"Guess this Medal"

[Ralph P]

Alright...I think the hero you are talking about is Leonid Brezhnev. And the medal you are showing is the 50th anniversary of the defense of the Caucuses. Again...that is my final answer...Unless I get it WRONG again...

[NavyFCO]

Alright...I think the hero you are talking about is Leonid Brezhnev. And the medal you are showing is the 50th anniversary of the defense of the Caucuses. Again...that is my final answer...Unless I get it WRONG again...

Getting closer!

Unfortunately, our dear Leonid Illych awarded himself the title of HSU in 1966, 1976, 1978 and 1981....

--Dave

[Mike G.]

Is the Hero Trotsky?

[NavyFCO]

Is the Hero Trotsky?

Nope, Trotsky 1) was not a cavalry guy and 2) wasn't a HSU.

Try again... You're getting closer though!!!

--Dave

[Mike G.]

Okay Dave,

I'm throwing it all out there now. Is it one of these 7 people?

Lenin, Stalin, Kamenev, N.M. Krestinsky, Bukharin, Zinoviev or M. Kalinin?

[dannybou]

Ah crap... I found it but I can't read Russian alphabet!!!! For those of you who can it is in Avers 5 page 258 number 1299.

Badge issued in 1969 so 50 year jubilee would place it in 1919.

[Mike G.]

Okay,

I figured it out. Red Army Russian 1st Cavalry (Elite) lead by:
Semyon Mikhailovich Budenny.

That Dave, is my final answer.

[NavyFCO]

Okay,

I figured it out. Red Army Russian 1st Cavalry (Elite) lead by:
Semyon Mikhailovich Budenny.

That Dave, is my final answer.

YOU GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeeee haaaaawwww!

Good job!

Exactly... This is the 50 Year commemorative badge for the 1st Cavalry Army, which was founded by Stalin, Voroshilov and Budenny - the three HSU's that I referred to in the previous post.

The 1st Cavalry Army was founded in late 1918 in the vicinity of what was Tsaritsin, and became the "great fighting unit of the revolution". Now, interestingly, Tsaritsin later became Stalingrad... For those of you not familiar with the beginning part of the Stalingrad saga, does the fact that Stalin's revolutionary exploits started here shed some light into why he defended the city at such a cost in 1942!

The 1st Cavalry, led by Buddeny, was made up of the Bolshevik's best horsemen with the best equipment and they drove a wedge between the forces of the White cavalry leader Denikin, leading to his defeat. The men of the 1st Cavarly rode from Tsaritsin through Voronezh, down a 700km corridor into the Caucuses, and finally all the way into Poland - to Lvov!

An amazing unit that was the most famed of the entire Civil War!

--Dave

[Mike G.]

Dave,

I want to thank you for an amazing ride (On horseback no less) through history. That is a wonderful medal you have, and the more so because of its historical significance. I actually learned something and it was great fun doing so.

We will now have to call you henceforth, "The Professor".

Thank you.

[Ralph P]

Dan and Mike outstanding...congratulations to both of you in solving/identifying this medal. It came right down to the wire and both of you were neck and neck...

Dave...thanks for the horse ride and I too enjoyed digging through history in an attempt to find the answer. Also thanks for the detailed background and overview about this medal and its history...

Question Dave...In case I missed it...what is the official name of this medal?

[NavyFCO]

Question Dave...In case I missed it...what is the official name of this medal?

Gents-

Thanks a bunch for the compliments! I'm still waiting on the documents for the awards from this general (have all his medals, just no documents yet!) Once I get the document for this badge, I'll post it up in another thread. As far as the actual name of this badge, it's the "50th Anniversary of the 1st Cavalry Army". On the reverse are simply the numbers 1919-1969 and the number (inscribed) of the badge.

Thanks again for all your compliments - this was fun!

--Dave

[Mike G.]

Dave's 1929 Russian Trans-atlantic flight revisited.

Just a little followup to Dave's earlier Airplane badges post:

Dave, you might want to consider finding out who the person is that won this auction. They might just give you enough for your airplane medals that you can buy the actual plane if you desire.


Recent Auction results this past November:

Russian Trans-Atlantic Flight:
<O></O>

1929, September 29 First Flight from Moscow to New York, via Arctic Ocean and Bering Sea, by Russian fliers on their "Land of the Soviets" twin-motored plane. With a crew of four, the Russians made their journey with a stop at Seward, Alaska. Cover franked with 5c Beacon (straight edge at left), cancelled Seward, Alaska, with New York, Nov.2 arrival pmk, signed by all members of the crew, also with four small photographs of the plane, v.f. Only 10(!) letters carried.


Seems they made a stop in route to New York in Seward Alaska, and actually picked up mail that they then delivered upon their arrival in New York.
<O></O>
This cover and the 4 photos sold at auction on Nov 17<SUP>th</SUP>, 2004 for $1,600.00.

[Ralph P]

Dave…thanks for the update about the name of the medal and the interesting round.

Mike…Now what you just posted is neat from the standpoint that they picked up <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region><ST1US</st1:country-region> mail on the way down to the main land <st1:country-region>United States</st1:country-region>. A different and appears friendlier time indeed.

Alright…I got some sleep last night and I am (I hope) ready for the next round…bring it on…

[Mike G.]

RE: New Pin; Badge; Medal Post

Okay,

I had to recuperate from that last round. Dave's posts are for sure arduous - in a very good way though.

Alright, here is something to kick off the next round. Don't expect me to "Bring anything on" in the context of what Dave put up on the board. I don't have access to the really neat and cool items with accompanying historical association, such as he does. Wish I did though.

The object this time is to guess what this medal is and to whom it was awarded. To make it competitive, only a very small portion of the medal is initially being shown. Upon it being correctly guessed (both requirements - medal and recepient), additional posts will follow that are specific to it historically.

I forgot to add: This photo is a black & white rendition. The medal is actually very gold in color. !!!

[Dag]

Okay,

I had to recuperate from that last round. Dave's posts are for sure arduous - in a very good way though.

Alright, here is something to kick off the next round. Don't expect me to "Bring anything on" in the context of what Dave put up on the board. I don't have access to the really neat and cool items with accompanying historical association, such as he does. Wish I did though.

The object this time is to guess what this medal is and to whom it was awarded. To make it competitive, only a very small portion of the medal is initially being shown. Upon it being correctly guessed (both requirements - medal and recepient), additional posts will follow that are specific to it historically.

I forgot to add: This photo is a black & white rendition. The medal is actually very gold in color. !!!

I would guess Valerij Bykowskij and Sigmund Jaehn in commemoration of the successfull space mission of the first German Kosmonaut/Astronaut on board Sojus 31 (not sure) and MIR space station.