China Nationalist China Medal of Armed Forces

[JapanX]

Second type (1951-present time)

The design of the medal was slightly changed shortly after exodus of Nationalists to Taiwan in 1949. Actually the design of the medal stayed the same, but every grade and every class got their own ribbon. 1^st class grade A medal retained old white/blue/red ribbon – other medals got their own colors. Most likely the exact date of the change is July 19, 1951, but unfortunately I couldn’t find any documented groups or official documentation to confirm this date. The lower (known to me) time estimate for general white/blue/red ribbon is March 1948.

Here we have new ribbon colors for all four medals.

Edited May 23, 2012 by JapanX

[JapanX]

And here they are with new ribbons

(From left to right) A grade 1^st class / A grade 2^nd class / B grade 1^st class / B grade 2^nd class

Edited May 23, 2012 by JapanX

[JapanX]

The reasons for this change are obvious

1) it should made different grades and classes recognizable in the bars

2) it should help to differentiate between A grade medals. Not an easy task without the ribbon

Please take a look at these two medals.

Edited May 23, 2012 by JapanX

[JapanX]

Now try to guess what is 1^st and what is 2^nd class…

[JapanX]

You don`t have this problem with our new ribbon ;)

[JapanX]

Numeration change

Medal of Armed Forces allows to us to shed light on a very interesting issue – was the numeration of nationalist orders and medals continuous or was it “reload” and started from the very beginning after the exodus. Well, according to Medal of Armed Forces there definitely was a “reload” and new numeration

Please take a look at this A grade 2^nd class medal (first type)

Edited May 23, 2012 by JapanX

[JapanX]

And now at this A grade 2^nd class (second type)

[JapanX]

Comparison of reverses

[JapanX]

And now the same test for B grade 1^st class medals.

First type

[JapanX]

Second type

[JapanX]

Comparison of reverses

[JapanX]

Q.E.D.

Of course we should consider this evidence as indirect for “reload” of orders numeration. But personally (especially taking into consideration extremely low numbers on some orders that were issued after 1950) I am certain that the numeration of orders was re-started too.

[JapanX]

Documents

Here how the document for B grade 2^nd class medal looks like.

Edited May 23, 2012 by JapanX

[JapanX]

Very interesting official translation of the document.

[JapanX]

Another example (only this time we look at the back side ) of document for A grade 2^nd class medal.

[JapanX]

Numeration styles

It is possible to single out at least three different styles of numeration for Medals of first type.

Variation 1 Stamped number (small puncheons) with http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_05_2012/post-6141-0-70165800-1337789931.jpgbefore the number

[JapanX]

Variation 2 Stamped number (large puncheons) without http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_05_2012/post-6141-0-91070900-1337790075.jpgbefore the number

Variant A

Variant B

[JapanX]

Variation 3 Stamped number (extra large puncheons) and without before the number

Very interesting variation with unusual above position of number.

[JapanX]

Here comes this very interesting 2^nd class grade B numbered 1781

[JapanX]

Variation 1 was used from the very begining up to 7XXX. Lowere known number is 216.

Variation 3 replaced Variation 1 somewhere between 6XXX and 8XXX numbers (in these two thousands they co-existed together)

Variation 2 is the rarest.

All medals of second type that I saw had neatly stamped number by small puncheons and had before the number.

Let take a look at some examples

Edited May 23, 2012 by JapanX

[JapanX]

A grade 2^nd class

[JapanX]

B grade 1^st class

[JapanX]

Here's a look at the modern version. Note that the ribbon appears to have changed on the B class.

Hugh

Thanks Hugh

How things in Florida?

Cheers,

Nick

[Hugh]

Summer is just tuning up. 90 degrees F today.

Delighted to see these Asian posts. We've been dominated by the European collectors for some time. Keep it up.

Best,

Hugh

[JapanX]

A grade 1^st class for Doolittle Raider

This interesting story was published by The Suburban Times on September 4, 2011

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Ed Saylor one of the Doolittle Raiders of World War II fame, was recently honored with a medal he earned back in 1942. Friend and Lakewood resident Phil Raschke was with Saylor when the Republic of China "Order of the Clouds" medal (don`t worry folks - they mean A grade 1^st class ) was presented to Saylor for a second time. Raschke said "Saylor was first presented the medal by Madame Chiang Kai-shek at Chungking, China back in May,1942".

The Chinese were so grateful for the daring raid on Japan that Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek personally ordered the medal presented to each of the surviving Raiders. Unfortunately, Saylor lost his medal during a move while serving in the U.S. Air Force.

Recently, a Saylor family friend Dr. Lin Huang of Puyallup made inquiries about the medal with Republic of China officials in Taiwan. The Taiwan officials immediately approved a replacement "Order of the Clouds" medal and forwarded the medal to Dr. Huang.

With family and close friends in attendance, Dr. Huang visited Saylor's home and proudly presented Saylor with the "Order of the Clouds" medal he had won back in 1942. Saylor said "At age 91, it is truly an honor to see that medal again".

Saylor was part of Crew 15 that took off from the aircraft carrier Hornet on April 18, 1942 and flew to Japan. Saylor's B-25 medium bomber hit targets near Osaka, Japan and then flew on to China. Because the bombers were forced to launch from the Hornet earlier than expected, none had enough fuel to make it to airfields in China. Saylor's plane crashed in the sea off the coast of China. Upon reaching shore, Saylor's crew joined up with other Doolittle survivors and started their long journey through Japanese occupied China until reaching safety with Chinese Nationalist forces.

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