Soviet Mystery ribbon ?

[Bill Dienna]

Can anyone help me out with an identification of the bottom ribbon in this set?

Many thanks!

[Chris Boonzaier]

Quite a bit wider than the others... maybe from a different country?

[Bill Dienna]

Quite a bit wider than the others... maybe from a different country?

Yes, Chris, I'm sure that it is a non-Soviet but, presumably, eastern bloc decoration, given it's place as last in line after all of the Soviet awards. I was hoping that someone might recognize it. I'm at a loss. I thought that the red/white aspects of the ribbon might indicate Poland, but I haven't found it on any chart of Polish awards.

[Wild Card]

I think that we can eliminate Mongolia.

[Lukasz Gaszewski]

Well, it looks strange indeed. It is certainly not Soviet and not Polish either. At the moment I see two possibilities:

1. (my initial thought) Austrian Military Service Medal (Wehrdienstmedaille) in gold.

The ribbon is wider than with Soviet ribbons and the arrangement of stripes roughly corresponds to that on the bar. Honorary conferment to a Soviet military, although unlikely, is not entirely excluded. Austrian authorities after WWII paid much attention to good relationships with the USSR and its armed forces (a monument to the Red Army is still standing in the centre of Vienna). The only problem is the date. The Military Service Medal in gold was instituted in 1989 and the ribbon bar comes most probably from before 1985 (no 40th Anniversary of Victory medal to which the owner would certainly be eligible). So this hypothesis must therefore be rejected. What remains is then

2. Syrian Order of Bravery

The colors and arrangement of stripes is correct, except the reversed white and red colors. This however was not infrequent in painted Soviet ribbon bars, particularly in foreign countries' decorations. I think some Soviet military advisors were present in Syria in 1960s, it is possible that the recipient was one of them.

(Images courtesy OMSA ribbon database)

[vladtheman03]

Another possibility is the Egyptian Medal for Bravery.

Again it's not a perfect match (similar colours to the Syrian medal above)

http://s1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/vladtheman03/Egyptian%20Medal%20Ribbon/

Taken from the Catalogue of Order Ribbons of Russia and Overseas Nations, Moscow, 2009.

[Kev in Deva]

Any of the former Czechaslovakian Communist awards fit the bill?

Kevin in Deva.

[ondras]

No, there arent any of Czechoslovakian medals.