Chris Boonzaier

Hi, I think you will need to post bigger photos, best Chris

Two different endings... the first in a trench killed as the German artillery rolls over his position and the German infantry takes his position, the second very probably hit by artillery as he carries wounded back at night.

For those who dont wonder into Western Europe... http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=14566&hl=

His official death card...

A corner of the main cemetary..

Due to the varying conditions I doubt the medals are really his...

A certificat stating that at the request of his Comrades (or family) his name has been engraved on the "EIX" corner of the monument. I think this means he was killed in that sector.

His Verdun medal doc, (I am not sure if the medals with the group actually do belong with the docs), mentioning he was KIA.

The Letter from the mayor informing of his death..

The prelim doc for his Medaille Militaire...

Armand Detrus was a stretcher bearer in the 110th Territorial regt. He was killed on the night between the 8th and 9th of June 1916 while carrying wounded back from the front line. he had been serving since October 1914.

There is a guy who has split up what must have bene a large group and is ebaying it ... I am hoping to keep as much of it together...

He looks a bit like the wimp you gave a hard time to at school... now he is back in a KBG uniform and a set of tongs to twist your gonads with. How does KGB stuff price compared to SS or Gestapo?

Nice bars!!! The wifes greatgrandfather was in a Saxon unit... I hope one day to find a bar like his would have been in 1918.

A pic of Gen von Fasbender... I have a number of EK docs to guys in his units with a stamped siganture. Here is a Photo given to Schmitt by v. fasbender himself.

Major Paul Schmitt, chief of staff of the Bay. Gen Kdo 63..... First of an original pic of him commissioned and signed by General von Ge?ling, done by O. Graf in Tournai 1918....

Thats the 59000 dollar question.... I think the Croix de Valeur, like the Croix de Guerre gives you an almost automatic Croix de Combattant. A silly things as if you did not get one, but were in the same section, it can take years to get an applicatipn approved or tossed out.

Hi, Difficult call. I would guess it did not give the right to wear the CDG. So far all the documents I have examined show an individual citation for the croix de g. The unit citations fall into 2 catagories, either it can simply be an initial unit citation where the unit was cited and a document was issued saying "Private Smith was present at the action" or it could be an action that qualified them for a Fourrageres, where it also mentions he was there and in this case mentions "Does not give the right to wear the cross". (Fourrageres were not awarded for each citation. ie. first unit citation there was none, second one got the unit a Fourragere, see bottom for the "points") As this kind of unit could (I dont think) win a fourragere (Think only at Regt level) I would assume that it is a doc issued by the unit as a keepsake. Lt Miles got the GdG at Divisional level, and the unit citation certificates went to the rest of the unit, You can see the silver star on the pic on the doc, but the framed one has a bronze one. I assume a proud Doeschler mounted it with a cross. Somewhere on another thread there was a mention about American soldiers groups being seen on occasion with a CdG when in fact they were simply in units that had recieved a unit citation. Ainsi, si le r?giment est titulaire : - de 2 ou 3 citations, il recevra une fourrag?re verte (couleurs de la Croix de Guerre 14/18), - 4 ou 5 citations, la fourrag?re jaune (couleur de la M?daille Militaire), - 6 ? 8 citations, la fourrag?re rouge (couleur de la L?gion d'Honneur), - 9 ? 11 citations, double fourrag?re verte et rouge (Croix de Guerre + L?gion d'Honneur), - 12 ? 14 citations, double fourrag?re jaune et rouge (M?daille Militaire + L?gion d'Honneur), - 15 citations et plus, double fourrag?re rouge. credited to.... http://perso.numericable.fr/~semoeric/deco...ntroduction.htm

Do you take the ribbons off first??????

A lot of "stuff"... to my shame I would not have recognised half of it as bavarian.... in fact, almost all of it is new to me.

OK, you got me on that one... is the combination wrong?

http://cgi.ebay.com/WWI-German-LARS-gasmas...1QQcmdZViewItem Once again, like on the preious page, a Belgian Militaria dealer selling a Belgian mask as german....

Jerome deserves a medal of some sort for all the help he gives, he did a wonderful job on a sailors documents I have. What a great piece of history this letter is !!! Outstanding presentation as well !!!

Is there a name bottom left just above Appletom (where the stamp is?) Am doing a bit of a Unit citation study at the moment...

From the vaults.... Does anyone know who shelled out the cash? Rich private person or a Museum?