PUBLICATIONS OF THE U,S, GOVERNMENT PAUL H. TILL

For many years the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) regular- ly mailed to anyone who requested it a bi-monthly list of Selected US Government~ Pub~b~f~ns. This practice was totally discon~- ~d a couple of years ago because of the costs. When the list was sent out regularly, many military collectors received it and found on it various prints, books, and other publications of interest and usefulness, such as Meda.l~. of Honor Recipients 1863-1978 and the Army Lineage Series, w-~h--~he-~-~Jrchased for t-h~r--l-i~raries. Now that this regular list is no longer sent out it is somewhat of a hit or miss operation in finding out what publications are available. If one writes to the GPO to inquire about a specific item, gener~lly a current list will be sent back. It is this commentator’s opinion that any collector who receives such a list should review it and forward to the Editor all the details of any government publication which might be of interest to military coll~ctors. The necessary details are the GPO’s stock or serial number for the publication, its name, and the price. Thus, de- spite th9 disappearance of the regular list, many would be infor- med of publications of interest. Having received the August/ September 1982 list and other information from the GPO in res- ponse to a recent request, this commentator submits the following publications which may be of interest to collectors: Army Lineage Series; Infantry: Part II Army National Guard. This r~f~f-~--~r~e~, l~-~g~ an-~onors--~ch~tly active Army National Guard infantry regiments; some bibliographi- cal information is included and, importantly, descriptions and illustrations of the coats of arms and distinctive insignia of each such active unit. # S/N 008-029-00085-7 $14.00 Aces & Aerial Victories: The Air Force in Southeast ~ ~9~7~-73.----Th-~-~--Air--~rce----~er--~-6-fne-~d--t eh-%--~nl~ o~er- xcan aces ~-fng the conflict in Southeast Asia. This heavily illustrated volume contains their firsthand accounts of cannon and missile battles as they were recorded in after-action reports. 188 pages. # S/N 008-070-00365-1 $9.00

One Hundred ~ Landings of United States Marines 1800-1934. An accurate chronolog~c~e~’~r~p~ ~ l-~d~-{ ~ marines on foreign shores between 1800 and 1934. 163 pages. # S/N 008-055-00078-5 $6.50

payment should be made by check or money order for the proper a- mount (there are no additional charges) payable to the Superinten- dent of Documents, and mailed to that officer at the US Govern- ment Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.

19 BARRIER MEDALS F. C. BROWN, OMSA #2073

Of the many unofficial medals "issued" over the year~, doubtless some of the most intriguing are the Yangtze Barrier Medals, struck for members of the Yangtze River Patrol in 1937-1938. The Yangtze Barrier Medals are believed to have been designed and initiated by personnel on the staff of the Commander, Yangtze Patrol (COMYANGPAT) in the fall of 1937. They were to "commemor- ate" those Navy men who served on ships of the Yangtze Patrol above the Kiangyin Barrier. The Kiangyin Barrier was an obstruction of sunken ships placed across the Yangtze just below the Kiangyin Forts by the Chinese in early August 1937. The idea behind the barrier, of course, was to impede the movement of Japanese forces by ship along the upper reaches of the Yangtze. Unfortunat@ly, after the occupation of by the Japanese in November 1937, the Kiangyin Forts were taken by the Japanese from the land side, and a hole was blown in the barrier, permit- ting Japanese to continue their support of the Mikado’s infantry in their drive westward. The American gunboats above the barrier during this time included USS Luzon, USS Oahu, USS Pan~y (later sunk at Ho-hsien by Japanese Army aircraft), USS PaZos (station ship at Chungking, and soon to be decommissioned and sold)~ USS Monoc~oy (to be bypassed by the Japanese at Kiukiang, ordered to Shanghai, decommissioned, and sunk off the Yangtze estuary by Captain, later Lieutenant General, Krulak, USMC), and USS TutuiZa (later turned over to the Chinese Navy, where she was renamed M~i Yu~n, or "American Origin"). There are at least two known varieties of the "Yangtze Barrier" Medals, as shown in the accompanying photograph. The actual manufacturer is unknown, although it was undoubtedly a Chinese entrepreneur in the Shanghai area.

Z0 YANGTZEBARRIER MEDALS

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