Month: August 2016

IYAOYAS! An Aviation Ordnanceman in the middle of Japanese Attacks

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The Good Conduct Medal was named to Robert E. Barnhart and dated 1942, and came on a mounted medal bar.  The regulations and history of the medals themselves tell both the story of the medals and when and how the recipient earned the medal.  But, who was Robert Barnhart?  And if the medals and ribbons a service member receives tells the story of their service, what story does this medal bar tell?  The story that follows takes us to the early days of World War II in the Pacific, and a man whose life these events swirled around.

Barnhart_Medals_Front

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The girl in the uniform….

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German_Girl

Her name is lost to time, but I find this photo captivating.  It was used on a German post card in World War I, but why was she in the uniform?  Was it her boyfriend’s, her brother’s, or her husband’s?

The visor on the hat and the saber indicates this is likely an officer’s uniform.  The soldier was a valiant man, the ribbon in the second button hole indicates award of the Iron Cross 2nd Class for combat.  The non-combat version of that award would have had two black stripes on a white ribbon.  Below her left breast is the Iron Cross 1st Class.