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28 June 2009 Edition
Welcome to the Orders, Decorations and Medals Website, which we update every Sunday. The website consists of links to latest news items and websites related to medals. Old news items are transferred to the Medals by Country section. The accuracy of information in news items and websites should only be used as a starting point for research using reliable primary sources. We hope you enjoy your visit.

Breaking News
Brtian Navy LS&GC Medal Britain - Portsmouth diver presented with medal at the bottom of the pool Acting Petty Officer Andy Coulson received the award at the bottom of a Gibraltar swimming pool. He was in the middle of a two-week exercise on the island, which included stints at the military outdoor swimming pool, when he found himself in the midst of the impromptu ceremony.The 34-year-old Scot, who is based at Horsea Island, said: ‘I was not expecting it.  ‘I mentioned it in passing several weeks ago that I thought it would be good to receive my medal underwater rather than on the parade ground, but I didn’t expect anyone to act on it. ‘I’d totally forgotten that I mentioned it, but it’s something that will live with me forever – certainly one of the highlights of my 15-year career in the navy.’ As well as a long service medal, the award recognises PO Coulson’s good conduct over the years as well. His boss, Lieutenant Simon Leightley, the officer in charge Southern Diving Unit 2, said: ‘Andy’s been selected for promotion and will soon embark on his professional qualifying course, so it seemed an appropriate send-off to present his medal “in the office” so to speak. I gave a slightly shorter citation than normal – mostly through bubbles.’ Joining PO Coulson and Lt Leightley underwater for the presentation was Warrant Officer (Diver) Robin Rickard, representing the Southern Diving Group. He joined the navy at 16 as an Air Engineer Mechanic, but transferred to the diving branch 11 years ago. WO Rickard said: ‘I have already had a fulfilling career but am looking forward to continuing my progression.’ bigluetech.net 27 Jun 09

Britain - Hero dog's medal sold at auction
A medal awarded to a dog which sniffed out survivors of the German bombing of London in World War Two has been sold at auction. An anonymous buyer paid just over $45,000 for the medal. The Dickin medal was established to recognise animals which showed conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. Rip, found starving and homeless after an air raid in 1940, more than met the criteria. After being adopted by an air raid warden, he quickly began the job of sniffing out survivors trapped in the rubble of the London blitz. In all, he found and saved more than 100 people. Rip was awarded the medal in 1943, and wore the medal on his collar until his death when he was buried under a headstone which bears the simple inscription, We Also Serve. cfdmarket.wordpress.com 21 Jun 09

Britain -
Soldiers will get bravery medals Three soldiers from a north Shropshire-based Army regiment were due to receive bravery medals at Buckingham Palace today. The 1st Battalion Royal Irish Regiment soldiers were set to receive military crosses – two levels down from the Victoria Cross – for bravery in Afghanistan. Captain Graham Rainey, Colour Sergeant Steven McConnell and Ranger Alan Owens were set to receive the medals. Captain Rainey was set to receive his military cross for actions north of Musa Kala. Colour Sergeant McConnell was set to receive his for actions while serving with Ranger Company in Sangin and Ranger Owens was due to get his for operations near the Kajaki Dam. They will follow in the footsteps of three other soldiers from the Tern Hill-based regiment. Corporal Robert McClurg, Acting Sergeant Alwyn Stevens and Lance Corporal Jone Toge received the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross – one level down from the Victoria Cross. Their citations were scrutinised and cleared after their senior officer Major Robert Armstrong was arrested for allegedly “grossly exaggerating” his own heroics in Afghanistan. Major Armstrong, of the Royal Artillery, was attached to The Royal Irish Regiment in southern Afghanistan last year. Lieutenant Colonel Ed Freely, commanding officer, was questioned and released without charge. shropshirestar.com 24 Jun 09

Japan - Senegal Embassador Bouna Semou Diouf has been awarded the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun. Link to acticle is broken

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21 June 2009 Edition
New Zealand Medal Have your Say New Zealand  - Medal Survey This is a voluntary survey to assist the New Zealand Defence Force to support the independent Medallic Recognition Joint Working Group (JWG) established by the Ministers of Defence and Veterans' Affairs. The NZDF has been asked by the JWG to undertake a survey on the proposed New Zealand Defence Force Medal. The JWG has asked the NZDF to engage with all current and ex-military service personnel on this subject. This survey is open to all currently serving personnel, ex-service personnel and to their families.


Russian Federation -
Moscow Gave Out Four Times More Hero Medals in Chechen War than in Afghanistan      In addition to those in the military receiving this distinction, personnel from the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Emergency Situations also were named Heroes of the Russian Federation. Like the military until December 2008, few of these organizations have provided exact numbers. The FSB has never given them out, but the number of awards there must exceed 40, the magazine said, given that the names of 34 of them are known. And for the MVD internal troops, the number is at least 81 for the fighting in the North Caucasus, of whom 54 received the award posthumously. Thus, for the Chechen campaigns, more than 500 Russian personnel received this award, nearly six times as many that received the distinction of Hero of the Soviet Union for Moscow’s effort in Afghanistan in the 1980s but, of course, far fewer than the 11,739 who received that award during World War II. In addition to the dramatic increase in the number of awards, “Sovershenno Sekretno” suggested, two other aspects are troubling. On the one hand, the percentage of senior people who did not directly participate in combat seems to have gone up as well, a situation that recalls the medal mania of Brezhnev’s time. And on the other, some of the awards went to officials like FSB deputy director Vladimir Pronichev who was named a Hero of the Russian Federation for his role during the Nord-Ost terrorist incident, a case in which, as “Sovershenno Sekretno” recalls, 129 of the 130 who died were victims of the use of lethal gas by people under Pronichev's command. The general inflation in the number of medals that the Russian authorities have handed out is obvious, according to the article, but the exact numbers are impossible to check given that information about awards given even during the first Chechen campaign, from 1995 to 96, remain inaccessible to investigators, with officials refusing all requests for their release. The reason for this, the article continues, is that such statistics would be embarrassing either because they would allow people to see just how serious that conflict was, something the Kremlin did everything it could to conceal, or how commanders had used the conflict to hand out medals and thus advance its members. Despite official efforts to keep the lid on such information, some of it has leaked out. There is a reference in one order that in February-March of 1995 alone, “almost 1600” Russian officers and men were given the Order of Courage, a statistic that suggests that the fighting was extremely intense. That would mean some 21,500 such orders were given out during the first campaign. And given that the numbers on the medals for March 2000 ranged from 42,000 to 46,000, there must have been more than 20,000 such awards given between the two Chechen wars, yet another indication of either the seriousness of the conflict or medal inflation. The situation with regard to the awarding of medals appears to have become worse during the Russian campaign in Georgia, even though overall statistics remain classified. During that effort, which Moscow has called “the five-day war,” the magazine reported, at least 19 officers and soldiers were named Heroes of Russia and 263 were awarded the Georgian Cross. But it is not only in the military were the “golden rain” of orders appears to be intensifying. Interfax reported, Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, was awarded the star of the Order of St. Aleksandr Nevsky “For Labor and the Fatherland”. While giving awards to church leaders has become increasingly frequent in post-Soviet Russia, this presentation is in some ways anomalous. While he has been declared a saint by the Orthodox Church, Aleksandr Nevsky in fact formed an alliance with the Muslim Mongols to oppose the expansion of Catholic influence into Russia. themoscowtimes.com 18 Jun 09


United States 9/11 Valor Medal United States - Burglars Steal 9/11 Medal Two pins that accompanied a congressional Medal of Valor awarded posthumously to a New York City firefighter who died when the World Trade Center towers fell on Sept. 11, 2001, have been stolen from a Carrollwood home, Hillsborough County deputies say. Two people have been arrested in connection with the March 6 burglary, but deputies say none of the property stolen, including the pins, has been recovered. The medal was awarded to Richie Muldowney. When the burglary occurred, the pins were in the possession of Muldowney's mother. The medal itself was not stolen, Richie's brother Brian Muldowney said this morning. Richie's widow had the medal. tbo.com 18 Jun 09

Ivory Coast -
Decoration French cultural embassador Jacques de Lesquènes and Moroccan cultural embassador Sbihi Mohamed have been made chevaliers dans l’ordre du mérite culturel ivoirien. Article in French news.abidjan.net 17 Jun 09  


California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Gold Star Medal United States - Heroism honored with Gold Star Awards Spring had not yet sprung and the sun was yet to rise in the wee, cold hours of April 3, 2008. Sgt. Umberto Silva was having some difficulty rousing himself for another day’s work at the prison. Tired and under the weather, he considered diving back under the warm covers. Not his style. He dutifully showed up for another shift on the Level IV, maximum security yard at CCI Tehachapi. “I knew something was wrong that whole day,” Silva said. “It was unusually quiet on the yard.” That day prisons across the state were placed on an unprecedented lock down following an armed attack by two gang members. The inmates entered an interior office where they stabbed and seriously injured Officer Steven Cacciola and Sgt. Silva before an alarm could be raised. Capt. Patrick Matzen, Sgt. Michael Slankard and Officer Debra Martinez arrived on the scene, and helped to subdue the inmates with pepper spray, batons and pure survival instinct. Silva was stabbed seven times, Cacciola, twice. All five were injured the incident the Department of Corrections deemed “a pre-meditated plan to assault and injure the staff.” The two inmates face trial in August for attempted murder. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger met with the injured officers at his Santa Monica offices just months after the attack. “Their courage, toughness and bravery is amazing, I wanted to offer them encouragement and my support,” Schwarzenegger said. “They are the real heroes of this state.” A year and three surgeries after the attack, Silva joined his co-workers for a ceremony at the state Capitol, where they were awarded one of the Department of Corrections’ highest honors, The Gold Star: “For bravery above and beyond the normal demands of correctional service.” techachapinews.com 15 Jun 09

France -
 Jarmila Najbrtoya-Lorencova recoit une haute decoration francaise The medal of Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres has been made to Mme Jarmila Najbrtová-Lorencová, former employee of the Bibliothèque française in Prague. Article in French. radio.cz 16 Jun 09


Sgt Christopher Phinney Navy and Marine Corps Medal United States - Twentynine Palms Marine sergeant honored for saving buddy  Sgt. Christopher Phinney was serving as a tank commander June 19, 2008, when a round misfired, spilling explosive propellant throughout the M1 Abrams tank. Phinney, 25, of Cumberland,  Maine, immediately ordered Marines to evacuate. As the tank burst into flames, one Marine was trapped inside. "Without hesitation or thought of self-preservation, Sgt. Phinney reached back through the flames to free his gunner," according to the official citation awarding Phinney the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. An explosion blasted Phinney 8 feet off the tank. Despite his injuries, he led his Marines away from the burning tank. After recovering from his injuries, Phinney deployed to Iraq where he received two achivement awards. latimesblog.latimes.com 18 Jun 09

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