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    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.

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    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.

    military-service-medal-gold.jpg

    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

    64Orderbravery.jpg

    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)

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