Colonel Ioan Pacurariu, His wars...

Question:
Why he doesn't wear his Austro-Hungarian medals?
Was it forbiden?

I guess for the same reason why Rumanian soldiers didn't wear German awards after the about-face of 23 August 1944.
There must have been a Rumanian law regulating the usage of foreign medals in peace and war.

Gen. Dénes

This post has been edited by Dénes on July 24, 2006 01:59 pm

Not only in Romania, but in many other countries as well the custom was and still is that the head of state has to give individual permission to its citizens to wear the foreign awards they received. This custom is only an example of exercising the sovereign prerogatives of an independent nation.

Maybe Col. Pacurariu chose not to wear his Austrian awards.

I do not think that it was explicitly forbidden to wear Austrian medals (any info would be most welcome). Take a look at the photo below of Colonel Precup (from Political assassination attempts in Romania) who wears a decoration with a triangular-shaped ribbon, characteristic to the Austrian awards. Since he had served in the Austro-Hungarian air force in WWI it is quite plausible that he was actually wearing an Austrian award while in Romanian uniform.

Until we see the medal itself and identify it, the enclosed photo cannot be considered as proof, as many other awards had triangular ribbon.

Gen. Dénes

This post has been edited by Dénes on July 24, 2006 04:53 pm

Until we see the medal itself and identify it, the enclosed photo cannot be considered as proof, as many other awards had triangular ribbon.

I agree that it is hard to consider the photo as proof, but it is very likely to portray an Austrian award. I know only of Austrian, Bulgarian and Serbian (Yugoslav) awards with triangular ribbons. Do you know more?

I just talked with my aunt,she found a autobiografy of her father.
I'll post them soon.
The corect birth date is 11.Mai 1898.

The medals?

Hi C-2!

You have kept your promise! Va multumim frumos!

Now some short comments of mine:

C'mon C-2... Surely you can make better scans of photos of him in his Austro-Hungarian uniform than these...

Kepi is right. In autumn 1918 the Austrian court and high command sent an expeditionary corps (18th Army Corps) under Feldmarschalleutnant Ludwig Goiginger to the Western Front, where it took the sector around Verdun and St. Mihiel. The corps had four divisions (35th k.u.k., 106th k.k. Landsturm, 37th k.k. Honvéd and 1st k.u.k Infantry Division). The 35th k.u.k. Infantry Division under FML. Von Podhoránszky was almost entirely composed of Romanians, Hungarians and Germans from Transylvania. During the 12th Isonzo Battle (The Breakthrough at Karfreit) this division held a sector on the Bainsizza Plateau. The division saw quite heavy battles during the 11th Isonzo Battle, which was also the mostt bloody of all Isonzo Battles.

I wonder, does anyone know perhaps which regiment was Iuliu Maniu in? I beleive he came to the Piave Front in 1918. I am not exactly sure but I think I have read tzhat he had also served in one of these 6-something infantry regiments - 62nd, 63rd or 64th. If this is true than he was probably also shipped to the Western Front in autumn 1918. Has anyone ever seen any evidence of this in his biographies?

There were three ways for Romanian POWs to come to France during WW1. The first was if they served with the 18th k.u.k. Army Corps on the Western Front 1918 and were captured during the final fightings or at the end of the war. The econd possibility was if he was captured by the French troops in Italy 1917-18. During the Asiago Battle in June 1918 the French 23rd and 24rd Infantry Divisions of the 12th French Army Corps. On the opposite side were 38th Honved, 16th Infantry and 42nd Honved Divisions. The lattes was exclusively a Croatian division, while the first and second included a large percentage of Romanian soldiers (IR 52, IR 138, IR 31, HIR 24, HIR 21 and HIR 22). All captured troops were transported to France.

The third possibility was that they came to France as Serbian POWs (taken during Serbia Campaign 1914-15), taken from Albania to Italy and from there to France.

No, I don't think so. I think he first served on the Italian Front and then came to the Western Front at Verdun. Otherwise I doubt he would be in France at the time of the end of the war.

If I will remember I will try to look for his name in the k.u.k. Schematismus List for Year 1918. Then we shall know which regiment he was in.

Looking forward. Do you mean to say by "she found an autobiography of her father" that he has actually written an autobiography about his life and service in the k.u.k. and Romanian Armies?

On the right is the "Karl-Truppen Kreuz" and on the left is most probably (99% sure) the "Silberne Tapferkeitsmedaille Kaiser Karl 2. Klasse".

Thank you again for putting his story online, C-2. Excellent work.

lp,

Klemen

No I cannot make better scans.....I don't have a scanner ]
I'm using a digital camera.
Anyway when Victor will came I'll ask him to make better photos
Thanks for the identif of th emedals.
In about a week,I'll post his memories.

1925 Alba Iulia.
His wedding that held almost 70 years....

Ding-Dong! The light you are using is not very best. But OK... If you plan to provide us later with real scan, we will be patient these few more days. No problem.

You are welcome.

Please explain me C-2, what do you mean by "his memoires"? Mr. Ioan wrote his memoires after the war? Does he inside also mention any details from his service on the Italian or Western Front 1917-18?

lp,

Klemen

IOan Pacurariu actualy wrote his memories.
His dauthter never knew about it.
After I convinced her to look after "all sort of things",she began finding in the house photo albums,medals ,insigna,and ...his memories.
She never knew those actualy exists.

Uniform?

C-2: I was hoping and praying you might one day come forward with such splendid news! I am hoping and praying that he included in his memoires also his experieces from WW1 (if so, please try to see if you can find which regiment was he serving in and when did he came to the Italian Front).

Magnifique!

BTW: Uniform is not Austro-Hungarian, at least not to my knowledge.

This post has been edited by Klemen on July 25, 2006 10:20 pm