"AN-THAN~" 154 Le-Thanh-Ton, Who Were Presumed to Be Also the Manufacturer, As These Medals Were Not in the Stock of Any Other Military Supplier in Saigon at the Time

each edge. These particular Medals were purchased in Saigon fron the firm of "AN-THAN~" 154 Le-Thanh-Ton, who were presumed to be also the manufacturer, as these Medals were not in the stock of any other military supplier in Saigon at the time. The authors would like to thank Captain Don Valentine of the Society of French Indochina and Vietnam/Society of Vietnamese Rangers, for his assistance in the preparation of this article. FIGURE 7 FIGURE 8 FIGURE 9 FIELD-MARSHAL’S BATON OF ALEXANDER PAPAGOS OF GREECE--ADDENDUM: By Dr. George D. Dimacopoulos I wish to congratulate Mr. Frank C. Dennis on his article on Field-Marshal Alexander Papagos of Greece (See THE MEDAL COL- LECTOR, Voi.27, No. ii (November, 1976), pp. 5-8), and to add the following information. As a Lieutenant-General, Papagos commanded an Army Corps. He was then appointed Inspector-General of the Army, and in 1936, he became Chief of the General Staff of the Army. * On 28 October 1940, he was given the command-in-chief of the Greek Army. At that time, the Greek Armed Forces (Army, Navy, and Air Force) were not under a united command. Ac- cording to the Constitution, the King was Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, but he did not interfere with the conduct of operations. During the German occupation of Greece, Papagos was imprisoned (26 July 1943) by the invaders, together with four other Lieu- tenant-Generals of the War of 1940-1941~ all were held as hostages in Germany. They were liberated in Marhc 1945. After the War on 25 July 1945, Papagos was promoted to the rank of general in recognition of his contributions in the victory of the Greek Army in North Epirus (Albania). He also served as Lord High Chamberlain to HM King Paul I from 1947 to 1949. General Papagos, who had retired on 1 January 1945, was recal- led to active duty as Command-in-chief of the Greek Army on 20 January 1949, and conducted the last phase of the operations against the communist guerrillas. Under his inspired command, the Greek Army achieved a complete victory over the communists (1949). In recognition of his great services, Papagos was created a Field-Marshal (21 October 1949). The text of the law which bestowed the rank on him read, in part, as follows: "Article I. In recognition of the important services rendered to the com- batting (of the enemies of the) Fatherland by General Alexander Papagos, under whose High Command, our Armed Forces repeatedly glorified Greek arms and achieved brilliant victories, it is permitted that he be awarded the rank of Field-Marshal, by royal decree, to be proposed by the Minister of War." The Royal decree was issued on 21 October 1949. Papagos retained the command-in-chief under 31 May 1951, when he resigned. He then founded the political party "Hellinicos Synager~os" (Greek Rallying Party), which was of great ,lational importance. In the elections of 1951, the "Hellicos Synagermos" attained first place, but did not secure an absolute majority (ll4 seats out of a total of 258). Elections were held again in 1952 and this time the Rallying Party achieved a spectacularly sweeping victory (239 out of 300). Marshal Papagos became Prime He also served as Minister of War in 1935 and 1936. -17- Minister on 19 November 1952 and remained such unti! his death on 4 October 1953 (not I0 April 1955 as was stated in the article published in THE MEDAL COLLECTOR). Field-Marshal Papagos was one of the most highly decorated Greek officers, with both Greek and Foreign Decorations. Apart from the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Re- deemer, and the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of George I, with swords, he was also awarded the Grand Cross of the Royal Family Order of Saints George and Constantine, and the Commander Class of the Cross of Valor (1940), the highest Greek military award. On the Field-Marshal’s Baton (See Fig~re i0) are inscribed the names of the great battles of the war of 1940-1941s Pindos, Korytsa, Cheimara, Kleissoura, Petritsi, and Roupel, and the battle of the Grammos, which marked the defeat of the communist rebels (1949). I shall attempt, on another occasion, to send you a full list of all the foreign Orders and Medals awarded to Alex- ander Papagos. At present, here is a list of those Greek Orders and Medals shown in the photograph of Papagos published in THE MEDAL COLLECTOR (See Figure ll). Apart from those already mentioned above, are to be seen~ i) the Gold Cross of Valor (1921) 2) the War Cross, 1st Class (1940) 3) Medal for Outstanding Acts 4) Medal of Military Merit, 1st Class, 5) Commemorative Medal for the War of 1912-1913 6) Commemorative Medal for the War of 1913 7) Inter-Allied Victory Medal 8) Commemorative Medal for the War of 1940-1941 Finally, may I point out that in the photograph in question (See Figure ll), the badge of the Order of the Redeemer, hang- ing from the sash, is pictured on the reverse. Obviously by mistake, it was placed on the wrong side when the photograph was made. The obverse of the badge bears the image of Christ. Alexander Papagos attended the Military Academy of Brussels and the "2cole d’Application" of Ypres. He was then enrolled in the Greek Army as a Second-Lieutenant of Cavalry, exact- ly three days before his father, Colonel of Artillery Leonidas Papagos, retired from the Army with the rank of Major-General (Reserve). From 1917 to 1920 and from 1923 to 1927 Alexander Papagos was discharged from the Army for political reasons. Field-Marshal Papagos has one son, Ambassador Leonidas Papagos (b. 1912), Lord High Chamberlin to HM King Constantine II. -18- .

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