Large Orders Bar

[Dénes]

Below is a beautiful orders bar:

What order is the 5th one from left (the pale blue Maltese cross)?

[Geto-Dacul]

Dénes wrote :

QUOTE

What order is the 5th one from left (the pale blue Maltese cross)?

It is the Yugoslavian order of St-Sava, Officer grade... The back of the order is damaged...

Getu'

[Carol I]

Do you happen to know who was the owner of these orders? It seems to be a very unusual combination: both the orders of the Star and of the Crown with swords and combatant ribbon (Military Virtue) and the Medical Merit Cross.

If the owner was a military medical doctor, was he entitled to receive the badges of the national orders with combatant ribbons? On the other hand, if he was a combatant officer, was he entitled to the Medical Merit Cross?

[Dénes]

The orders bar is apparently offered for sale by a dealer from Bucharest, nick-named 'numismedals' (Constantin Adrian).
He has a web site, but could not find anything in it:
http://numismedals.go.mysite.go.ro/default.php

[Carol I]

I do not want to buy this bar. I am just wondering how it was possible to achieve such a combination of apparently incompatible awards (combatant and medical).

[Geto-Dacul]

Charlie, be carefull at the ribbon of the "Medical Cross Order"... Do you see the two 3mm gold wire borders??? This was specific to the war ribbon of the award ; this new type of ribbon was established in 1938.

Best regards,

Getu'

[Carol I]

QUOTE

Charlie, be carefull at the ribbon of the \"Medical Cross Order\"... Do you see the two 3mm gold wire borders??? This was specific to the war ribbon of the award ; this new type of ribbon was established in 1938. Best regards, Getu'

And your point is?

Yes, the owner of the bar has received the Medical Merit Cross in WWII (I have never said anything else). This suggests that he was part of the Medical Corps. Then why did he receive the Order of the Star and the Order of the Crown with swords (i.e., for war merits) and with the Military Virtue ribbon (meaning bravery in the face of the enemy)? Was he a fighting member of the Medical Corps? To me this seems a contradiction and my original question still stands.

If he had received the above-mentioned orders with the war ribbon only, I would have accepted that he was a distinguished member of the Medical Corps during the war. But combatant ribbons? Why?

If he was not a medical officer but a combatant one (as the bravery in the face of the enemy ribbons might suggest), in what quality did he receive the Medical Merit Cross? Was not this cross reserved for the medical personnel?

[Geto-Dacul]

My point is that the owner could have received the Medical Cross for having saved wounded soldiers, or maybe he was a medic, a field medic... As you see, he also participated in WW1. We can also see that the bar was mounted during the WW2, because the Ferdinand medal carefully occupies second place in importance. During WW2, most medal bars having the star or the crown orders had nearly in all cases the bravery ribbon (for military men)... In our case, if he was a military medic, then we can understand.

Getu'

[Carol I]

Well, I wanted a confirmation of this seemingly strange situation that you have also described: a military medical doctor receiving not one but two national orders with the ribbon for bravery in the face of the enemy, whatever would this mean for a medical doctor. For me this is a professional contradiction: as a medical doctor he should have saved lives (including enemy ones if possibly), not taken as a combatant.

The fact is that he as a military doctor could have received the war badge of the two national orders with the corresponding war ribbons (red with white stripes on the sides and gold ones on the edges for the Order of the Star and blue with a silver stripe on the centre and gold ones on the edges for the Order of the Crown - I have seen such badges and I bet that you also did). This would mean that he had his share of frontline activity, but did not actually fight the enemy.

On the other hand, he seems to have had his share of action in WWI as well (Carpati and Marasesti battles, not to mention the 1913 campaign). If he was then a medical doctor, he should have received the Medical Merit Cross (MMC) with the silver wreath on the ribbon or maybe even the Queen Mary’s Cross Order (QMCO - I've just remembered this one). Does this mean that he was not part of the Medical Corps? Was it then possible that he could have received the MMC? What do your references say about this possibility? I was living under the impression that the MMC and the QMCO were reserved for those associated with the Medical Corps.

Anyhow, it seems that we are splitting the hair and this time in 16, not 4 as usual.

[Von Maybach]

What is the seventh decoration (counting from the left)?

[Carol I]

QUOTE

What is the seventh decoration (counting from the left)?

WWI Commemorative Cross