Republic of Cuba Pre-Revolution Cuban Ribbon bar

[Noor]

Hi,

One nice (my second at all) Cuban pre Castro period ribbon bar arrived today!

Great looking bar, very nice devices and amazing work. Any help to analize it, would be great!

All the best,

Timo

[Daniel Krause]

Hi Timo,

You will hardly find ANY info on that.

I was struggling with this (and another "brother" of Your bar :-) ) already for years....

Check Andreas website www.medalnet.net - he has some good info on the Cuban Orders, but for the decorations....

Greetings

Daniel

[Noor]

This one is actually pretty hard task. Here is the aditional identification. Any help would be great

1. ?

2. Order of Military Merit/Other Service

3. Order of Military Merit/Good Conduct

4. Order of Military Merit/Special Service

5. Order of Military Merit/Military Merit(?)Bravery in Combat(?)

6. The Armed Forces Merit Medal (1933)

7. ?

8. The Long Service Medal with 7 stars (should there be chevrons?)

9. Red Cross Order (?)

10. Venezuela Order of Francisco de Miranda (?) / Order of Carlos J. Findlay (probably civilian award don't make sence there?)

Some how I am not able to locate first award - this one should be the highest award but nothing.

Order of Military Merit - "Created February 27, 1912 primarily as an award for outstanding military merit, but can be awarded for other services and comes in four classes. First class for Generals, Second class for Colonels, Lieut. Cols. and Majors, Third class for Captains and Lieutenants, Fourth class for Enlisted men and non-commissioned Officers. Can be awarded to foreigners."

When awarded for other than military merit the color of the enamel on the cross is changed to correspond with the colors listed below on the ribbons:

Military Merit - Dark Red

Bravery in Combat - Purple

Humanitarian Acts - Half red, half white

Good Conduct - Blue

Continuous Service - Half white, half blue

Special Service - Green

Other Services - White

(from medalnet.net)

What class would be with the rosette? Second class I presume? In this case we know ribbon bar owner's rank - Major/Colonel.

[Daniel Krause]

Hi Timo,

the rosettes with "silver wings" indicate a Commanders Grade.

Rosette only is an Officers class.

If the 3rd class has no Rosette - as to see at Andreas´ website - I would assume the 2nd class is the Officers Grade and the 1st class is the Commander Grade. So I am fairly sure we have a General here.

Greetings

Daniel

[Noor]

Hi,

Thanks Daniel!

If someone can ID the first ribbon or have some extra information, would be great!

I am suprised how hard is actually find information about pre Castro Cuba! Great information is up on medalnet page!

[RobW]

This one is actually pretty hard task. Here is the aditional identification. Any help would be great

Order of Military Merit - "Created February 27, 1912 primarily as an award for outstanding military merit, but can be awarded for other services and comes in four classes.

Hello Timo,

Here is one of my vic groups, from cuba. It has already been posted on the vic thread but it has pieces of relevance to this topic as well.

The group is:

* Order of Military Merit 4th class cross, with dark red enamel.

* Long Service medal, with 5 chevron devices.

* Unofficial Cuban victory medal.

* National Reconciliation medal, with 1 star device.

I would agree that the Long Service Medal has chevrons on the medal ribbon but I have also seen other ribbon bars with the stars as per your example.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Rob

Edited July 8, 2010 by RobW

[Noor]

Very very nice Rob!!!

I love look of your bar a lot - you can see the quality in there!

All the best,

Timo

[heusy68]

Hi,

One nice (my second at all) Cuban pre Castro period ribbon bar arrived today!

Great looking bar, very nice devices and amazing work. Any help to analize it, would be great!

All the best,

Timo

The first ribbon on the 1st row is Cross of Maceo for Military Valour.

In summer 2007 such cross pass on ebay.I tried to get it,but I failed.

Anyway I kept picture in my computer data base and at least it helps.

The description in the ebay announce was : " Maceo Military Honour Cross awarded to cuban soldier of Battista Government who died defending the Moncada Quarter Army Barracks" in 1953".The family that sold that cross to the ebay seller told him that only 31 of these cross was given to families of soldiers and that it was the most important military award from before 1959.

Size is 45 millimeters.

Emmanuel

[Noor]

The first ribbon on the 1st row is Cross of Maceo for Military Valour.

In summer 2007 such cross pass on ebay.I tried to get it,but I failed.

Anyway I kept picture in my computer data base and at least it helps.

The description in the ebay announce was : " Maceo Military Honour Cross awarded to cuban soldier of Battista Government who died defending the Moncada Quarter Army Barracks" in 1953".The family that sold that cross to the ebay seller told him that only 31 of these cross was given to families of soldiers and that it was the most important military award from before 1959.

Size is 45 millimeters.

Emmanuel

Thank you very much for your post Emmanuel!!! I am sure, thats the award, what is represented on the ribbon bar. Just if it was awarded ONLY to the casualties families, how come this is on the senior officer ribbon bar? Did they awarded this Cross/Order after the insitent of the Moncada as well? Did some quick search and didn't saw that any senior officer got killed or wounded there?

To you or someone else have some source, where is possible to confirm this award official entitlements? Also can someone please translate text on the reverse

Thanks again,

Timo aka Noor

[heusy68]

Thank you very much for your post Emmanuel!!! I am sure, thats the award, what is represented on the ribbon bar. Just if it was awarded ONLY to the casualties families, how come this is on the senior officer ribbon bar? Did they awarded this Cross/Order after the insitent of the Moncada as well? Did some quick search and didn't saw that any senior officer got killed or wounded there?

To you or someone else have some source, where is possible to confirm this award official entitlements? Also can someone please translate text on the reverse

Thanks again,

Timo aka Noor

Hello Noor,

It's possible that the cross that was sold on ebay in august 2007 was awarded to a fallen soldier and then the family told it to the guy who purchased it.I guess that 50 years after the family wasn't aware of the regulation concerning this award.

When I wrote the text,I just copy the text that was on the ebay page.Sometime on item of specific interest (or so few or never documented),I print the ebay page to keep it in my file.I did it for that Maceo Cross.

I know a fellow collector from Belgium that has been more than 10 times to Havana,but he never saw that cross.

Emmanuel

[Ulsterman]

see here: apparently to an entire regiment, but still unbelievably rare:

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.militar.org.ua/foro/el-asalto-al-cuartel-moncada-en-1953-t1560.html&ei=IOs7TKulG4G0lQeq4ZT7BQ&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CB8Q7gEwATgK&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dmaceo%2Bcruz%2Bhonor%2B1953%26start%3D10%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DxPs%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26channel%3Ds%26prmd%3Dbo

[Noor]

Thanks Ulsterman!!! I can be sure what I have here From where I can find original copy of this degree?

Google translation from the link:

The Assault on Moncada Barracks in 1953

In 1953, the Moncada Barracks housed the Regiment N ° 1 "Maceo" General Martin Diaz Tamayo.

To justify the negative results obtained by the Army and keep the facts were concerned from the standpoint of political and military, Batista and gave the regiment established a "Maceo" of the GR, the "Cross of Honor Maceo" adopted by Decree No. 2168, at a meeting of the Council of Ministers. According to the order, this would be delivered to those officers, noncommissioned officers and soldiers and guards of the police and army who had "defended the stability of the Republic and the principles of dignity and democracy viciously attacked by elements deafened and qualified as poor Cubans who sought to plunge the country into chaos more shameful. "

Batista went on the Moncada barracks, to enforce the award personally to the flag of the regiment, giving some promotions and Orders of Military Merit (OMM) with distinctive red.

Edited July 13, 2010 by Noor

[Noor]

And here is my new bar! This time metal-enamel one, what is pretty unusal.

Maybe you guys can help to "read it" and also does someone know what is the last two awards?

• Order of Military Merit/Good Conduct, Commander
• Order of Military Merit/Special Service, Commander
• Order of Military Merit /Bravery in Combat, Commander
• The Long Service Medal with 7 stars
• The Armed Forces Merit Medal (1933)
• The National Reconciliation Medal
• ?
• ?

[Ulsterman]

ooooh- VERY nice. I almost wonder if that was an ex-german in Cuban uniform. Hmmmmmmm.....

[Noor]

ex - german in Cuban uniform?

[Noor]

Thanks to John

No. 7 is Order of Carlos Finlay

[sumserbrown]

I posted this previously on another GMIC thread but will post here too. I also have one of the enamel ribbon bars with stars instead of chevrons on the long service medal. I have three questions for the panel:

1/ Does this group belong to an officer? 

2/ How many years service is denoted by having 4 chevrons on the long service medal?

3/ What does the star on the national reconciliation medal mean, as I have seen some versions without this star?

thanks in advance

Rob

[cuba1959]

Hello Rob, 

the first group with the enamel ribbon is from an officer. Each star on the long services medal represent  5 years for an officer. 
The medal in the enamel bar are ; 

1. military merit blue 

2. long service medal with 4 stars 

3 /4/5 batista coup d Etat 1933

6. Army rifle competition 

the second group is for a non officer (grade from soldier to sergeant).  Each ´ V’´ is 4 years of services. 

Edited October 12, 2020 by cuba1959

[sumserbrown]

On 12/10/2020 at 21:32, cuba1959 said:

Hello Rob, 

the first group with the enamel ribbon is from an officer. Each star on the long services medal represent  5 years for an officer. 
The medal in the enamel bar are ; 

1. military merit blue 

2. long service medal with 4 stars 

3 /4/5 batista coup d Etat 1933

6. Army rifle competition 

the second group is for a non officer (grade from soldier to sergeant).  Each ´ V’´ is 4 years of services. 

Thank you, that is really interesting. I actually bought both of these together from Sidney Vernon and I had assumed that they were the same group, one being the medals themselves and the others the ribbon bar of exactly the same group. Now you are telling me that actually these belong to two completely different people, which I had never appreciated before.

two additional questions for clarification:

1/ Do you get the long service medal for the first 4 years and then each chevron represents an additional 4 years, or does 4 chevrons equal a total of 16 years service?

2/ what does the star on the national reconciliation medal denote?

 

many thanks

Rob

[sumserbrown]

There is a Cuban victory medal on Ebay for $975. That seems expensive to me, but maybe demand is fuelling inflation of prices.