Arrowhm Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 My friend has a large collection of medals from her great grandfather, who was a Chinese general (well known enough to have a Wikipedia page) during the second world war. It's an impressive collection and most of them are clearly identifiable, but this one has stumped us. It has a flag motif similar to the SACO medal but clearly references the allied victory with a large central "V" and bears a personal inscription (mentioning the "81st surrender ceremony") with his name on the back, numbered 133. Can anyone point us in the right direction on this one? We think it may be something from the Japanese surrender (there are photos of him signing surrender documents), but we've been unable to find any records or images of the medal online. Really interested to hear if anyone here has seen one of these before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1812 Overture Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Do you have a picture on the back of the medal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrowhm Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 Only this one of the number and clasp only. I'll see if I can request a better one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v.Perlet Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 What I can't make of sense right now is the meaning behind "81st surrender ceremony" The medal was issued likely in view of: The formal Japanese surrender in the China Theater took place in a simple 20 minute ceremony in the auditorium of the Central Military Academy in Nanking at 09:00 on 9 September 1945. General Ho Ying-chen, Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Army, and Lieut. Gen. Okamura Yasutsugu, Commander of the Japanese Forces in Central China, represented their respective governments. Immediately following the signing of the Act of Surrender, General Ho handed Order No. 1 of Generalissimo Chiang to Lieut. Gen. Okamura as a supplement to the Act of Surrender. Independent of the surrender ceremony on 2nd of September, involving The Soviet Union, UK, USA and the RoC. lets see if a good photo of the reverse shines light onto "81st surrender ceremony" Regards v.Perlet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrowhm Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 We know he was present at the signing of the Japanese surrender at the forbidden city, 10th Oct 1945 (there are pictures). The quote is just what my friend remembered from reading the inscription, I'll get a better image and update if I can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrowhm Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 Also worth mentioning that several of the medals in the collection match those listed in a 2016 auction of general Jiang Dingwen's medals, but this flag one was not present in his collection: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/96126_couture-clothing-rare-textiles-chinese-medals/?page=1&sort=-hammerPrice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanX Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 This is typical unofficial /non-governmental/ "Victory" gift commemorative medal from 1945-46 time period. There were dozens of different awards from different chinese units, provinces, commanders, etc. You will find similar examples here https://asiamedals.info/threads/victory-medals-and-badges-from-military-units-of-republic-of-china-a-k-a-v-badges-v-medals.23694 ; https://asiamedals.info/threads/victory-medal-coins-from-chinas-war-area-service-corps-wasc.23178/ P.S. Clear photos of reverse will give the accurate attribution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrowhm Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 Here's the update with the back. She mentioned that she removed his name from the image on the left side of the medal, and clarified the writing on the back states it was for the "11th warzone surrender ceremony" It's about the same size as their copy of the order of the cloud and banner, and similar composition. If it's unofficial/non-governmental, it's certainly still a fancy one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanX Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 The inscription reads 11th Military District [theater of war; theater command; sector] Surrender Ceremony Commemorative Under the pin is a manufacturer mark. It will be interesting to read too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrowhm Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 Thanks! Are there any references that might tell us who received these and how many were presented? Its definitely an unusual one. All the other medals are stamped with their number. This one appears to have been hand engraved, not stamped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanX Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 (edited) Two stamps read Guǎng Jù Xìng Pure silver 19 minutes ago, Arrowhm said: Are there any references that might tell us who received these and how many were presented? No. As I said earlier this is non-governmental commemorative medal. This is one of the reasons why inscription and number are engraved. Edited January 16, 2022 by JapanX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrowhm Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 Thanks for the help! Very cool to learn about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanX Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 (edited) P.S. Regarding 11th Military District/War Area/Theater of War/Sector/ and japanese surrender ceremony. In 1945 Sun Lianzhong was made commander-in-chief of 11th War Area and took command of the Tianjin, Beiping, Baoding, and Shijiazhuang areas. On October 10, 1945, he accepted the surrender of the Japanese North China Front Army in the Hall of Supreme Harmony of the Forbidden City in Peking. 7 minutes ago, Arrowhm said: Thanks for the help! Very cool to learn about. Glad I could help. Edited January 16, 2022 by JapanX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcwater Posted February 18, 2022 Share Posted February 18, 2022 https://bbs.focus.cn/bj/22223/b594fd09e90bd849.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcwater Posted February 18, 2022 Share Posted February 18, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrowhm Posted February 24, 2022 Author Share Posted February 24, 2022 On 18/02/2022 at 01:54, jcwater said: Is this in your collection? Where are the pictures from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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