New Ribbon Bars For Old! 02

That's right-- the Luftwaffe Oberst has carried on wearing an UNCHANGED pre-1938 ribbon bar, well into WW2.

Awards are

1914 Iron Cross 2nd Class

Saxon Albert Order-Knight 2nd Class with Swords (class because he was only a 2nd Lieutenant per next ribbon indicating he was first commissioned DURING the war)

Saxon Friedrich August Medal (probably silver as an officer candidate)

Hamburg Hanseatic Cross (rather unusuaal for a very junior Saxon!)

Hindenburg CRoss for WW1 Combatants

Luftwaffe 4 Years Service Medal. This indicates he had under 12 years of Imperial and Wehrmacht service as of 1939, when awards of these long service awards halted "for the duration." It is surprising that someone with as little combined time in should have reached this rank-- most such ex-Imperial Lieutenants reached Lieutenant Colonel as their highest WW2 rank.

Austrian WW1 Commemorative Medal with Swords in pre-1938 Anschluss position as a foreign award

Hungarian WW1 Commemorative Medal for Combatants with Swords


It is odd, but was not at all unusual for officerss to continue wearing outdated and un-upgraded ribbon bars. Carelessness? Indifference? Too cheap to keep adding one thing at a time?

Courtesy of Ulsterman.