Medal of Honor Archie van Winkle

In Belgium I bought this Medal of Honor of Archie van Winkle. It is not the piece that was awarded by president Truman but a replacement one.

Futher more I saw some pictures of mr Van Winkle's MOH taken at the occasion of the Medal of Honor Memorial Dedication being held at the University of Washington in 2009. This MOH can not be the one presented by president Truman for it has a different system to attach the award, the box with ribbon is surely from a later period and the ribbon is not the same as presented in 1952. So the recipients had more then one MOH.

www.usmilitariaforum.com
Stingerwooten

Last remark is the sticker on the case. It reads USAMC. That's incorrect. But the label is old and of the correct period and has a finger print on it. It was properbly left when the label was attached to the box. Even in the British War Museum I have seen uniforms with the ribbons upside down and labels at the wrong medals (or otherwise).

In this case I contacted the Congressionel Medal of Honor Association in september 2013. I asked them about the whereabouts of the medal and if it perhaps was stolen. They where very kind to mail me that they will start an investigation. Till this moment I have not heard from them.

 

Update december 2018: A number of leading medal experts in the US, Europe and Canada are unanimous in there opinion that the medal is a fraud with the purpose to deceive. Also the well respected OMSA in the US stated that: "This is certainly not an original issued Medal of Honor. It is made to deceive."    

Japanese Medal Bar

I have this Japanese medal bar of 9 medals wich is not that common. The nice thing of such a medal bar is it's military career. What kind of action has this soldier seen or on what war fronts he was present?

 
1. Japan - Russia 1904-1905
The medal was created on 31 March 1906 for the members of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy who participated in the war against Russia. The war between the Russian and Japanese Empires grew from their rival ambitions, especially in Korea and Manchuria. The victory of the Japanese shocked the western world, punctured the myth of European invincibility and contributed to military weakness and revolution in Russia and imperial ambition in Japan and Germany, all with eventually disastrous consequences.

2. WWI 1914-1920
Imperial Japanese Military World War One (1914-1920) Siberian Intervention medal. It was awarded to Japanese military personnel who were sent to Siberia to help the Czech military fight against the Bolsheviks. The other motive for Japan to Join the fight was to gain some Siberian territory and capture German held areas in China and the Pacific.

3. Showa Enthronement Medal 1928
The medal was created by Imperial Edit on 1 August 1928 awarded on 10 to 15 November of that year to those who attended the ceremonies of the accession in Kyoto and elsewhere and to those who officiated or assisted at them. Emperor Hirohito reigned from 1926 to 1989, the longest reign of any Japanese emperor. The reign of Hirohito saw great changes in Japanese society, from being titular head of a militaristic and expansionary regime and endowed with divine status to constitutional monarch of a modern consumer society. There was a strong body of opinion in 1945 in favour of trying the Emperor for war crimes but the need for stability in Japanese society and the view that he had exercised influence for moderation in very limiting circumstances saw that eventuality avoided. A fine example of an historic medal that is becoming increasingly scarce.

4. Manchurian Incident 1931-1934 
Japan had had various footholds in China for a long time, but in 1931 the military got serious about territorial expansion, fabricating an incident that gave them an excuse to go to war and grab ever larger chunks of China. They started in resource-rich Manchuria, the northeastern part of the country, which they envisioned turning into a colony that would provide the raw materials they lacked. This medal is for the early years of what the Japanese still refer to as the shi-na-ji-hen, or “China Incident”.

5. Great Manchukuo National Foundation 1933
Instituted by Emperor Kang Teh [Hsuan-tung] as Emperor of Manchuria to commemorate the first anniversary of the establishment of the State of Manchukuo on 11th March 1933. Awarded in a single class, black lacquered bronze medal.

6. China Incident 1937-1945
The medal was created on 27 July 1939, amended in 1944 and abolished in 1946. The mountains, clouds and waves are representative of northern China, central China and the Yellow Sea as the medal was awarded to Japanese military leaving for China which had been invaded and partly occupied by Japanese forces. As war was never declared, the Japanese referred to the large-scale hostilities with great delicacy as an ‘incident’.

7. 2600th anniversary foundation medal 1940 
In an effort to bolster national spirit, the 2600th anniversary of the founding of the Japanese Empire was celebrated in 1940. The special dating system (now no longer used) was called the Imperial Dating System. The first year was 600 BC, the date assigned to the mythical founding of Japan by Emperor Jimmu.
Celebrations were held around the country. This medal was awarded freely and is fairly common.

8. Japanese Red Cross
Regular membership medal. The attached blue rosette indicates a Life Member.
       
9. 4th Class Order of the Rising Sun
The Rising Sun award was the first of Japan's official orders, established in 1875. It has nine classes, the highest being the 1st Class Rising Sun Order of the Paulonia Flowers.


 

Heroes by Tita Binz

Every war knows his heroes who rise above good and evil. The morality of heroes is universally dictated by courage and bright policy. For that reason, each party has its heroes who are granted with respect by friend and enemy.

The valuation of heroes is in many cases with an award and for Germany in the Second World War there was the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The special feature of this award, at least compared to the First World War, was that also the ordinary soldier could earn it. By doing so it expressed the meaning that a hero could be hidden in all grades.

Most officers and soldiers who received the Knight's Cross are forgotten, but in the period 1940-1945 they spoke to the imagination. Far from the front lines some of them were photographed in the studio of Tita Binz.

Tita (Juanita) Binz (1903-1970) came from an intellectual family where the love of art was obvious. Although very little is known about Binz, she seems to have chosen early for photography. That choice will be facilitated by the fact that her uncle in the fashionable Paris of those days had a successful photo studio where she went to learn the job. Afterwards she visited various studios in Berlin, to open her own studio in 1939. One of her first clients was the publisher Film-Foto-Verlag (till 1941 Ross-Verlag). This publisher is to this day, most famous for her postcards of movie stars who figured in the German cinema.

Binz is later on asked to portray soldiers with the Knight's Cross. Of course that is uncommon for a typical entertainment company, but apparently they were also under the control of the new rulers who needed as much means for propaganda. It is at this point that two differend worlds seems to run together at least in pictures. The actor, the hero of the silver screen and the soldier, the hero of the theater of war were both raised in the same way.

Who initially sees the picture Günter Goebel (1917-1993) will not immediately think of someone who fought in 1940 by the invasion of France, was present during the invasion of Russia, survived the Battle of Stalingrad and was to be found at the largest tank battle in history in 1943 at Kursk. Heinrich Schüler (1903-1945) fought in France and Russia, was present at the Battle of Kiev and the Caucasus. Finaly he was killed in action in Poland. And that is as true for almost all the pictures Binz made.

But it was not only the image itself but also the design of the postcard that ensured that these two worlds together began to look like one another. It was decided that the lay out for actors also had to be used for the knight cross bearers.

Examples how the Film-Foto-Verlag made use off her format for actors. The pictures both the actor and the soldier are by Binz. There was just one thing that good not be copied and that's the looks. Actors are most of the time handsome man while for soldiers nature does not feel the necessity to combine these two.

To illustrate these two worlds which overlap each other is the actor Hannes Stelzer (1910-1944). In 1941 he will star as a war pilot in the movie Stukas. He is photographed on that occasion for Ross-Verlag/Film-Foto-Verlag as an actor in a uniform of the Luftwaffe.  Two years later, he is obliged to report for active duty and gets a pilot training. In 1944 he was killed in Russia as his fighter is knocked down.

Binz strips the war hero of the raw reality and focuses only on his character. And thus, these propaganda cards even in those days gave the feeling as 'not really', but they were no less popular. It is known that young women swoon acted at the pictures of Walter Scheunemann (1909-1949) and Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz (1893-1968).

Remarkably Binz photographed no soldiers of the Waffen-SS. This might be due to the fact that she was friends with Hans Oster (1887-1945), a convinced opponent of the Nazi regime. She knew by that friendship also the 'conspirators' Erwin von Witzleben (1881-1944) and Erich Hoepner (1886-1944) which she portrayed all three. These pictures where not made for Film-Foto-Verlag.

Tita Binz survived the war and died at the age of 67 at Mannheim (Germany).

Below a small survey of the pictures of Ritterkreuzträger by Binz for Film-Foto-Verlag.

Hermann Graf
1912-1988

Hermann Graf
1912 - 1988

Kurt Gehrke
1903 - 1944

Hugo Primozic
1914 - 1996

Walter Paulus
1911 - 1987

Johannes Morawietz
1911 -  alive 2013

Karl Hausmann
1912 - 1997

Otto Schulze
1914 - 1945

Klaus Wagner
1917 - 1966

Gerhard Hein
1916 - 2008

Bruno Kohnz
1914 - 1945
 

Friedrich Schneider
1899 - unkown

Hans Christern
1900 - 1966

Hyacinth Graf Strachwitz
1893 - 1968

Hyacinth Graf Strachwitz
1893 - 1968

Bernd von Doering
1903 - 1944

Heinz Guderian
1888 - 1954

Heinz Guderian
1888 - 1954

Harald von Hirschfeld
1912 - 1945

Hermann Graf
1912 - 1988

Johann Mickl
1893 - 1945

Oskar Dinort
1901 - 1965

Werner Rausch
1916 - 1998

Josef Bremm
1914 - 1998

Heinrich Schüler
1903 - 1945

Richard Henze
1895 - 1985

Eberhard Zahn
1910 - 2010

Peter Frantz
1917 - 2001

Werner Lau
1908 - 1980

Gerhard Boldt
1918 - 1981

Kurt Dix
1908 - 1994

Rudolf Schlee
1913 - 1979

Alfred Müller
1916 - 1944

Herbert Ruhnke
1914 - 1945

Wilhelm Okrent
1916 - 1945

Walter Scheunemann
1909 - 1949

Fritz Arndt
1910 - 2003

Werner Baumgarten-Crusius
1919 - 1995

Bruno Kohnz
1914 - 1945

Ernst Nobis
1901 - 1963

Karl Torley
1913 - 1943

Ekkehard Kylling-Schmidt
1918 - 2000

Werner Ziegler
1916 - 2001

Hans Erwin Schröder
1916 - 1943

Albert Dressel
1914 - 1944

Günter Vollmer
1917 - 2004

Harro Brenner
1911 - 1998

Heinrich Mahnken
1889 - 1944

Wolf Hagemann
1898 - 1983

Karl Allmendinger
1891 - 1965

Johann Hlauska
1914 - 1965



Fritz Fessmann
1913 - 1944

Hans Mikosch
1898 - 1993

Alfred Hemmann
1895 - 1957



Gerhard Graf von Schwerin
1899 - 1980

 

Robert Meissner
1888 - 1953
 

Harald von Hirschfeld
1912 - 1945

Ernst Kruse
1915 - 1944

Heinrich Boigk
1912 - 2003

Gerhard Lemke
1919 - 2004

Otto Starosta
1916 - 1985

Walter Kalkhoff
1913 - 1960

Johann Schmölzer
1911 - 1997

Kurt Kirchner
1911 - 1944

Erich Bärenfänger
1915 - 1945

Erich Bärenfänger
1915 - 1945

Günter Goebel
1917 - 1993

Georg Rietscher
1918 - 1991

Hugo Primozic
1914 - 1996

Georg Michael
1917 - 1944

Karl Löwrick
1894 - 1945

Erich von Manstein
1887 - 1973

Erwin Rommel
1891 - 1944

Josef Harpe
1887 - 1968

Erich Jaschke
1890 - 1961

Karl Wilhelm Specht
1894 - 1953

Karl Wilhelm Specht
1894 - 1953

Erich Löffler
1908 - 1945

Wilhelm von Malachowski
1914 - 1980

Hermann Ammer
1914 - 2000

Wolfgang Darius
1911 - 2000

Karl-Heinz Noak
1916 - 1978

Heinz-Georg Haase
1914 - 1943

Robert Vogel
1918 - 1975

Otto Riehs
1921 - 2008

Robert Rahlenbeck
1923 - 2008

Hans-Joachim von Stolzmann
1898 - 1971

Franz Bäke
1898 - 1978

Waldemar von Gaza
1917 - alive 2013

Bodo Spranz
1920 - 2007

Hans-Georg Romeike
1920 - 1944

Paul Baumann
1914 - 1944

Rudolf Fuchs
1919 - 1998

Josef Schreiber
1919 - 1945

Rolf Rocholl
1918 - 1943

Adelbert Schulz
1903 - 1944

Adelbert Schulz
1903 - 1944

Richard Metzger
1912 - 1982

Walter Eggemann
1911 - 1957

Berhard Walterbach
1918 - 1997

Hans-Ulrich Rudel
1916 - 1982

Hans-Valentin Hube
1890 - 1944
 

Walter Nowotny
1920 - 1944

 

Otto Ernst Remer
1912 - 1997
 

Some pictures of the Knight Cross holders 'serie' where not taken bij Binz;

R 305 Eckehard Kylling-Schmidt*
R 306 Werner Ziegler*
R 335 Erwin Rommel*
R 358 Rolf Rocholl*

List of numbers en pictures of the knight cross holders by Tita Binz (Film-Foto-Verlag)



R 262	Hermann Graf (1)	R 270	Otto Schulze
R 263	Hermann Graf (2)	R 271	Klaus Wagner
R 264	Harald von Hirschfeld (1)	R 272	Gerhard Hein
R 265	Kurt Gehrke	R 273	Bruno Kohnz (1)
R 266	Hugo Primozic (1)	R 274	Unkown
R 267	Walter Paulus	R 275	Friedrich Schneider
R 268	Johannes Morawietz	R 276	Hans Christern
R 269	Karl Hausmann	R 277	Hyacint Strachwitz (1)
		R 278	Hyacint Strachwitz (2)
		R 279	Bernd von Doering
R 280	Heinz Guderian (1)	R 290	Eberhard Zahn
R 281	Heinz Guderian (2)	R 291	Peter Frantz
R 282	Harald von Hirschfeld (2)	R 292	Werner Lau
R 283	Hermann Graf (3)	R 293	Gerhard Boldt
R 284	Johann Mickl	R 294	Kurt Dix
R 285	Oskar Dinort	R 295	Rudolf Schlee
R 286	Werner Rausch	R 296	Alfred Müller
R 287	Josef Bremm	R 297	Herbert Ruhnke
R 288	Heinrich Schüler	R 298	Wilhelm Okrent
R 289	Richard Henze	R 299	Walter Scheunemann
R 300	Fritz Arndt	R 310	Harro Brenner
R 301	Werner Baumgarten-Crusius	R 311	Heinrich Mahnken
R 302	Bruno Kohnz (2)	R 312	Wolf Hagemann
R 303	Ernst Nobis	R 313	Karl Allmendinger
R 304	Karl Torley	R 314	Johann Hlauschka
R 305	Eckehard Kylling-Schmidt*	R 315	Fritz Fessmann
R 306	Werner Ziegler*	R 316	Hans Mikosch
R 307	Hans Erwin Schröder	R 317	Alfred Hemmann
R 308	Albert Dressel	R 318	Gerhard graf Schwerin
R 309	Günter Vollmer	R 319	Robert Meissner
R 320	Harald von Hirschfeld (3)	R 330	Georg Rietscher
R 321	Ernst Kruse	R 331	Hugo Primozic (2)
R 322	Heinrich Boigk	R 332	Georg Michael
R 323	Gerhard Lemke	R 333	Karl Löwrick
R 324	Otto Starosta	R 334	Erich von Manstein
R 325	Walter Kalkhoff	R 335	Erwin Rommel*
R 326	Johann Schmölzer	R 336	Josef Harpe
R 327	Kurt Kirchner	R 337	Erich Jaschke
R 328	Erich Bärenfänger	R 338	Karl Wilhelm Specht (1,2)
R 329	Günter Goebel	R 339	Erich Löffler
R 340	Wilhelm von Malachowski	R 350	Waldemar von Gaza
R 341	Hermann Ammer	R 351	Bodo Spranz
R 342	Wolfgang Darius	R 352	Gerhard Konopka
R 343	Karl-Heinz Noak	R 353	Hans-Georg Romeike
R 344	Heinz-Georg Haase	R 354	Paul Baumann
R 345	Robert Vogel	R 355	Rudolf Fuchs
R 346	Otto Riehs	R 356	Josef Schreiber
R 347	Robert Rahlenbeck	R 357	Johannes Kümmel
R 348	Hans-Joachim von Stolzmann	R 358	Rolf Rocholl*
R 349	Franz Bäke	R 359	Adelbert Schulz (1)
R 360	Adelbert Schulz (2)
R 361	Richard Metzger
R 362	Hans Gidion
R 363	Walter Eggemann
R 364	Bernhard Walterbach
R 365 R 366	Hans-Ulrich Rudel Hans-Valetin Hube
R 367	Walter Nowotny