History and Museums Division Field History Detachment (I'm back row, far right)This past Saturday evening my Marine Corps Reserve unit had its annual Marine Corps Birthday celebration. One of our members, Major Joe Winslow, surprised us with the presentation of medals and membership in a newly created military order, the Military Order of St. Nicholas. (A photo of the event will follow.)
The precedence for this medal and order goes back to the George Medal of Guadalcanal fame. Major Winslow in his civilian career is an uber talented industrial/commercial designer and fabricator. You can check out his company's website here.
Here is the background for the Military Order of St. Nicholas according to Major Winslow:
Similar to the George Medal of WWII, this is an informal medal to recognize the the efforts of Field Historians.
The medal is based on an Iraqi Army badge. The Marine Corps EGA is super-imposed on a Persian star, surrounded by palm fronds, from under which radiates the bright rays of the desert sun. I hand sculpted the medal in plaster, poured a firing mold from concrete used to rebuild parts of the MEF(fwd) HQ building, and workded with Seabees and their torches to cast the first prototype-all this aboard Camp Fallujah, literally while the camp was at times under mortar and rocket fire. The silver was shipped to Iraq by a metal dealer in Texas. The final medals were cast by a retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant Guadalcanal veteran.
The Society is named after Colonel Nicholas Reynolds, who drafted the first Field Historians for Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, and saw to it that they were deployed to the opening salvos of what has turned into a rather long and historic engagement....
The Society is an association of Field Historians who have deployed to combat zones in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, and others, who have served the History Detachment in a beneficial manner. Form and function is similar to the Artillery Order of St. Barbara. All that being said, it's generally a way to ensure we have yet another occasion to get togther for a beer or two.
The precedence for this medal and order goes back to the George Medal of Guadalcanal fame. Major Winslow in his civilian career is an uber talented industrial/commercial designer and fabricator. You can check out his company's website here.
Here is the background for the Military Order of St. Nicholas according to Major Winslow:
Similar to the George Medal of WWII, this is an informal medal to recognize the the efforts of Field Historians.
The medal is based on an Iraqi Army badge. The Marine Corps EGA is super-imposed on a Persian star, surrounded by palm fronds, from under which radiates the bright rays of the desert sun. I hand sculpted the medal in plaster, poured a firing mold from concrete used to rebuild parts of the MEF(fwd) HQ building, and workded with Seabees and their torches to cast the first prototype-all this aboard Camp Fallujah, literally while the camp was at times under mortar and rocket fire. The silver was shipped to Iraq by a metal dealer in Texas. The final medals were cast by a retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant Guadalcanal veteran.
The Society is named after Colonel Nicholas Reynolds, who drafted the first Field Historians for Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, and saw to it that they were deployed to the opening salvos of what has turned into a rather long and historic engagement....
The Society is an association of Field Historians who have deployed to combat zones in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, and others, who have served the History Detachment in a beneficial manner. Form and function is similar to the Artillery Order of St. Barbara. All that being said, it's generally a way to ensure we have yet another occasion to get togther for a beer or two.
10 comments:
What a handsome group of guys. I hope you had a nice time and a wonderful Thanksgiving.
You all look like you were having a good time!!!
And, those dress blues!!!!!!!!!
Did you have your man garter on? You know... that contraption that keeps your socks up and your shirt tucked in? :)
Man garter.....not necessary with dress blues.
Ohhhh dear, I'm too dizzy to wolf-whistle! (Cain't figure out how to type the darn thing anyway.)
Great picture - I'm betting that each face in it hides several books worth of stories, and each of them worth the read.
Especially enjoyed the final reason for the bestowment of the Order. Good excuses are always welcome. And y'all deserve it. How else would we grateful (and un-) have any clue what's been sacrificed for our sakes, if not for those of you documenting it? What a noble occupation.
I hope our handsome Artist had a wonderful time this Thanksgiving.
I have been following a Marine historian who recently deployed to Iraq (marinehistorian.blogspot.com). Are there lots of field historians in the Marines?
And yes, you are a handsome lot in those dress blues!
Congratulations! Very cool! I even know what the belt is that you have on, because I went to a gathering of Marines at the Harvard Business School recently and asked one of the guys there who had it on. Too cool. Hope you are doing great and congrats on the new honors!
Gorgeous and HUNKY!
swooooooooooooooooooon, thump.
Sir,
Are you actually insinuating that the President of the United States need not be "bright"? I dislike Bill Maher, but stating that our President should have an above normal education, capacity, and intelect is not straying too far from a normative statement. I have a university diploma, have traveled a lot in my life, and consider myself to be a well-read, intelligent young man. At the same time, I sure as hell hope that the President of the USA is smarter than I am, or "bright" as you put it.
I am not partisan, but GWB is not a smart man. That's easy enough to see in any press conference where he stumbles over his words. Don't watch the 20 second soundbytes on CNN, watch the WHOLE news conference on CSPAN. You will be amazed at the sheer idiocy of this Texas-accented 'NASCAR' supported man from the wealthiest of suburbs in Connecticut.
Sincerely,
Philip Duguay
Connecticut
ps: Your art is wonderful, thanks
You are a very special artist and make hauntingly beautiful drawings. Still I do not agree with a large number of the political statements that you make in your blog. The American invasion of Iraq was a blunder of gargantuan proportions; only hope that they can develop some stability there soon. Hope also that they can save the situation in Afghanistan whose present situation was created out of the US proxy war against the Soviets years ago.
I wish now that minimal lives are lost and these regions can recover some stability so that they can steer their own course.
Anyway good luck to you and others with you and keep painting.
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