Cuban Medal

[Garulfo]

International fighters :

[Garulfo]

Strike against bandits (Bay of Pigs ?) :

[Garulfo]

Liberation :

[Garulfo]

Jose Marti :

[DaveM]

coffee table photo book

I picked up this coffee table photo book on the Cuban Military about 6 weeks ago in Havana flea market. It's very much like the DDR's Soldaten des Volkes except it has way more pictures

[Kozlov]

Wow!

Thanks guys for the posts! I've seen more Cuban stuff in 20 minutes than I think I've found in weeks of searching!

That book is a bit nice! I have been trying to find photos of Cuban soldiers for a long time, you just don't see those pictures in the West at all (hmmm not sure thats the right term in this context but you know what I mean! Perhaps "North" would be a better word LOL)

I'd love to put together a set of 70's Cuban uniform and field gear but really haven't even got enough research photos to make a start..... let alone finding the actual gear!

[dannybou]

Are medals easy to obtain in flea markets in Cuba?

[Garulfo]

3 more badges.

What exactly is the cuban "guard" badge ?

The 25 years artillery badge is certainly local made (poor quality, paint instead of enamel).

[Kozlov]

Yes! Thats the one I was describing, that one in the middle!

I described it as a "Cuban Guards badge" because as you can see, it looks like a Soviet Guards badge, what it really is I don't know but would love to know!

Thanks, you saved me scanning it in

[Kozlov]

Oh, meant to say earlier, apparently the parachute qualification badges were made in Russia as the Cuban paratroops were trained by the Soviets in the CCCP and the badges awarded on the course... well thats what I was told... makes sense mind!

[DaveM]

Are medals easy to obtain in flea markets in Cuba?

Hi Danny,
I didn't see any, but mind you I only hit a couple of markets...
There are lots of communist perspective books...
I saw a Cuban "lizard" camo boonie cap a couple years ago in a market...
Next time I go to Havana, I want to spend more time on the ground
stuff may be for sale, but moving it out of the country may be illegal...
I was worried about bringing the book out
Dave

[dannybou]

Hi Danny,
I didn't see any, but mind you I only hit a couple of markets...
There are lots of communist perspective books...
I saw a Cuban "lizard" camo boonie cap a couple years ago in a market...
Next time I go to Havana, I want to spend more time on the ground
stuff may be for sale, but moving it out of the country may be illegal...
I was worried about bringing the book out
Dave

Yeah for sure. Don't know if Cuba has the same laws as Russia in regards to militaria.

[Kozlov]

Its going to be the same I would have thought - same as PRC, DRK and the good old USSR - if you let your military gear out, Western spies may use it to dress up in and infiltrate!

[Dave Danner]

Most of the Cuban medals shown here were manufactured in the DDR. When the Wall came down, like DDR militaria they showed up in the market there, but there were fewer of them.

Among Cubans in Florida, where I am from, the pre-Revolutionary stuff is popular, and any time it shows up on eBay or the market, it gets snapped up.

It also tends to be nicer:

[desantnik]

Here is a picture of the three classes of Cuban Para Badges. I picked these up on eBay.

John

John,
I don't like the looks of your Cuban MASTER parachute badge pictured in #9. I think it's a fantasy piece.
Desantnik