Avitas

This is the best I can do for the backs, as they are very brittle and I don't want to remove them from the paper my Grandpa attached them to so long ago. Pat

Interesting thoughts Matt, I personally would place a higher value on original ribbon and would much rather have a dirty old original ribbon than a shiny newer made one. I guess some people are just more into the "aura" (sorry to get all hippy on you ) of having an all period "been there" piece rather than it being in mint shape with some replacement ribbon. Here are some ribbon bar devices ((the smallest size, all are between 7mm (eagles) and 12mm (spange) tall)) I received from my grandfather last weekend from his personal souvenirs of the war. I will try to correctly ID them and if I make an error, please feel free to correct me. Starting with the top left corner I think this is a device for the Polizei Long Service award, but I am not sure on the class. It is magnetic and silvered. The next device directly below the Polizei is what I think is the Luftwaffe Service Medal 3rd class for 12 years service (Dienstauszeichnungen Luftwaffe). It is also magnetic and gilted. The ribbon bar device next to the LW in gold is the EK2 spange in tombak I believe as it is non-magnetic. Only slight silvering remains. Next to the right of the spange is the Luftwaffe Service Medal 4th class for 4 years service I believe, magnetic and silvered. Directly below the LW service 4th class is the Dienstauszeichnungen for 40 years service, also magnetic and gilted in excellent shape. The bottom left corner has a Heer/Marine Service Medal ribbon device for an unknown amount and it is non-magnetic and gilt. And finally the bottom right corner has the Heer/Marine Service Medal device for the 4th class level for 4 years service. This one is magnetic and has some corrosion. Any further clarification of these devices is extremely welcome and thanks for looking. I will post some close ups for further ID purposes. Cheers, Pat

I looked at it under sunlight and it kind of has a green tinge to it, but like you said, VERY dark green. Would this be a Feldpolizei buckle then? Cheers, Pat

..and the back of this late-war zinc Heer Cap Eagle, thanks for any further help and comments on this or any other piece in the thread. Pat

Hello there, Here is another of the pieces my grandfather gave to me from his personal souvenirs, a Wehrmacht Officer's cap eagle I believe. He was stationed in Germany in 1944-45 so this late-war zinc model fits in nice with the history. He actually has another one of these with him still, but it is exactly the same as this one. Any further ID and comments are welcome, Cheers, Pat

Thanks for the comments Michael and Darrell, I will definitely ask him about it as he mentioned that method might be a way to get his records but he wasn't sure exactly how to go about it (he saw something on it in the Legion Magazine). I'm sure he wouldn't mind authorizing it so I will get back to him in a week or so, but anything you can dig up in the mean time Michael is a huge plus! Thanks again for looking and please leave your comments and be sure to check out the story of the 412th Squadron of the RCAF. I have linked to the overview in the thread, they were a very decorated and battle-hardened squadron. Cheers, Pat

Here is the reverse of this early hollowback tombak version GAB with a pin set-up that may help ID the maker. Cheers and thanks for any help and comments on either badge. Pat

Here is a very special badge to me, my Grandpa's bringback from the war that he just gave me on a recent trip up north. He picked this one up in either the Ardennes or Germany late-war, but he couldn't remember a lot of details. This one is an early hollowback stamped tombak type GAB, but I do not know the maker. If anyone can help out with the maker that would be greatly appreciated. It has little silvering left, so it was probably worn for most of the war as my grandfather picked it off of a fallen opponent during his time with the RCAF 412th Squadron in their campaigns in the Ardennes, the taking if the Rhineland and up til the end of the war pushing into Germany. Any help on the maker and comments on it are welcome. Cheers, Pat

and the reverse with the "w" marking on it. Thanks for looking, Pat

Hello all, I have a couple GAB's now so I thought I would put them up here for a thread, as I will probably end up picking up another in the future if I am lucky The first one is one I recently acquired from Hauptman and has been ID'd as the possible Wernstein maker mark from late war zinc issue. It is in fine shape with a bit of the original silvering left and not much in the way of zinc rot, a great piece! Cheers, Pat

Hello there, I just received this Luftwaffe Officer Cap Wreath in from my grandfather in a set of most of his "souvenirs" from his time in the RCAF in late-war Germany. He also has the LW Officer's Dress Dagger but he is holding on to that for now. This wreath is missing one fastener on the back but other than that is in pretty good shape. It has quite the curve to it, and has stood up pretty well hidden away in a cardboard box for 60 years. Please post your examples for comparison, leave your comments and thanks again for looking, Cheers, Pat

..and the reverse with the RZM M1/92 marking. Thanks for looking and any more comments are welcome, Pat

Thanks JNoble, your expertise is always welcome Here is another of my grandfather's bringbacks from the war, an M1/92 marked late-war painted zinc NSDAP membership pin. In decent shape, but all the black paint on the swaz is missing. Nothing special to look at, but part of my most valued collection. Cheers, Pat

and the reverse of this RCAF vet bringback Wound Badge in black. Cheers, Pat

Thanks for the advice and comments Dan Well here is another of the pieces my Grandpa gave me last weekend from his souvenir collection from the war, a standard Wound Badge in Black, but my most treasured one now! It is in brass and has decent wear. Cheers, Pat

and the reverse with th majority of the paint intact. Any help is great! Cheers, Pat

Hello there, I just got this ww2 German Army belt buckle in a group of souvenirs my grandpa brought back from Germany and had a question about the black paint. I haven't really seen any with the paint and was wondering if it denoted a specific branch of the Heer or Wehrmacht, as I am of the understanding that most of these were silver. My grandpa fought in 1944-45 so it would definitely be a late-war pick-up. Any info on this type of buckle is welcome and very helpful. Cheers, Pat

..back of Railway meal ticket.. Thanks again, Pat

And lastly for now, it is fitting to have one of William (Bill) Thompson's meal tickets for the Canadian Pacific Railway trip home to the prairies, the last stretch of the journey home. It is stamped at Union (?) Grill at Windsor Station, Montreal on April 4, 1946 (he has a few of these tickets all marked April 1946, but you can't see the date on this ticket very well). Thanks for looking at the souvenirs of an RCAF mechanic and hearing the story of my Grandpa. Hopefully one day I can get some more items on my other grandfather, who spent time in the US Army Artillery division in the Pacific between 1944-46 as well, but that is a story for another day. Cheers and please leave your comments! Pat

Well that's all of the German souvenirs for now, he still has his best stuff! There is a Walther or Karabiner officer's handgun with a tiny Nazi Eagle stamped on the top with a serial number in the 300 000's and the previously mentioned Luftwaffe Officer's Dress Dagger as well as a lot of his personal stuff from his RCAF days including his cap and battle tunic and many paper documents. He let me take a couple of the paper documents telling the story of his trips to and from the war. The top pink Canadian Legion Club document is for his time on leave in August 1945 at a nice Bed and Breakfast in Edinburgh, Scotland of which Grandpa had fond memories of. The blue document is his pass and info for his trip home to Canada on a French luxury liner (I will have to get the name again, St. Iles or somethin) which shows his Troop Mess Hall schedule and sleeping area. These are priceless snippets into the time my grandfather spent in the RCAF. Cheers, Pat

...back of the unmarked cap eagle.

Here is one of two zinc Wehrmacht Cap Eagles Grandpa William Thompson collected in Germany during the final year of the war, in really good shape from being in a box for 60 years! Pat

..reverse of the black belt buckle, with 90% of original paint on the reverse.

Next up we have some Wehrmacht Heer uniform insignia and equipment, including this nice black painted steel Wehrmacht belt buckle, with lots of black paint left. Cheers, Pat

The back of the RZM M1/92 late-war painted NSDAP membership badge.