What Is It?

I think it's some kind of Russian or Chinese medal:-

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Spot on Randall! Wonder how it got in the middle of Oregon?

The moral of this story is, don't carry old medals in your pocket when hunting for mushrooms. I know it from experience, so that's my best guess as to how it ended up in the woods!

Good question... however, as you can see the serial number there's got to be a possibility you can trace who it was awarded to. I doubt the guy is still around but I expect he's got family around there.

In an effort to aid the Nationalist government of China and to put pressure on Japan, President Franklin Roosevelt in April 1941 authorized the creation of a clandestine "Special Air Unit" consisting of three combat groups equipped with American aircraft and staffed by aviators and technicians to be recruited from the U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps for service in China.

From American Volunteer Group

Except that Oregoon's doesn't have the loop. And it doesn't appear to have broken off. Maybe the earlier ones had a different mounting method.

It is either a 1st, 4th or 7th Order of the Cloud and Banner medal as it has 3 stars on the top 3 points of the bigger star. http://www.omsa.org/photopost/search.php?searchid=10126

If it still had the correct coloured enamel on it then it would be easier to identify.

The medal was awarded to many foreign pilots for victories in air battles. Number of victories and rank determined the class of medal awarded. http://flying-tiger-ace.tripod.com/id51.htm

Could this be your honoured airman? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_A._Walton

4th class Cloud and Banner and he's from Oregon

Could be. This is what I came up with. Mr. Walton is not listed on that page nor is his medal, but of course, he WAS a recipient as stevewicks pointed out. Number 606 can use a little more research. Some links are not on line. nor are any of the recipients of the first and second orders listed on that site. Wikipedia got it here as a fourth class medal, which is accurate. white red blue red white

Only 47 of them were ever handed out, these include Chesty Puller, Peter Fleming (the much overlooked brother to the guy who wrote the James Bond books, Dwight Eisenhower,and Andrew Cunningham, among others. It is a very interesting period of history. Even it it turned out be some sort of fake (heaven forfend!) there is no doubt that it can illuminate a most interesting period of history.

Don't lose it.

Now check and see who from the AVG went missing in that area, or who flew over the area and vanished unexpectedly. This is worthy of an hour long investigation show on the Military channel.

I agree.

Check this out:

http://www.flyingtigerhistoricalorganization.com/

"Thank you for visiting our new Internet site which is dedicated to raising funds for the preservation, restoration, and creation of an historical site at the Flying Tigers airstrip, Yang Tang, in Guilin, China (formerly known as Kwelin)."