Odd HSU Recipient...

[Dave]

Here's an odd photo borrowed from another forum... The uniform is a US quasi-military uniform as the guy supposedly immigrated to the US. The only problem is that I can't find this guy listed as an HSU. His name is Leznik- can anyone out there confirm if he was an HSU or not?

--Dave

[desantnik]

Wow! Are those US Army distinctive unit insignias on his epaullettes? As to the upper ribbons, they don't look like anything anyone US active duty would wear - are they reserve/state national guard/ROTC? He's definitely wearing (spacing incorrect) US Engineer Corps officer insignia with what appear to be lieutenant colonel silver oak leaves on the epaullettes. As to the green ribbon - I can't think of a US unit award that would fit the bill for that. The only solid green ribbon I know is the Afghan anniversary of the revolution ribbon.
I don't have my usual references here, but I think he's a PX commando and no HSU.

[Dave]

You're right - it's not a US military uniform. He's part of the American Volunteer Reserve - a quasi-military organization that renders honors at military funerals, provides for disaster relief, etc.

--Dave

[AlexF.]

Aga, now I understand what HSU Star wearer's copies are for I bet you, if he's been wearing that for some time, it would show "honest" wear and could be very hard to argue against...

Cheers to all,

-AF.

[Nota Bene]

Dave,

Could this be a joke? I could not find any information about him in the HSU or Cavaliers of Glories books, and he is not amongst those, striped of the title. Could not find anything on the Russian Internet.

Alex,

Good point!

Alexei

[yolkin]

Gentlemen, I was thinking of a Haloween costume, but this guy beat me to it...

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Nota Bene

Could this be a joke?

Actually, no... This guy is apparently going around claiming to be an HSU. I guess he figures no one in the US will know any better!

--Dave

[Nota Bene]

There's gotta be a law against that.

Alexei

[Christophe]

In France, there are laws or disposition covering this subject.

Here is a post from another thread (Michael Jackson's one) I wrote several months ago :

" For your information, here is the situation in France, about "French Law and Unofficial Orders" (look to article R173 of the la Légion d'Honneur):

* French Law has been dealing with unofficial orders and decorations since the early 19th century. A royal ordinance of April 16, 1824, stated: "All decorations and orders, of whatever designation or form, which have not been awarded by us or by foreign sovereigns are declared illegally or abusively obtained, and those who wear them are ordered to relinquish them immediately." An imperial decree of June 10, 1853 repeated the same exact wording. The ordinance further specified that foreign decorations and orders could only be worn with an official approval delivered by the government. Both dispositions have become part of the Code of the Legion of Honor (articles R160 and R161).

Until recently, the penal dispositions were as follows: article 433-14 of the Penal Code provides for 1 year in prison and 100,000F fine for the public and unauthorized use of a decoration regulated by the public authorities (3 years and 300,000F when this is done to facilitate a crime or misdemeanor). Article R40, 3d paragraph of the Penal Code punished "those who have worn in public insignia, ribbons or buttons which present a similarity with decorations awarded by the State such as to induce confusion ("une méprise") in the mind of the public". These dispositions targeted counterfeit official orders and decorations of the French State, but did not cover much else. A decree of December 4, 1981 extended the prohibitions and provided for punishments.

* Code de la Légion d'Honneur
Article R172: "Anyone who wears in public insignia, ribbons or buttons presenting a similarity with those of decorations awarded by the French State (...), will be punished by the fine prescribed for 4th-class misdemeanors."

Article R173: "Any French person who wears a decoration awarded by a foreign sovereign power without having secured the authorization required (...) will be punished by the fine prescribed for 2d class misdemeanors. Any person who wears a foreign decoration not awarded by a foreign power will be punished by the fine prescribed for 3d class misdemeanors. [...] ."

Article R173 punishes failure to secure the required authorization for foreign decorations, and also prevents anyone from claiming that theirs is a foreign decoration not awarded by a sovereign power (such as those awarded by legitimate or fanciful claimants to inexistant thrones or heirs of dethroned dynasties). The prohibitions against wearing decorations only extend to wearing in public. The use of such decorations in private functions is therefore not prohibited.

The current (1995) schedule of punishments for misdemeanors is:
1st class: 30F to 250F
2d class: 250F to 1000F
3d class: 1,000F to 3,000F
4th class: 3,000F to 5,000F or 1-5 days in jail or both
5th class: 5,000F to 10,000F or 10-30 days in jail or both "

References: heraldica.org."

Cheers.

Ch.

[willie777]

SUPER BUMP!!!
Well, I'm back (temporarily) to share this. Check out the picture. Found it today, and remembered this. Supposedly the same guy. Look at bottom row of medals and other bling. Isn't there some Russian Stolen Valor Law?

BTW: FYI, I'm temporarily not collecting anymore due to other interests I chose to pursue. If I continue on my current path, I may be getting rid of my cheaper medals. If you see like random lots of 20 jubilee medals on eBan, its probably me.