HOW Many Of Those Can I Wear?

It seems to have been the general misunderstanding that just because the Wehrmacht was required to wear TWO long service awards after their original one, that anyone else could too.

The Wehrmacht practice has never made any sense to me, but hey...

Here we see an elderly Major-- almost certainly der Reserve zur Verf?gung who is wearing BOTH civil service Treudients Crosses. Those were awarded from 1938 to 1943. I am sure he actually was entitled, and individually awarded, both--so his state/military service started between 1897 (no Wilhelm I Centenary Medal, so not in the military on 22 March of that year) and 1903. Almost certainly after 1901, since he had not enough time to earn a Reserve-landwehr Medal by 1914, when awards ceased. Those were usually earned after about 12 years duty.

So, if he had been an Imperial regular officer with 40 years concurrent service by 1943, he would have earned a military XXV Years Service Cross because of double-war time. Hence he was a reserve officer in the civil service throughout.

Of course, his 40 Years Cross, earned in 1941 or 1942, should have REPLACED the 25. But this is a very very common period error.

Note that a "civil service" bar like this is obviously NOT being worn on a civil service uniform (Post Office, raileways, et cetera) but while on military duty.

Courtesy of Ulsterman.