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Eritrean Askari Medals 1936


Salvage Sailor
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Salvage Sailor

Aloha Everyone,

 

These two (2) medals were acquired by my father while on USN occupation duty at Radio Marina, Asmara, Eritrea. He bartered for them in an Asmara marketplace while on liberty one night.

 

They were awarded to a native Eritrean Askari infantryman who fought alongside the Italian fascist army in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War of 1935-1936. This conflict was also known as the Abyssinian Crisis and is considered by many historians as the beginning of World War II in Europe and Africa.

 

The Askari was a member of the Eritrean Army Corps and at the end of the conflict he was awarded the Italian East Africa Campaign Medal (Ethiopian Medal) and also the rarer Eritrea Army Corps Medal for his service in the war.

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Salvage Sailor

Italian East Africa Campaign Medal (Ethiopian Medal)

 

Obverse: Profile of King Emanuele III of Italy

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Reverse: Mussolini's motto in defiance of the League of Nations economic sanctions imposed for invading Abyssinia

 

MOLTI NEMICI, MOLTO ONORE - Many Enemies, Much Honor

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Not too many of those around for sure. Have you shared this with the folks over at EritreanMilitaria.Com? :)

 

Can't imagine too many US sailors ever got stationed in Eritrea, and too come away with a military souvenir is quite interesting.

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Salvage Sailor

Eritrean Army Corps Victory Medal

 

Obverse: Attacking Askari Soldier, commemorating the fall of Addis Ababa

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and the reverse listing all of the battle victories of the Eritrean Army Corps (which included the use of poison gas, the issue which caused the League of Nations to act against Fascist Italy)

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Salvage Sailor

There were less than 25 sailors in his unit, NavComUnit 3, and he was the LPO.

 

They occupied the Italian Naval communications station, Radio Marina, which could reach almost any part of Europe or Africa from the Asmara highlands. This later became Kagnew Station and Radio Marina was designated Tract A of that ASA operation.

 

I'll eventually get around to posting his photos and other mementos of his occupation service in Eritrea.

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vostoktrading

Nice medals, thanks for showing them.

Who would have thought you could find militaria in an Asmaran marketplace!

Jon.

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  • 1 year later...

Nice!

 

I picked up an Italian medal without its ribbon (see pics below) in Asmara circa 1995 when I was in the US Army and working as a military advisor to a team of Eritrean DOD guys. I saw others but only got this one. Italian militaria was all over the place, though; I saw piles of Italian gear mixed in with Soviet and East German and etc gear that had been captured from the Ethiopians, and I even visited an Orthodox Christian monastery on a hilltop on the way to Massawa where the monks used WWII Italian blankets!

 

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