IRAN. Iranian Order of Homayoun, second class – Silver and enamel breast star. (65x75mm, 48.50 g). Made by Artus Bertrand. Presented to Gen. Frank Besson Jr.. Some chipping to enamel.

Keystone 17 – The W. Toliver Besson Collection
Lot: 359. Estimated: $ 500

Orders and Decorations, Silver

Sold For $ 1 300. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Go to Live

IRAN. Iranian Order of Homayoun, second class – Silver and enamel breast star. (65x75mm, 48.50 g). Made by Artus Bertrand. Presented to Gen. Frank Besson Jr.. Toned. Some chipping to enamel. In original box.

From the W. Toliver Besson Collection.

Gen. Frank S. Besson Jr., the collector’s father, was one of the most consequential general officers to serve in the U.S. Army during and after World War II. Born in 1910, he was the son of a colonel in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In 1932, Frank Jr. graduated West Point and received a further M.S. degree in civil engineering from MIT in 1935. He focused on military logistics and was tasked with developing several technologies that would prove critical in the coming war, including portable steel pipelines, perforated steel planking used on landing strips, and the portable Bailey Bridge, used extensively in all theaters. As a Lt. Colonel in 1943, he was attached to the Third Military Railroad Service, which ran across Iran to provide critical supplies to the Soviet forces fighting on the eastern front. Within a year he was promoted to brigadier general and placed in charge of all the Army’s railroads; at 34 he was then the youngest general officer in the U.S. ground forces. For his accomplishments in building up the Persian railway network, the Pahlavi government of Iran presented him with the Order of Homayoun, issued to foreign officials who had rendered distinguished service to Iran (the first of the two enameled medals offered herein). After the war, Frank Jr. continued his Army career, eventually reaching the four-star rank of a full general and serving as head of the Army Materials Command (AMC), a major branch of the armed services. He was instrumental in implementing new technologies and practices that kept the U.S. Army on the forefront of logistics, including containerized cargo and roll-on/roll-off (”ro-ro”) transportation packaging for vehicles that ended up revolutionizing civilian shipping in the worldwide market. Frank Jr. retired from the Army in 1970 and was appointed by President Richard Nixon to the Amtrak board of directors in 1971, on which he served until 1977. Gen. Frank Besson Jr. died in 1985 and is buried in the West Point Cemetery. The U.S. Army logistics support ship General Frank S. Besson, commissioned in 1988, is named in his honor, and serves as the name ship for a class of eight similar vessels.

Closing Date and Time: 22 July 2026 at 11:59:20 ET.



Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website, 25% for all others.