GMU

Very nice Litewka!

Claudio, thanks for posting these photos. I have seen this collection when I visited Neal in his museum in NJ back in 1994. He was a wonderful person and a good friend. His books are outstanding. The uniform belonged to Boelcke as Les said. Jacobs medals are original, and he got them directly from Jacobs himself back in the 70's. Berthold 's medals are original too. Interesting to note that his PLM has a joined "ur"

What a loss! My heart sinks when I see groups broken up like this ???? sad, sad????

I?ve updated MvR?s awards dates. MvR received Bremen?s Hanseatic Cross on Sept 25, 1917, three days after receiving L?beck?s. I guess Hamburg followed shortly.

This is Neal W O'Connor's replication. It is now in Berlin. Please note the NWOC used the Bavarian Military Merit Order, 3rd Class with Crown and Swords. This is the one displayed at San Diego Air and Space Museum. This display is missing several orders, and has one that MvR never got !!!

Yes, Daniel............I remember... Beautiful. I looked for an Imtiaz for over 8 years !! Did you, by any chance, keep the bare brass metal plate used in the order bar?

Thank you Roman. Outstanding document. This is the list I have so far. Cheers, George

Hey Les! That is a good idea. As a matter of fact, I have a complete set of new ribbons for each piece. Thank you for the suggestion and for your comments George

Finally, after many, many years, I have completed this project. One day I thought it would be cool to replicate Manfred von Richthofen?s Ordenskissen, and it all begun with an EK II. I acquired piece by piece individually without ever destroying or dismantling any existing bar. Some pieces were easy to find, but very expensive. Others were not that expensive, but very hard to find, at least for me. For example, I searched without any success for over 8 years for the Imtiaz medal in silver, with sabers, and when I finally got one, it wasn?t that expensive! Fortunately, most of the awards were acquired during ?the good old days? when two Deutsche Marks were exchanged for one US dollar. All awards are, to the best of my knowledge, genuine. Some notes: 1. The ribbon bar is obviously a reproduction. I have seen many around. This one is special for me though because it was given to me by my friend, the late Neal W O?Connor. He had made two of them many years ago. The problem with this one is that the Hanseatic Crosses were arranged in a different order as they were in MvR?s original bar. Neal made another one, in the correct order, and this was displayed many years in his museum. Now this bar is in Berlin. 2. The PLM is post 1918. 3. I have displayed here a Bavarian MVO 4th class with crown and swords because one can see a crowned MVO on MvR ?s original Ordenskissen . Neal O?Connor maintained for many years that MvR had a MVO 3rd class with crown and swords, so he displayed one on the replicated Ordenskissen that it is now in Berlin. However, there is no evidence that MvR received the MVO 3rd or the MVO 4th with crown. It is currently maintained that MVR received a 4th class with swords only, with no crown. However, how could we explain the crowned MVO on MvR?s original Ordenskissen? Manfred von Richthofen original awards as displayed on his funeral services in 1925 I am still debating if I should mount all these medals onto an order bar?????????

Hello, I?ve had this medal bar and ribbon bar since the mid 90?s. I have always wondered why the Hessen Bravery ribbon on the ribbon bar appears to be substituted with that of the Hamburg Hanseatic Cross. At first glance, I thought that the blue color was faded through time, but I do not see any traces of it. The other possibility is that the only ribbon available at the time was that of the Hanseatic Cross, but this is very difficult to believe. I guess, my question is whether or not this disparity has been seen before on other bars, and what reasons could there be for it to occur. Is this medal bar fake? If it isn?t, could it be traceable? Thanks

1of 4 out of the entire Imperial German service is simply outstanding Rick. That is no easy task indeed. Thank you very much for your help and knowledge! George

Hi Rick, Thanks for your kind help. I assume that the 3-ribbon bar predates the 4-ribbon bar. Therefore, the Prussian HHOX was received after the Princely Hohenzollern X and Baden's Z?hringen Lion with Xs. Would the order in which he got these awards help us out rule one or more of the other candidates? I mean, since the two HHOs could be earned independently one from the order, it is possible that some candidates could have received the Prussian HHO first and then the Princely HHO, right? George

Thank you very much Rick. Interesting information about the double branch HHO award. George

Hi, I?ve had this since a long time ago. It came together. I think the HHO is Ok, but I do not know about the ribbon bars. What is the black and white ribbon with the narrow black stripe in the middle? Assuming that the bars are Ok, could this be traceable, or the awards are too common?

Here is the link to the Ulanka I have: 2nd. Royal Saxon Uhlan Regiment No. 18 http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=9690&hl=

Hi all, I have acquired the following important document through a dealer, who in turn got this from the sale of the state of a well known collector who died last month. It was informed to me that this collector got this memorable document from a cousin of a friend of the Richthofen Family. This is indeed a breathtaking document. I am willing to sell this extremely important historical document, signed by Manfred von Richthofen himself, which proofs that the great ace was shot down from the ground thus ending with a 90 years controversy for the bargain price of US $3,000. Proof of authenticity: The dealer guaranteed its authenticity. Just look at the provenance of this document. Moreover, I swear that that is Richthofen?s signature. I challenge anyone to tell me otherwise. Anyone interested? Anyone? Cheers,

Indeed, that's a cross! He was very dead when he signed that photo. There were 3 bids and it was sold for over $3,700 !!!!! I feel very sorry for the buyer. This is really bad.

The most amazing photo of Manfred von Richthofen is up for sale at EBay. Richthofen Sanke What it is most amazing about this Sanke Card is not only that it is signed by the Baron himself, but he must have returned from the dead to sign it. The black border around the card indicates that he was already dead when the card was issued. It is a commemorative card. He was a great man indeed, but I do not think he had supernatural powers. What a nerve of this idiot to offer this on EBAY without realizing this.

Mike, I have never believed my piece is a Godet, but I did not buy it as such. I bought it almost 10 years ago because it is beautiful, I wanted to have it, and I could afford it. That is why I want to congratulate you on your acquisition. It is a very beautiful piece indeed. Being happy with what you have is what matters. You will not regret it.

This is mine. It comes in a Godet marked box, it is made from silver, and it is marked "900" on the back pin. I do not really know if the piece is made by Godet, but it is beautiful and I paid German Marks for it (when they were almost half the price of a US $ !) good old days????????

Hi Les, Thanks! Although silver is nice, nothing compares to having a piece with known provenance, no matter its condition. That is far more valuable to me. You are very fortunate to have one that is attributed to a person. Ehrenbechers came with a wooden base and in a cardboard (I guess) box. I have seen goblets with their original base, but I have never seen the original box. I believe none survived. Has anyone seen the original box? You are right Les! I should refer to it as the Ehrenbecher that is presently in my possession instead of using the word ?mine?. As a first victory award, one must not forget what ?victory? really means. Someone risked his live to earn it, and someone possibly lost his own in the same action. That deserves our utmost respect. George

Hi, I went over and found the article entitled ?The Ehrenbechers - Where Are They Now?? by Bill Radfloff and Robert Niemann, which appeared in Cross & Cockade Journal, Vol 10, No 4, winter 1969, page 366, where the authors mention that: ????..it seems that in 1915 Emperor Wilhelm II set aside some of his own personal funds in order that an award might be made for the-then rare first air victory. He commissioned Godet (a Berlin firm of goldsmiths) to provide a suitable award.? Air historian Peter Kilduff also mentions Godet as producer on page 26 in his book ?The Illustrated Red Baron: The Life and Times of Manfred Von Richthofen? 1999. Silver made Ehrenbechers are very difficult to find. The Germans stopped making them in silver by mid 1917, and many of them were presumably sold (and destroyed ?) for their more valuable silver content in the 1920?s Here are more details of mine:

Stan, Very nice goblet! I thought the silver ones were all made by Godet. I believe I read this on an article in Cross & Cockade entitled "Ehrenbechers: Where are they now?" Here is mine. Here is ace Emil Thuy proudly dispalying his

1011 reviews and 100% positive......

Rick, Neal relates in page 184 of Aviation Awards, Vol V, that following the action on Nov 9, 1916, in which both MvR and Hans Imelmann participated in destroying the bombers that were heading to Vracourt, where Duke Carl Eduard?s Headquarters were located, the Duke bestowed both men with his Duke Carl Eduard medal in silver with swords and date clasp. I have scanned the documents that appear on page 184 on Neal?s book and they show the following: The document is dated Nov 10, 1916 and is written by the Duke?s adjutant to the Privy Council authorizing both awards to Richthofen and Imelmann. The Privy Cabinet received the document on Nov 13, 1916 There is a clear indication that the clasps should bear the date of the event which is Nov 9, 1916. The ribbons were presented immediately by the Duke himself. The documents show that the medals were sent to both men on Nov 16, 1916 and the bestowal documents were sent to Detachment II I. Army on April 26, 1917. Unfortunately Imelmann never received it as he fell in combat January 23, 1917. Neal (also my friend - miss him much!) indicates that in the photo of MvR?s ordenskissen, the date on the clasp is clearly seen, and that it shows the date Nov 11, 1916 instead of Nov 9, 1916 as it should have been. Thank you very much for all your efforts in carrying such a research, and for sharing your knowledge with us. This information is vital for all of us who love Imperial awards. George