Rattle

EKII

The ring

Hi, this small group arrived today. Iron Cross 2nd class, Milit?rpass and patriotic ring named to a soldier from the 2. Westpreu?isches Pionier-Batallion Nr.23. I have a few questions. 1. Who could be the maker of the EKII ? 2. Is somebody able to help me read and translate the Milit?rpass? I can read a bit S?tterlin but any help would be appreciated. 3. Who has some infos on the 2. Westpreu?isches Pionier-Batallion Nr.23 ? Regards, Stephan

Thanks, but i think we can eliminate the Oldenburg FA cross. Stephan

I've found this small EK II, MVK III Kl. medal bar on the local fleamarket for less money . It came with a Luitpold medal as an extra. The last medal is missing from the bar. It looks like a Wuerttemberg long service medal. Since most stuff on the table was from Wuerttemberg i believe it is the one missing. First question, would this have been possible ? Maybe it's not a bavarian, but a Wuerttemberg soldiers bar who got the bavarian MVK. Second question, what dou you think would be the approbiate long service medal for this bar. 9 years, 12 or 15 or the Landwehr one ? What do you think about it ? Regards, Stephan

My latest. Tropical combat jacket. LTC Coe, 101st Airborne, Vietnam. regards, Stephan

Purple Heart awarded to a 92nd Bomb Group vet and POW. It was given to Lt. Pete Burascano who was shot down on Jan. 11th, 1944. He was a copilot with the 325th BS, 92nd BG. Pete spent the rest of the war as a guest of the German government in STALAG LUFT I in Barth, Germany. Lt Burascano and his roommates in STALAG Luft I called themselves the "Spider Kelly Gang". One of them, Oscar Richard, wrote a book about his experiences in WWII, "Kriegie an American POW in Germany". Pete is mentioned a few times in it. This is an excerpt from the book: "Pete Burascano had been a window dresser in Brooklyn. He was the best cook in the room, if not the entire barracks, and a wizard at manufacturing gadgets out of tin cans and wire. He even sculpted an excellent likeness of fellow Brooklynite Bob Hosier with clay from one of the many tunnels. With his never-ending energy and ingenuity for making things out of scraps, Pete helped make life in Stalag Luft I much more bearable. He may not have been expert in any one thing, but no one approached his versatility. His yen for French Elegante cigarettes, for which he traded precious Camels and Chesterfields, fouled the air, much to our discomfort, but besides cooking and carpentry, he provided the services of carpenter, tailor, tinsmith, mason, electrician, and barber. He also played a shrewd game of bridge and was foolishly reckless at poker. Whenever he wasn't tinkering, he read -- he could finish a book in a couple of hours. But what amazed us most was the fact that this character was afraid that the war in the South Pacific might end before he could get out of Germany and join it." Regards, Stephan

Got me this nice grouping, id'ed to Sgt A. Faith. He enlisted in 1940 and was with F-Troop, later F-company, 106th Cav Sqd, 106th Cav Group until the end of the war. Those who know me can imagine how happy i was to find another 106th cav stuff. Faith was wounded twice and is also mentioned in the unit history. Stephan

Silver Star, awarded for bravery to A. J. Mahue, 2nd Infantry Division, Korea 1951.

Thanks, but it's far from a museum. Got me this nice variation of a 101st Airborne patch. According to a Vet in Bando's book, this was given only to Normandy survivors. The blue represents the English channel and the lines the bridges and Douve River above Carentan. Other sources tell it was for the Rhine crossing. It's no doubt from the manufacture process, but was utilized for this purpose.

B-24H 42-94780 L/M Smitty Missing in Action Flak near Kiel. The plane received a direct flak hit in #1 engine. The engine burst into flames which seemed to spread over the entire aircraft. The left wing disintegrated as the plane went down. One crew reported that this plane exploded near the ground. No chutes were seen. Crashed at Kraienwisch. With 4BS. Pilot: Howard. Missing Air Crew Report # 8463. 7 Killed in Action, 1 Prisoner of War. POW HOWARD GERALD R (P) 2 LT 4 O-814903 13 ORANGE TX (or KIA) KIA BAKER ERNEST C (CP) 2 LT 4 O-821141 14 UPPER DERBY PA KIA FLORES JOSEPH (N) 2 LT 4 O-707254 13 FALL RIVER MA KIA GRIFFIN JAMES E (TT) S/SGT 4 18191983 13 SHATTUCK OK KIA RICHARDSON JOHN P ? S/SGT 4 35700043 13 LOUISVILLE KY KIA IANNONE JOSEPH (BT) S/SGT 4 31169129 13 WATERBURY CT KIA LEAHY DAVID F (TG) SGT 4 12216555 13 PHILADELPHIA PA KIA ALTAMORE JOSEPH L (NG) SGT 4 32992566 13 BRONX NY The piece is too big to display, so i took off a small, loose piece and added it into the display frame.

Thanks Paul, I know it because of the insignia (Aircrew wings) and his enlistment data and his obituary. A friend of mine made me a nice surprise. He lives in northern Germany and is researching the fate of shot down A/C in his area. You may remember the Purple Heart i have, named to J. P. Richardson, who was KIA on 24. August, 1944 over Kiel, Germany. He was in the 4th Squadron, 34th Bomb Group. My friend was researching this crash also, and i've provided him with some of the documents i have. In return, he has sent me a part of the B-24H 42-94780 L/M Smitty, that he found on the crash site. w00t.gif It's very emontional for me, having a part of the plane, in which this fine young man fought and lost his life. Regards, Stephan

Got this small group today. Good conduct medal and insignias of Cpl. Maring, AAF.

Nice medal Scott !! Looks like he died from a complicated fracture of the lower leg bone. Regards, Stephan

This my newest medal, Distinguished Flying Cross named to SSGT W. E. Hermenau, KIA on his 25th and last mission, 20th April, 1944, over La Glacerie, France. He was a tailgunner in the 568th BS, 390th BG. The name was engraved wrong on the medal. During my research, i've encountered 3 different spellings of his name. Regards, Stephan

Thanks Guys, here is my new M-1 helmet, with liner, named to a Lt. Roha. Stephan

This one came today. Navy Good Conduct Medal, named to PhM2c H. P. Klahn. From what i know right now, PhM2c Klahn served during the 30's with the 6th Marines as a Navy Corpsman in San Diego, and was with them during their Expedition to Shanghai, China in 1937-1938. I have the muster roll from that period. Many thanks goes out to PaulR. for helping me with this medal. regards, Stephan

I've put together a small display, showing some imperial stuff. Hope you like it. Stephan

Thanks Bob, the cravat is a type V neck cravat with unfolded corners. The MoH came with another cravat, which had not a watered texture. I found this one later and use it with the MoH. It looks better in the display. Stephan

I'm also creating videos, that show the history of the men behind the items i collect. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8404406643948966763 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8073930031600342875 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6314674607804561042 enjoy, Stephan

I'm using a Sony DSC H1. It's a 5meg, superzoom, digital camera. The lightning should be also right. For the last pics, i've been using a sheet of high quality, white photopaper as a background. Stephan

Another non US item in my collection. Small Bavarian medal bar. EK II (SY-Wagner) and Military Merit Cross, 3rd class, with swords. Stephan

Here my latest piece of history. Sterling silver, 11th A/B ring.

This is a M43 fieldjacket, that was once worn by a US soldier and later by a german POW (a Captain), who brought it to Germany.

Prussian pilot's badge.