Romanian footware (opinca)

Interesting article in Jurnalul National (unfortunatelly only in Romanian):

http://www.jurnalul.ro/modules.php?op=modl...=16388&topic=34

This remembers me of what my grand-grand father (Chira Tudor, from Reg.81 Inf , was awarded in January 1927 with the medal Victoria for his participation to the "great war for civilization" 1916-1921) said about that Romanian footware raised on the Hungarian Parlament...
My grand-grand-father said that the "opinca" was delivered with a song or poem, something like "Sus opinca/ Jos papucul!!!"...
There is any picture about this event?

This topic is not opened in order to raise polemics...

What is interesting is the duration of WWI: "1916-1921" written on the certificate that came with the medal... Could someone offer an explanation for this period of time?

This post has been edited by johnny_bi on October 27, 2004 11:20 am

I saw this pic, with an "opinca" raised on Hungarian Parliament some years ago. Its true (even is not ... how can I said - an very "diplomatic" act).

Also I read about a romanian person who was in Budapest during the bolsevic revolution (1919). She (was a woman) talk about how happy was the hungarians when they heared that the "allied" troops entered in Budapest, in order to end the bolshevic regime. But when they realize that those "allied troops" were romanians, ... they werent so happy ...

I only said this as an historical information ... as a transilvanian native i realy care about a good HU-RO rellations ...



This post has been edited by Dan Po on October 28, 2004 06:02 am

This post is not for raising discussions.

I put this post because i found the reference describing how the "opinca" was raised on the hungarian parliament and the soldiers who did this.

Here is the translation of the event, from romanian:

"In his work <Din amintirile unui luptator>, general Marcel Olteanu describe the event like this: < The Palace of Hungarian Parliament was guarded by a platoon of "vanatori". The comander of the guards from the main entrance was seargent Iordan, an oltean from Craiova, medium high, brown skin, skinny and vivacious.
Above the Palace Iordan saw how hungarian red-white-green flag was fluttering. This fact didnt bothered him very much, but also didnt made him very happy. Pushing his cap on his backhead and scratching his ear, he said to himself: Should I take down the hungarian flag and instead should I put our company's flag? Even the fat lady from officer's mess could do it. But I'll settle the things in such way that it will be reminded as extraordinary, and also the sole of Romania to be revenged.
Said and done so.
Calling corporal Bivolaru, they both climbed the roof and took down the flag to the middle of it's pole and after that, taking the old opinca of his corporal, he climbed the pole as a bear and put it as a hat in the head of the pole, living the "nojite" to flutter on the wind.
In this way fluttered for long the hungarian flag with opinca on his top" as a sign that romanian army is in the center of Europe not in an ordinary way, but victorious!

cited from "General Traian Mosoiu - Arhanghel al bataliei pentru Ardeal", page 130
Authors:
Col (r.) dr. Gh. Tudor Bihoreanu
Lt. col. (r.) C-tin Mosincat
Ing. ec. Ioan Tulvan

This post has been edited by 21 inf on March 22, 2008 09:40 pm

Hallo johnny bi,

can you post a picture of the certificate??

The possible reason for the dates 1916 - 1921 being on the award certificate are:

1. that though in Western Europe the guns fell silent on the 11 November 1919 this was the Armistice / Ceasefire. (But the "war" continued for the Romanians until the threat of the Soviet menace in Hungary was diminished and lost territory regained.)

2. After this was the official Signing of the treaty of Versailles, to bring Peace to the West.

3. Then came The Treaty of Trianon, in 1920, with regards to the war in Eastern Europe, particularly the Romanian, Hungarian, Bulgarian areas.

4. The official Romanian Inter-Allied Victory Medals were being manufactured in France,
the French of course were concerned with the minting of over 2 Million French Inter-Allied Victory Medals first, before starting the manufacture of the Romanian contract of 2 million Inter-Allied Victory Medals, which was in 1921, I believe.

This in turn, was followed by long delays in Romanian Regiments compiling lists of men who were deemed as being eligible to receive the Official Romanian Inter-Allied Victory Medal.

(Not every soldier who was in the Romanian military qualified as there was a strict set of criteria to be followed as to who would qualify for the medal).

Compounding this was the King's decree that Romanian W.W.1. veterans could legitimately purchase one of the many unofficial copies of the Romanian award, upon presentation of the authorizing Brevet, (these copies to be exchanged at a later date when the official version was available many men did not bother to make the exchange).

5. A common misconception that until the official medal was awarded the war was not officially "over"

Kevin in Deva.

This post has been edited by New Connaught Ranger on March 23, 2008 09:21 am

Is this what you meant?


[Source: Transindex.ro]

Gen. Dénes