Badge "Excellent In The Ministry Of National Health".

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Here is the Badge "Excellent In The Ministry Of National Health". The Ministry Of National Health existed from 27th December 1968 to 16th August 1987. This painted aluminium example will date from the mid 1980's.

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Here is an earlier example.

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Here is another earlier example.

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Awarded to Doctor Jordan Aleksandrov Pejchev on 30th April 1976 - a recipient that opens up a story. When you think of these Badges you really don't think of a coroner!

Captain-Doctor Jordan Aleksandrov Pejchev was, in 1966, the Chief Forensic Investigator Of The Directorate Of People's Militia Of The Ministry Of Internal Affairs when he was sent to investigate the crash of TABSO Flight 101 near Bratislava, where 82 (the entire flight) were killed. - TABSO Flight 101 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There was an interview with Doctor Pejchev in the 26th November 2007 issue of "Blitz".

• Loaded ballot boxes with corpses cremated at night
• Trouble probably occurred because of the recklessness of pilots, but this is my personal opinion.

On 24th November 1966 the Il-18 plane of the Bulgarian state airline TABSO crashed near Bratislava. Killing all 82 persons on board passengers, including singer Katja Popova and General Ivan Buchvarov. Among the victims were members of the delegations of the fraternal parties present for the first Congress of the Communist Party.

At that time Captain-Doctor Jordan Alexandrov Pejchev was forensic expert at the Directorate of People's Militia of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. 1st to 16th December he was included in the investigation committee of the reasons for the crash of the Bulgarian commercial airliner.

Dr. Pejchev, can you remember the details of his participation in this commission?
- My idea is to tell you in detail about the research that we've done. This is the decision of the Commission and my report. I'll give them to you. When the plane went down, naturally there was formed government commission to investigate the causes of the crash. I was in the commission, it was led by member of the Central Committee Ninko Stefanov, therein was the General Avgust Kabakchiev, engineers specialising in avionics, chief TABSO General Lazar Beluhov, who then went to Moscow as a representative of TABSO. We went with two aircraft and under international law, we have no right to investigate and make site visits - this is done by the Czechoslovak specialists and we were just bystanders. Ninko Stefanov asked me to help their coroner and I began to participate in the inspection of the place of autopsies and identifications.

Czechoslovak authorities showed some zeal for the work of the Bulgarians, did they not try to hide something from you?
-The Czechs treated us well, every morning we were taken from a hotel in Bratislava. The inspection was guided by a Czechoslovak observer. He stood in the middle with a tripod, we were two assessing physicians, with Engineers and Constructors. We walked up and found, for example, a corpse, take pictures, assign a number to the corpse, described it - clothes, rings, watch etc. In came soldiers with special wooden coffins and sent the corpse to forensic medicine. On the plane there were two containers of isotopes for medical purposes, they were not dissolved, we did a search. At 10 am nice maidens brought us coffee and breakfast. After looking around, we washed in case we were irradiated. In the evening the commission met in the hotel and discussed.

What was the main thing that the Commission wants to establish?
-We were concerned if the crew and flight attendants had consumed alcohol and where they were located. I had the impression that the Czech Commission immediately raised the issue of healthcare books. We were told that the Czechs overheard that in our group there was an investigator from State Security - Ohridski. We moved away to our consulate in Bratislava. This went on for quite some time, weeks or months. Then our lot left, leaving me and the head of TABSO in Prague, the pilot Daskalov.

- Why did you have to stay in Czechoslovakia?
I had to stay to identify and seal coffins and then send them to Bulgaria. I moved to the Department of Forensic Medicine, the staff of the department made identification on contemporary rules. I received an order from Bulgaria that I had to cremate all. But Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Shopov called me and said, "Doctor, cremate only foreigners." The plane was half full of foreigners from the Arab world and from around the world that had come to the Congress of the Party. Cremated the foreigners and sent them in legations and sent our coffins to Bulgaria. This happened in early December. When the plane came, loaded them in the night.

- What was the physical evidence on which you worked?
I should have gone subsequently to Prague to study material evidence. What of the autopsy? Portions of heart, liver, etc. Tested for glucose, glycosyl and formic acid, whether the latter are in pieces of the bodies of our passengers and flight attendants. This was the methodology of NASA. Done to show the muscle function of the first and second pilot and psychological tension. If they knew in advance about the crash or were unaware. In my report I had a conclusion. Bratislava witnesses say our pilots and crew went into a special room, where you should go to wind down whilst awaiting mist lifting, that they had sat in the lounge and had consumed alcohol. We had to prove whether this is true or not.

So you could not blame it on the crew?
- In this study, we proved that the crew had not consumed alcohol, how they had studied the pilots. After we finished work, I came home and gave this report of the commission which investigated the case. What is the cause of the crash? Czechoslovak commission said in its report that they can not determine the cause of the crash and the death of passengers. We know for sure that the crew was well prepared that pilots were among the best, with great experience. My personal opinion of the crash is complacency of the crew. But this can not be demonstrated.

What were the details of the interpretation of the record in the black box?
- Found the black box. But after reading the recording, additional information is not received and nothing could be proven.

Have you participated in other commissions investigating crashes?
- I researched also the plane crashes in Burgas and Peschera. I've had enough experience. In one case, the plane was caught in a magnetic storm and some were still alive in the wreckage.


Amazing stuff - and a small world - Kabakchiev's Hero Star is also in the collection - http://soviet-awards.com/forum/sovie...tml#post151099