v Translation of Legend - "The Council for Deeds of Bravery". vi Designer - Mr. Richard King of Dublin, winner of a competition for the design. vii Desor. of Reverse - The reverse has a laurel branch in the lower left quarter. In the upper half are the words: "ARNA BRONNAD/AG/OOMAIRLE NA MIRE GAILE/AR ..." viii Translation of Legend- "Awarded/by/the Council for Deeds of Bravery/to..." ix Designer - Same as for Obverse. xi Suspension - The medal is connected to a plain, straight sus- pender bar by a jump ring. xii Ribbon - The ribbon is 1¼" wide and hangs straight between the clasp and the suspender bar. The colors are: for the gold award - "rich red" with two narrow white stripes in the center; for bronze - "dark blue" with two narrow White stripes in the center. xiii Clasp - The clasp is a plain pinbaek bar. xvi Namin~ - The recipients name and the date of the act are ins scribed in Gaelic on the reverse. xvii Manufacturer - The Jewellry & Metal Mfg. Co. of Ireland. xviii Number Awarded - From the first awards in 1947 to the end of 1963, 44 medals were awarded. All were bronze, except one gold medal (in 1956). 23~ Compiled by - Edward V. Hess Charles Hazleton 415 Argonne Dr. and Sutton, Dublin Kenmore, N.Y. Ireland

THE 0RDER OF ST. DENNIS OF ZANTE - On p. 25 of the May issue of this journal, there was a short history of this , which was quoted from another publication. In the 1966 0.M.S.A. Convention Program & Auction listing, Lot #92 (illustrated) described the insignia of this order. Since all of our members received a copy of this Convention booklet, they may be interested in the following letter addressed to the Editor:

SOVEREIGN GREEK ORDER OF SAINT DENNIS OF ZANTE 739 West 196th Street New York, N. Y. 10033

August 9, 1966

Dear Sir: In Program listing the auction to be held on August 12-13-14, 1966, on page 22, under no. 92, you write "Prorate Charity- So-called Order of St. Denis of Zante". Please allow me to correct you both as to the proper name of the Order THE SOVEREIGN GREEK ORDER OF SAINT DENNIS OF ZANTE, as well as the proper spelling. Your caption "apocryphal - So-called Order" would not apply to our Order anymore than it would to the Order of Malta. For your information~ I am pleased to enclose a copy of the Congressional Record, giving a synopsis of the History of this ancient Order of Knight- hood~ as well as the booklet "Historical Summary and Roster", for 0MSAts Library. With all good wishes for the success of the Convention~ I am,

Sincerely yours, (Signature) H. Fioravanti First Secretary THE ORDER OF THE GOLDEN KITE, Ist CLASS by ILt. Leonard F. Ball

A gun show is occasionally a source of a few medals or decorations but the chances of finding a premiere Order of a major power at a show are practically nil. However, "lightning struck" and I was able to buy this set at the 1963 Bristow, Oklahoma gun show. The seller stated that the set had been given by the workers of the Imperial Japanese Mint to the U.S. Occupation Commander of the Mint in 1945. He had no further in- formation except that the workers had stated that the war ended before the set could be shipped to the recipient. I. Country: Japan. 2. Name: Imperial Order of the Golden Kite, Ist Class. 3. Founded by~ Emperor Mieji (Mutsuhito). 4. When: 11 February 1890. 5. History and Occasion of Founding: Japanese efforts, during the late 1800’s, to achieve modern technical and economic strength was under- taken so that their country would achieve power and status to equal that of the Western nations. The creation of an Order for bravery, patterned after the Western eustom~ was an adjunct to this effort. Bravery in battle had formerly been rewarded in a more tangible man- ner in Japan with the granting of titles, fiefs, or taking of spoils. The Order of The Golden Kite was abolished in 1945. 6. Purpose: To be awarded officers and men of the Imperial Japanese military or naval forces for bravery in action. 7. Symbolism of the Order: The Kite, a type of Asian hawk, played an important part in preserving Japan from invasion according to legend. In 1274, during the Mongol dynasty in China, Khublia Khan’s Chief Lieutenant led an invasion against Japan. The Japanese forces were too small in number to patrol the coast and at the same time mass for battle. The legend recounts that a golden kite, circling above the Star as used with both I st and 2nd Class

beach the invaders landed upon, marked the danger and allowed the Im- perial Kamakura to meet and destroy the Mongols. The destruction of a second invasion by a typhoon in 1281 gave rise to the theme Kami- kaze (Divine Wind), which was to figure so prominently in World War II. 8. Divisions: Military only. 9. Fees: Upon occasion, a single award or annuity of varying amounts would be granted simultaneously with the award of the lower classes of this order. 10. Notable Recipients of the 1st Class: a. Field Marshal Shanroku Hata, Commander-in-Chief of China Expedi- tionary Force, 1940. b. General , Commander Shanghai Expeditionary Force, 194o. c. Admiral Heihachiro Togo, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy, Russia-Japanese War of 1904. d. Admiral Isoraku Yamamoto, Commander-in-Chief of Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941. e. General Tomoyuki Yamashita, Commander of Singapore Expeditionary Force, 1941.

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