Suspensions, Ribbons, Ribbon Bars And Order Of Precedence.

[Tretov]

Sure thing... for the common interest, here is the full list.

Order of Glory Ist, IInd and III class
100th anniversary Lenins birth, Defense of Moscow, Victory over Germany
20th, 30th anniversary of the Victory over Germany, Veteran Serviceman
Veteran of Labor, 30th anniversary Soviet army and navy, 40th anniversary SAF
50th, 60th anniversary SAF, 20 years irreproachable service
15 years irreproachable service, badge 25th anniversary of the victory

The last one is a foreign ribbon, possibly some artistic interpretation of a Yugoslav (perhaps "30 Years of Victory over Fascism") or Czechoslovak medal
(Czechoslovak War Cross) . Unlike the cloth ribbons, these were made from thin plastic or paper and I guess it wasn't always that easy, especially on remote locations, to find the exact ribbons for foreign decorations.

[Will]

Yes, the placement of the ribbon after all of the Soviet medals and Orders certainly indicates a foreign award. Unfortunately, I have not been able to identify it, and I was hoping that someone here on the Forum might recognize it.

It is over-sized, which I am presuming accurately reflects the medal ribbon, since it would have been very easy to make the ribbon the same size as the Soviet examples.

Thus far I have looked at ribbons for the socialist governments of Poland, Hungary, Romania and Czechoslovakia, but I have not found it. I also looked at ribbons for France and Great Britain, since it seemed to me that a Cavalier of the Order of Glory might well have received a corresponding decoration from one of the western allies. I know that it is not an American award.

This is frustrating ! :banghead

[CtahhR]

Syrian Order Of Bravery (of all things). What more can I say?

[CtahhR]

Someone else said this however, (Copy and paste)

The Soviet-Syrian military relationship began in March 1955, when the Soviets offered to extend considerable economic and military assistance in support of Syria's refusal to join the Baghdad Pact, an alliance that was being formed under the general auspices of Britain and the United States. Initial arms shipments arrived from Czechoslovakia in 1956, but East European aid was small-scale until the rise of Baathist President Nureddin Atassi in 1966. During the June 1967 War, the threat of Soviet intervention on behalf of Syria and Egypt was partly responsible for halting the Israeli advance on both fronts. After the June 1967 War, Soviet military aid to Syria grew substantially and the Soviets established a sizable military presence there.

Assad's rise to power led to a strengthening of political and military ties with the Soviet Union. Contributing to these closer relations was Egypt's sudden ouster of Soviet military advisers in July 1972, which caused an increased Soviet interest in Syria. The months preceding the October 1973 War saw a significant increase in Soviet arms flow to Syria. During the war, Soviet military advisers supervised the operations at SAM sites and were present at Syrian command posts.

The most significant Soviet involvement between October 10- 23, 1973, however, was its airlift of almost 4,000 tons of military equipment and its sealift of considerably more, to rearm the Syrian and Egyptian armies. Within a year after the ceasefire , the Soviets had more than replaced Syria's massive equipment loss.

However, Syria's intervention in the Lebanese Civil War against leftist Muslim forces in 1976 led to a strain in SovietSyrian relations. For more than a year, the Soviets suspended deliveries of military materiel, while Syria retaliated by reducing its Soviet military presence and halting training for its military in the Soviet Union. To replace Soviet support, Saudi Arabia supplied most of the funds to maintain Syria's troops in Lebanon. By 1987, however, Saudi financial aid was believed to have decreased.

During the Syrian-Soviet rapprochement in 1978, Libya reportedly supplied the equivalent of US$500 million to US$1 billion to pay for Syria's Soviet-supplied weaponry, including 12 MiG-27s.

Syria was also able to pay for Soviet weaponry as a result of the October 1978 Arab summit in Baghdad that pledged payments to Syria (as well as to Jordan and the PLO) if it agreed to reject the Camp David accords (signed in Washington in September 1978). Under the agreement, Syria was allotted US$1.8 billion annually. Only a few countries, however, notably Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, maintained regular payments; consequently, Syria has received only US$700 to $800 million per year in Baghdad Agreement aid.

From 1979 to 1983, the Soviet Union delivered US$9.2 billion in arms transfers (out of a total of US$10.53 billion pledged). Czechoslovakia was the next largest supplier, with US$470 million in military aid. China delivered US$90 million, Poland US$30 million, and Romania US$20 million. In addition, Syria received US$200 million in military aid from France, US$180 million from Britain, and US$40 million from West Germany.

In addition to arms, Syria received military advisers and technicians from the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and sent military personnel to those countries for training. The number of such advisers and technicians in Syria was estimated at 3,500 in the aftermath of the 1973 War, 2,500 in 1976, 2,000 to 3,000 in 1978, 5,300 in 1984, and 2,300 in 1986. With regard to training, the United States Central Intelligence Agency has estimated that 6,600 Syrian military personnel trained in the Soviet Union between 1955 and 1985 and a further 1,515 trained in other East European countries.

Some observers saw the 1980 Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Syria and the Soviet Union as the culmination of the two countries' relationship. From the Syrian perspective, however, this treaty had a deep-seated flaw; there was no reference in it to Syria's position in Lebanon. Syria wanted and had requested a "strategic agreement" with the Soviet Union to offset any United States-Israeli agreement. Yet no such SovietSyrian agreement was signed and no broader alliance evolved, although the Soviet Union increased its military assistance following Syria's 1982 defeat in Lebanon. While maintaining its sovereignty, Syria expressed appreciation for Soviet assistance by granting the Soviets facilities to base reconnaissance aircraft and expanding the ports of Latakia and Tartus to accommodate large Soviet ships.

In 1983 and 1984, the Soviet Union increased involvement by installing SAM-5, SAM-6, SAM-9, and SS-21 missile systems in Syria. These SAM systems, which had adequate range to cover a major part of the region, were at first manned and protected by Soviet advisers and troops and have only gradually been turned over to Syrian control. The large Soviet resupply of SAM systems was interpreted by the United States, Israel, and Jordan as a Soviet response to the massive destruction of Soviet-built SAMs in the Lebanese War, among other reasons. Syria acquired additional T-72 tanks following Assad's October 1984 visit to Moscow.

In 1983 Syria's rejection of the Camp David accords, its alleged support for international terrorism, and its close friendship with the Soviet Union led the United States Congress to prohibit any new aid; since 1979, no new American aid has been assigned to Syria. Meanwhile, despite, or perhaps because of, the dominant Soviet influence on the armed forces, Assad has repeatedly sought to diversify Syria's source of armaments, for instance, by negotiations with France. However, Syrian-French arms deals broke down over the issue of Syrian support for antiFrench terrorist groups. In general, Syrian efforts to purchase Western defense technology have been unsuccessful.

(From 1987)

[Jeffrey Meffert]

I knew I had seen it before. I had a bunch of syrian medals which i sold a few years ago. This cavalier led an interesting (and lucky) life. Are we sure on the 25th anniversary ribbon? I had a navy vet's uniform that had a ribbon bar with a 25th that had more a cross hatched orange and black rather than the yellow and black shown as second to last medal. Another foriegn one?

[Will]

Jeff:
God point, but I have seen the 25th anniversary medal represented by ribbons with both vertical and diagonal stripes.

Cahh:
That's a pretty amazing call on the ribbon ! :wow
I never would have thought of it.
But not long ago I acquired a Soviet ribbon set with the last two ribbons representing North Korean awards, so I should have learned from that to expand my search.
For that matter, a "mystery ribbon" on a Soviet set could come from Egypt or Cuba as well, I suppose.

[medals73]

Well done, "CtahhR", you beat me to it. EXCEPT the ribbon is wrong, but maybe the Soviets just got it wrong in painting the ribbon bar.

Extracted from a working manuscript:

Wisam al-Shuja‘at / Order of Bravery
Awarded to members of the armed forces for courage and valor during military operations. It may also be awarded for more generalized courage of exceptional service in the public interest. In 1976 (?) award of the medal was extended to civilians and foreigners. The order is awarded by class, according to rank, as is detailed below.
Also seen referred to as the “Valor Medal”.
Established: By Legislative Decree No. 15 of 20 July 1964 and amended by ??? of ??? 1976 (?).
Obverse: Gilt, an eight-pointed rayed star with a circular central medallion showing a horseman charging toward the left. Below this, the legend . Around the bottom of this central medallion is a green-enameled semi-circular wreath. The size of the badge differs by class, as detailed below. The medal is suspended from a ring executied with a wreath motif.
Reverse: Blank.
Ribbon: Dark blue, three 1.5 mm red stripes edged with 1.5 mm white stripes.
Awards:
Outline:
-- awarded to officers, 60 mm badge with palm branch on the ribbon
-- second class – awarded to non-commissioned officers, 50 mm badge with star on the ribbon
-- third class – awarded to enlisted personnel, 40 mm badge with plain ribbon

Quite a lovely and possibly historic ribbon bar.

[Will]

Hmm...interesting, with respect to the reversal of the red and white colors in the stripes. But in the absence of some other ribbon that is spot-on, it would appear that this Soviet soldier served as an adviser to Syria in some capacity.

[CtahhR]

I like a mystery! As there is a complete list of full cavaliers of "Glory" it might be possible (with time and patience) to see which one if not few had a middle-eastern holiday on their CV. These unexpected ribbons that often end up at the end of (and sometimes middle of) large bars can really be a total curve ball. Many an hour (turning into days) have I spent working out an unknown ribbon. It's all good clean fun for all the family! Many a time have I been able to spark up a good conversation with a military veteran after a quick flash of their bar at the bar.

[UQWozza]

Give these a go - whipped them together this afternoon (when I should have been doing work :)).

Let me know of any additions, corrections etc and I will post a new edition.

I can only post low res versions because of the forum rules. Once completed I will email a larger high res version to those that want one.

Simon