[ilja559]

Miheev Aleksandr

With Republic Egypt Medal of Military Duty,

Syria Order of Bravery and 6th October Medal

[Elie Ghossoub]

Hi,

Thanks for the photo, I wounder why he took the Syrian bravery medal? do you have any idea?

Merry Christmas

Happy New Year

Miheev Aleksandr

With Republic Egypt Medal of Military Duty,

Syria Order of Bravery and 6th October Medal