Re Orders, Decorations and Medals

Table I. Delvoie’s full-size and miniature orders, decorations and medals.

Award Date ofAppointment& Prommtions Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold I July 21,1946 (Commander: July 27, 1939, Officer: April 8,1926, Chevalier: April 11, 1921) Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown April 8, 1940 (Commander: April 8, 1936) Officer: November 27, 1924, Chevalier January 12, 1920) Officer of the Order of Leopold II November 15, 1939 (Chevalier April 8, 1931) Croix de Guerre with three palms August 11, 1916 Yser Cross Evaders Cross Allied Victory Medal (Belgian Issue) 1914-1918 War Medal with three silver bars and one gold bar ’ 1940,45 War Medal Evaders Cross (not figured) United Nations Mission India and Pakistan Medal Milita~ Cross 1 st Class Royal F~ily Centennial Medal Foreign Awards Grand:Cross of the Order of the Black Star of October 29, 1946

Commander of the Order of the Legion of May 17, 1946 (Chevalier: October 10, 1939) r ono Grand Officer of the Order of the White Lion October 23, 1944 (C~choslov~ia) Medal of Freedom with Silver Palm (U.S,A.) J~e 22, 1946 Cr0ix de Guerre with palm (France) May 17, 1946 War Commemorative Medal (France) 1939:45 Star(Britain) France and Germany Star (Britain) Defence Medal (Britain) 1939~45 War Medal (Britain) Municipal Free French Cross "General Delvoie, Palais du Government NanC~f, July 3, 1945"

32 JOMSA General in Barcelona, Spain. The two men set up and first "peacekeepers," with a bit of espionage thrown in. operated an escape route that passed through neutral Delvoie led a fascinating life, one that is - unlike many Spain and Portugal. The escape organization was given eminent soldiers of a more junior rank - reflected in the the code name Benott. The escape route was active until wide array of awards in his medal group. September 1942. Approximately 200 allied personnel were evacuated through this route. The intelligence and escape work of Benott was taken over by other allied On the surface it may seem odd that Delvoie held the escape organizations such as Zero, Clarence and Comet. Grand Cross of the Order of the Black Star of Benin, given that his service was solely limited to Europe with Following the allied invasion of Europe and liberation no involvement in the French or Belgian colonies. The of Belgium and the Low Countries, Delvoie returned, to reason for this finds itself in the fact that at the end of his native home and took charge of the repatriation of the Second World War, Delvoie was offered a promotion Belgian prisoners of war and refugees. Although his from Commander of the Legion Honor to Grand Officer service record does not mention much about his of that order, or an appointment as a Grand Cross of the involvement with the US Army, the citation for his Medal Order of the Black Star. According to Delvoie’s son, he of Freedom reveals that he played a valuable role in the opted for the Order of the Black Star, as it provided a United States sponsored training of Belgian officers. new decoration, and "dad didn’t have any sashes to wear, so he was quite pleased when the Black Star was offered." Post War Years This confirms the pattern of the French government offering appointments - to senior officers - to the various Despite the conclusion of the war in Europe, Delvoie colonial orders in place of a more junior appointment to remained in the Belgian Army, serving as the Belgian the Legion of Honor. military advisor to the Paris Peace Conference of 1946. Less than a year later he was appointed to head the One of the most interesting honors that Delvoie received Belgian delegation to the United Nations Commission was the United States Medal of Freedom with silver palm. for Greece - following the civil war in that country. On July 22, 1946, the US Military Attache to Belgium and Luxembourg sent a telegram to the Belgian Ministry Delvoie formally retired in 1946 with the rank of of Defense requesting permission to award Delvoie the Lieutenant General and placed on the reserve list. US Medal of Freedom with Silver Palm. Permission was Scarcely two years later he was again called upon to don subsequently given and on November 15, 1946 Delvoie his uniform as the first commander of the United Nations was invested with the honor at Brussels by the US Military Observer Group for India and Pakistan Ambassador to Belgium. The award was announced in (UNMOGIP), making him the first Belgian to hold a General Order 235. The lengthy award citation provides senior UN military command. He served in this capacity an interesting summary of Delvoie’s involvement with from December 1948 to March 1950. American and Allied forces during the Second World War. Having survived two world wars, Delvoie had had enough of Europe and decided to move his family to a Major-General Maurice Delvoie, Belgian Army, more stable part of the world. According to his son, he for exceptionally meritorious achievement which had two choices: move to Canada or to the Belgian aided the United State in the prosecution of the Congo. Fortunately for the Delvoie family they chose war against the enemy in Continental Europe, the cold of Canada over the warmth of the Belgian Congo. while serving as Belgian Military Attachd to the Shortly after his departure from Pakistan he moved to French Government at London and Paris, from Canada with his wife and son.~ July 1943 to April 1946. Major General Delvoie performed his duties in an outstandingly, excellent In Canada Delvoie became involved as a military manner. In addition as a liaison officer between contracting consultant and would continue in this the Allied Forces dealing with matters pertaining capacity until the early 1960s. General Delvoie died in to the repatriation of Belgian Prisoners. Montreal, Canada on April 12, 1971 at the age of 86. He Furthermore he was of great assistance in is certainly one of the few twentieth century soldiers who coordinating the instruction of Belgian officers managed to excel in a wide variety of commands, from with that given Americans at the United States the trenches of the Great War, to the mechanized world Officer Training Center at Fontainebleau. Major that the Second World War brought, to being one of the General Delvoie’s great tact, diplomacy, and

Vol. 56, No. 3 33 superior devotion to the Allied cause contributed Book Review materially to the maintenance of close Belgo- American relations, reflkcting high credit upon Murphy, Paul L. and Steven L. Ackley, In the Name of him and the Allied Armed Forces. the Living God: The non-governmental badges and medals of Imperial Japan, including Police, Fire Brigade, Accompanying Delvoie’s awards were five other medals Red Cross, Veteran and Patriotic Groups. Falcon Books, (a set of miniature and full sized medals). The smaller San Ramon, CA: 2005. 170 pages, illustrated, hard cover. group consisted of a Chevalier of the Order of the Crown, Available from Ackley Unlimited, PO Box 82144, Port- the 1939-45 Star, the France and Germany Star, the land, OR 97282-0144 ([email protected]). $49.95 plus Defence Medal and the British War Medal. These medals $5.00 Priority Postage (U.S.) or $20.00 Global Priority. were awarded to Delvoie’s wife, who served initially as a Red Cross nurse, but later became a member of the A number of excellent books, including a number of Special Operations Executive, as a medical assistant to OMSA publications, have been published on the official the Belgian section of the S.O.E. Unfortunately at this orders, decorations and medals of Japan, but the author’s stage I have not been able to locate much information claim that this book "is the first in any language to at- about her service. tempt documentation and identification of the non-governmental awards of Imperial Japan." Medals and badges More than 14 months after purchasing the group I was from a wide variety of non-governmental associations visiting an antique store north of the city where I was are covered, including: military next of kin medals; med- teaching at the local university, as is the usual situation als and badges of the Imperial Time Expired Soldiers for most collectors trawling for militaria. Amongst the League, the Imperial Soldier’s Relief League, the Friends vendors items was a photograph of a Belgian Cavalry of the Military Association, aviation related associations, officer on horseback, written on the back of the photo naval associations, women’s associations, the Imperial was "The International Horse Show at Olympia Lieut. Sea Disaster Rescue Association, the Imperial Gift Foun- Delvoie, 3rd Lancers Belgium on his chestnut mare dation Social Welfare Association; military, maneuver "Gladys Dew." 1 st prize in military trials." After quickly and training commemorative badges; medals and badges snapping up the photo, I inquired if there were any medals of the Japanese Red Cross Society, fire brigades, civil with it. The vendor commented that there was a whole defense organizations and police; door badges and album of photos and if I was interested I could have them miscellaeous commemorative badges. for an additional $12.00. I gladly agreed even without seeing the album. As it turned out, the album contained The book is hardbound with dust cover and is printed on more than forty photos, all dating from 1932 to 1947, high quality, glossy paper. It has over 560 color illustra- including investiture photos and some of Delvoie at the tions of medals, badges, and citations which are near, or Paris Peace Conference in full uniform. In a way the at, full-size and of excellent quality. Varieties of many photos complete the group, given that so many depict of the medals and badges are well portrayed. The text Delvoie being invested with the various honors that he provides a detailed description of each medal or badge, was awarded over his half a century of service. indicates the reason for the award, and provides other details as appropriate. Endnote:

1. Interestingly his son would later go on to become the Canadian This is a high quality, well written and illustrated publi- High Commissioner (Ambassador) to Pakistan and later Deputy cation that will be of special interest to specialized col- Minister of the Canadian Department of External Affairs (equivalent lectors of Japanese badges and medals, but which will to a Deputy Secretary of the State Department). also be a valuable edition to the library of every medal or badge collector. All in all, it is an excellent value for the price.

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