The Feldkamp’s Hotel Medal

There is so much out there in the field of military medal collecting that I don’t know. Case in point is this Feldkamp’s Hotel Honor Service Medal. I found it in a Dubuque, Iowa antique shop about fifteen years ago. The shop owner said it was found by a fellow with a metal detector. The metal is high grade silver. This medal or badge had a hinged pin and catch on an otherwise plain back. There is no makers identification anywhere. There is a red stone set over a hole in the top center of this medal. The medal was originally named and awarded to a “J. Meisner” whose name is engraved on the ribbon design below the hotel name. Curved along the top inside the wreath are the words “HONOR SERVICE“. Engraved in the space below are the dates 1939 and 1941 and above those dates the date 1942 to the left of the red stone. Where was Feldkamp’s Hotel? Since the medal has English legends and inscriptions I must assume that the hotel is or was in an English speaking country like Canada, England or Australia. The words “Honor Service” sound patriotic and military to me and not like a civilian or private sector long service type medal. The engraved dates are WWII war dates for European and British Empire countries. The red stone behind the 1942 date looks painfully symbolic to me for killed or wounded. In the past I have received a few comments from people I respect who thought this medal is a purely civilian award and not a military or war related item. However I remain convinced that this medal does have a military or war related connection and some day I hope to be able to find that connection.