of Savoy knots in the reverse design and an inscription relating to SOMALIA ITALIANA.

Somali Security Corps Medals

In addition to the military awards the Somali Security Corps also issued medals. The Somalia Security Corps was a police organization under the supervision of the Civil Administration. Two medals are known:

Figure H: Type I Somali Security Corps Medal

Type I Medal (Figure 11)

Obverse: A lion s head surrounded by the inscription,

CORPO DI SICUREZZA DELLA SOMALIA.

Reverse: Uppermost and right, the shield of the IFA; otherwise a landscape with palm tree to the left and mosque right and in the foreground, left to right, a propeller, anchor, rifle, shovel, hammer and hoe. At the bottom, is the Arabic inscription, SOMAL.

Figure 12: Type H Somali Security Corps Medal

Suspension is by the traditional Italian fitting and possibly would have been worn from a half pale blue and white ribbon- the colors of the Somali Republic.

Type II Medal (Figure 12)

Obverse: Two uniformed men ascending a hill and raising a flag aloft.

Reverse: Cactus plants flanking the IFA shield and above which is the inscription CORPO DI SICUREZZA.

Suspension is by a small ring indicative of the souvenir nature of the piece -- no ribbon.

Another organization was the Corpo Di Polizia Della Somalia. This Police Corps was under the direct supervision of the Italian Carabinieri -- a military corps of the Gendarmerie. The medal was referred to on page 17, illustrations 20 and 21 of my original article. Although there is the characteristic ribbon suspension no specific ribbon was issued, but it might be suspended on a half blue (left) and red ribbon -- these being the colors of the Carabinieri.

Commenorative Medal of Independence, 1950

With regard to the .Commemorative Medal of Independence of 1950 on page 15, Figures 6 and 7 of the original article (ribbon unknown but using that of the Italian Order of Merit), and to the small Commemorative Medal of Independence of 1960 on page 17, Figures 8 and 9, the former exists in two types with either Italian or Somali inscriptions, and the latter was only issued as a 27mm diameter piece and only worn on the day of transfer of authority. The ribbon is 31 mm in width and consists of eight light blue and seven white stripes. In addition a further souvenir medal noting the cormnencement of the IFA is known:

Medal Commemorating the Beginning of the IFA

Obverse (Figure 13): The 32mm diameter medal has a shield of the IFA set in a wreath of oak, left, and laurel branch, right, surmounted by seven pointed crown.

Reverse (Figure 14): The circular inscription:

AMMINISTRAZIONE FIDUCIARIA ITALIANA

SOMALIA and in the center, 1 APRIL 1950.

Suspension is by the traditional Italian fitting and may have been suspended from a 36mm pale blue, watered, silk ribbon.

Figure 13: Obverse of Medal Commemorating

the Beginning of the IFA.

Figure 14: Reverse of Medal Commemorating the Beginning of the IFA.

1964 Somali Earthquake Campaign Medal

With regard to the 1964 Somali Earthquake Campaign Medal the inscription is in Italian because there were agreements then in force, which stated that Italian was the official language of the Somali Republic. This medal was also manufactured by Lorioli and was to be suspended by a ribbon half yellow (left) and bright blue. This medal appears to be the most commonly seen Somali award and all the examples I have seen have the ribbon as described in my original article - it may be that this ribbon superseded the original yellow and blue ribbon.

Somali Democratic Republic Revolutionary Decoration.

Finally while on a recent trip to Sana’a in Yemen a silver Somali medal was purchased similar in style to the Labor Medal referred to in the original article however in this instance the inscription reads JAMHUURIYADDA DIMOQARAADIGA SOOMAALIYA BIILLAD KACCANNIMO. This translates as "Somali Democratic Republic Revolutionary Decoration." The medal bears a silver mark 800 and an unclear maker’s mark on the reverse. This piece dates from the period when Mohammed Siyad Barre was President of Somalia and would appear to have been specifically connected with service given to his Somali Revolutionary Council.

With regard to my previous article I would advise that the correct translation for the Labor Medal is "Somali Democratic Republic Hard Work Decoration." There is no differentiation between ’medal’ or ’decoration;" billad is used for both and translation into either medal or decoration can be according to the context of the award. Also I would advise that a further such medal has been seen with a ribbon of pale blue with six narrow red stripes and affixed to the center of the ribbon a small five- pointed bronze star.

Finally I would advise that the Collar of the Order of the Somali Star consists of ten links bearing the letters RS and two links, one either side of the badge, each bearing a leopard. In addition to being manufactured by Gardino of Rome this order was also manufactured by Armro Pozzi, also of Rome, and by Johnson of Milan.

I hope that the above notes add some clarity to my original article and again I would express my sincere thanks to the late Mr. Scanadaluzzi for his most welcome correspondence. My thanks also to Tony Farmer for his kind assistance.

Bibliography

Raw-Rees. "Some Somali Medals." JOMSA ,v. 54, No. 5, September- October, 2003, p. 13-24.

Scandaluzzi, Franco.Le Medaglie Dell "Amministrazione Fiduciaria Italiana In Somalia. Privately printed, 2003.

Correspondence with Franco Scandaluzzi, 2003-2004.

Correspondence with Tony Farmer, 2004.

Vol. 56, No. 4 27

Medals of the State of New York: The New York Research Project

Doug Boyce

When the late Gary Hartman and I started this project, we had no idea that it would be so far reaching and frustrating. We knew there were many drawers of 3" x 5" cards, all filed in alphabetic sequence, but didn’t realize that over the years several of the files had disappeared. Unfortunately there is no one still working in the Military Department or State Archives who has any idea where the missing records may have gone, and most of the individuals contacted feel they were probably destroyed. The impact of these missing files is that there are significant voids in the medal number records. All of the cards found thus far have been entered into a database. An analysis of the total database reveals the following:

MEDALS NY MEDAL ISSUED-EST. FOUND % World War I CSC 2,605 2,605 100.0 World War II CSC 25,000 22,656 91.0 Spanish War 11,000 384 3.5 Mexican Border 10,000 1,053 10.5 Aqueduct Medal 8,600 545 6.3 World War I 95,000 8,331 8.8

We found some strange things, such as some cards were more common in certain numeric ranges. An example is in the World War I medal cards in that a large number of cards were found in the 45,000 to 50,000 range (some 3,444) and in the 80,000 to 90,000 range (3581). Most other ranges had only a few numbers represented.

As previously covered in the September-October 2004 JOMSA, our database file contains the medal number, name and date of issue. Ifa medal is attributed to a name, the New York State Military Museum & Veterans Research Center, 61 Lake Avenue, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 will provide one to six individual card copies in return for a payment of $2.00. You can request the cards by mail, but should provide the medal name, the number and the name of the recipient.

A number of OMSA members have already contacted me to identify medal recipients and we have been very successful on CSC’s and some World War I medals. I will continue to maintain the complete database and will be happy to attempt identifications, Please send an Email to dwboyce@charter.net or an SASE to me at 800 S. Ridgemark Drive, Hollister, CA 95023.

28

Revised Awards Program

In the process of creating the database, it was found that New York had made significant changes in its awards program as it relates to veterans who have served during time of war or national emergency. With the help of Ms. Nancy French, Awards and Recognition Program Administrator, NY Division of Military and Naval Affairs, I am able to provide information on these changes and illustrations of the medals.

Figure 1: Obverse of the Conspicuous Service Cross.

Conspicuous Service Cross - Current

Under Section 247, New York State Military Law, signed by Governor Pataki in 1998, the state implemented changes designed to return the Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC)(Figures 1 and 2) to its original status by both improving the quality of the medal and changing the award criteria back to the original intent of the CSC. A number of earlier changes made in the award criteria since WW II had made this medal available to recipients of such Federal awards as the Commendation and Achievement Medals. The revised program resulted in the creation of two new medals designed to recognize lesser qualifying awards and individuals who served with units receiving special recognition. Although the cunent CSC is no longer sterling, it is much better quality and is

JOMSA