On the reverse, a truncated arm holding the flaming torch of Liberty; meant to signify that though suffering a military defeat, the unswerving determination to final victory is still upheld. To the right, in four lines, "FOR / FREEDOM / WITH / HONOR" and beneath it, in a row, six small stars. This last legend ~as suggested by an American genhlemau who was, at the tame, very closely related to the work of the committee. The six stars indicate the six Provinces of Cuba; Pinsr del Rio, La Habana, Matan- zas, Las Villas, C~maguey and Oriente~ because the Brigade was composed of men frc~ every part of the country. Above, "2506th BRIGADE," and below, ~PLAYA GIRON . CDBA . APRIL 1961." The legends were requested by the Con~mittee to be in ~glish (~xcept the official motto) because of the historical and traditional friendship between the peoples of Cuba and the United States. Playa Giron is the actual beach in the Bay of Pigs (Bahia de Cocbinos) where the landing took place.

The medals were sold at $ 25.00 each and before being offered for sale to the general public, those persons who had relatives among the imprisone~ soldiers were given preference of purchase. The name of each buyer was carefully recorded ~ith the corresponding number of the medsl purchased, and except in special cases, p~rchase of more than one medal per person was discouraged. The medals were finally advertised to the general public only once; and a very limited number were presented as gifts to certain dignitaries. Medal No. I was reserved by the Committee to be given to President John F. Kennedy, and No. 2 was given to the Brigadels Chaplain, Father Ciprlano CaverOo Among those who received medals were:

205 Governor IIughes of New Jersey 206 Governor La~Tence of Pennsylvania 208 Governor Dempsey of Connecticut 251 Governor Tawes of ~ryland 295 Governor Notre of Rhode Island 311 Governor Volpe of ~Zessachusetts 232 General Lucius Clay 2~0 Cardinal Cushing 385 James Farley 401 Herbert Lehman f~17 Rev. James Pike ~19 General E. Quesada ~ Princess Radzi~ill ~ General C.R. Smith ~ General D. Spivey 131 l,~j-Gen. L. Wade 133 Vice-A~iral R. ~itehead 434 Ed Sullivan

In addition to the presentation to other prominent sponsors, Attorney General Robert Kennedy also received one.

The Medallic Art Company agreed to safekecp the unsold pieces for one year after the date of issuance. The Committee had at first decided to order the melting of those medals ~ich had not been sold, but later deci- ded to keep ~h~m in custody of one of their members, to be disposed of at some future date, in a ms~mer still undecided. The dies, damaged to pre- vent future striking, were delivered to ze as previously noted.

This, briefly, is the story of the "Bey of Pigs" i~dal, though perhaps the title of these notes border on a misnomer; for to the veterans of that invasion, ’Playa Giron’ and not ’Bay of Figs~ is the n&me the~~. refer to.

Lastly, it may be that the resl reason why I decided to ~rite about this subject is my interest in recording accurately the numismatic infer- marion on the matter. Not once, but quite a few times, I have heard this medal referred to as a commemorative of the invasion, or to honor each veteran of that campaign, and this is not so. ~st likely, someday, those other ones ~ay be struck too.

THE STANDARD CATALOGUE OF ORDERS, DECORATIONS AND ~F~D~LS AWARDED TO AUSTRALIANS

by M. Do~ney, Offset, Illustrated, 4Opp. price ~.50.

This small booklet, prepared by a member of the Ne~ South Wales ~litary History Society is the first medal catalogue to be publishec aea!ing specifically with medals awarded to Australians. It is con- cerned with the various ty~es of medals ana aecorations in total and does not deal with the individual recipients. However, although it lists ~ medals awarded to Australians from colonial days to the present, and contains illustrations of over lO0 obverses and reverses, the~e is also ~ useful summary information about each type, the total of each medal or decorations awarded in each war stud details of variants, bars and clasps, and recipient units in special cases of rarer issues.

A reasonable average price is quoted for each type or v~riant although this sort of information is very subjective and would v~ry according to condition of the medal and to the pricing technique of dealers. Quite considerable variations in price could be expected between overseas and local dealers, not necessarily in favour of the locals. Medals to Australian~, particularly some of the older campaign medals, normally fetch a premise.

One interesting feature of the catalogue is the listing of certain medals awarded to Australians in campaigns not generally regarded as ones that Australia was involved in, such as the Natal Rebellion of 1906. No Australian unit fought in this campaign but about lO0 Australians partici- pated as volunteers and received the medal. Likewise about 2,000 Austral- ians received medsls for the New Zealand War, 1860-66, mostly to troops, but the crew of HM~S VICTORIA received the issue dated 1860-1861, probably the first Australian na~ men to receive campaign medals.

There is also a useful summary of that relatively unexplored area, the service medals a~rded to members of the pre-Federatlon State volun- teer and ~r~ary forces, and it is most interesting to note that 7 gold and 8 silver medals were a~rded by the Government of New South Wales "For Bravery in Resisting or Capturing Bushrangers."

This booklet, being a catalogue, will be reissued and updated from ~ ~ime to time because of increased prices - medals and decorations always appreciate in value - an~ no doubt will improve with each issue. There are some gaps such as the listing of certain decorations by ~artime totals but not including periodical awards of the same decoration in the Queen’s Birthday and New Year’s Honours Lists. ~hese omissions will no doubt be rectified. As the author points out, no medal book yet published has been without mistakes or points of contention, and his invitation for co,meats will surely be accepted by enthusiasts in what is a very special- ized hobby.

The price is reasonable for a pioneering venture into the specific- ally Australian aspects of medal collecting, and the eatalogue should be of interest to those who have a general interest in our military history as well as the specialist medal collector. Copies are obtainable from the Secretary, Military Historical Society of Australia, 156 Miller Street, O’Connor, A.C.T.

Major J.B. Gale, CMF.