Bill's Belgian Medals

Medal Groups Page 10

    My good friend Kurt Van Camp managed to find an
    exceptional Korean War Group of 11 medals complete
    with all certificates.

    What makes it special is not only that it has a range of
    other service records including marksman certificates,
    is that 1st Sergeant Marcel Vermeiren has all of the
    Korean battle honours on his Korean Medal - Imjin
    1951;Haktang-Ni 1951 & Chatkol 1953.  Of course, he
    also had the Coree-Korea Bar.

    The fact that Sgt Vermeiren served as a Belgian
    Commando might explain this distinction, but I wish I
    could know more about the US Presidential and
    Korean citations he received.   There has to be an
    interesting history there.

    3,500 volunteers served in the Belgian Battalion
    during the Korean War, between 18th December 1950
    and 27 July 1953.  A first contingent served in 1951-52,
    with a second contingent serving from 1952-53.  A
    total of 102 Belgian soldiers were killed and almost
    350 were wounded. Despite Sgt Vermeiren's awards,
    shown on his uniform ribbon bars, he didn't receive a
    Croix de Guerre - unusual?

    Above is another excellent
    group with an Order of the Lion
    medal and rare Abyssinia medal
    that was worn by a soldier who
    served in Africa during WW2.

    I have to admit that while this group is not a particularly special
    group in terms of number of medals, this Hommage to Monsieur
    Antoine Bartholomé gives me particular pleasure.

    It is a fabulous illustrated record of Antoine's World War 1 service
    for his country and each Belgian Provence is superbly illustrated
    through the beautifully detailed badges.

    Each of his medals is listed in detail and it is clear that his family
    took great pride in his military prowess; it is unfortunate that it is
    still not in the family's possession.
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Last Updated 17 November 2007