Chris Boonzaier

A lot of fighting between there and mid 1944 when our man and his division are fighting in Normandy... the German counteroffensive Operation L?ttich takes place with SS panzers and the Panzerlehr and the 2nd panzer Division.... the 2nd Panzer makes the most gains... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_L%C3%BCttich Then into the Falaise Pocket where the Divsion was almost totally wiped out... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falaise_pocket Our man survived and was awarded his ccbt badge...

In July the division was in...... you guessed it..... Kursk where our man got another certificate for his 3rd wound....

And of course, this

Although the division missed the start of the Russian campaign they more than made up for it in the chase for Moscow where the Division was the one who was right on the outskirts... Our mans unit was right on the point of the division and could already see the Kremlin.... so first to the channel... and first to moscow.... so he got this....

It also got him a personalized and ultra rare Annerkenungs and congratulatory letter from the chief of the army.

And while it looks so small on his bar....

The Division then fought in Serbia and in Greece. I think there was a 2nd wound there as there is a book called "Von Serbien bis Kreta" with a letter from his company telling his wife to inform him it had been sent. Then our man goes on to play hero... saving a child from drowning while risking his own life. A real documented life saving award if supremely, extremely rare...

The 2nd Panzer was the first to reach the channel where one of its tanks actually engaged a British ship in a fire fight.... Our man got an EK1 for his efforts...

Was then wounded in France... on the day of his wound the division was breaking through a bit of the Maginot line at Sedan, in fact, fighting their way accross the Maas river.

Who got a very early EK2 in poland...

A bit of a flower war boy....

His DA doc...

This is my only remaining WW2 group... it is simply "The best" from the point of view of someone who likes to research his groups as it covers almost every theater and is always right in the middle of the action. I have had knights cross groups to guys who were somewhere in the mass, little chance of research.... but this group blows everything away. Just Google 2nd panzer division and you will see how much can be found just an "Enter" Button away. Here is our man....

Hi, there is no knights cross in there... mine were gained with more sweat than blood... In fact, even though wounded with a bayonet I never got a wound badge... go figure... ;-) As I continue to build I will post here.... Next one I am concentrating on is.... can the horrible chrome on the Saudi medal be changed to silver... or at east silver plated..... I shall check out both possibilities.....

Hi, I am the only one I know of that had the handyman attitude :-)

I also like the wear on the old one.... look at the globe... you know it was worn long, hard and with pride.... there is just too much pride in that piece to have it disappear into a drawer of flea market finds.....

Could give the impression that it was earned in the desert somwhere.... like in one of Frances ex colonies ;-)

OK, you all guessed right.... The Overseas medal is/was called the colonial medal before.... basically changed its designation overnight.... So if I decide on the real silver patina look... on the reverse will be the "Colonial" name...

Thanks Doc :-)

Anyway..... I want to leave my servicetime bar as it is.... so I need to rebuild a new one.... from scratch.... It will take time, and I will show the results here.... I know some will consider me a heretic, but if the bar is to win a place in my heart.... it has to look just "Right". So, we have one old Croix du combattant issued to a Moroccan serviceman.... Next up is the overseas medal. Should I take the pot metal silvered one on the left (modern day issue) or go with the old real silver one that came from a market in Morocco on the right? There is of course a catch......... Does anyone know what the difference is?

I did this as I like the idea of 1) It was worn by someone before me 2) I would be giving it a new lease of life 3) The medal has not changed over the years but the old ones have a bronze patina and the new ones have a horrible gold finish. The finish is just the way modern makers make them and has nothing to do with the statutes.... here isa new one....

I took the liberty of choosing one from a few that I had bought in Marrakesh in the huge market.... and have it laying ready to get it mounted once the paperwork is through...

It still did not move me to get anything done. To be honest, I was miffed. Childish, but true. I was miffed because I had applied for and not gotten the "Croix de combattant", the reason being, the army had not worked through the records to see which units were considered "Combattant". It is a complicated process. First off, the govt has to approve certain actions as "Combat", this does not include all operations where there is shooting. Secondly, not all units in the zone are considered combattant, this is decided when the units diaries have been delivered to the army historical section who then goes through the histories to count up the amount of actions. This is unfair to the guys in support units as they may be in the same zone but not considered to get it. Anyway, a few days ago I called up the department to see what was what as I had been told that the records were now finished. At long last the woman told me "A-OK" and that now I would get it, just a question of finishing the paperwork. For me it is "The" medal I wanted....

Then Some time later I received the medal of recognition of services for operations outside of France.

And thats where it stopped with me. Some time later J.C. our Legion Condor host used his connections to get the Legion to move their a?? and issue me the Kuwaiti medal. This had been given out after I left and I had not received it. I was having trouble getting it as for some reason my records said I HAD gotten it. There must have been an admin error as I was given the document and medal for the 4th class instead of the 5th class. Lucky me :-)