ostprussenmann_new

Towards the end of the war (approx.-1945) , Germany turned everyone into infantry, so this makes sense, but still rare to actually see a photo of it. The SS even started conscripting people.

I am finding it interesting that most of the PZ Gren Service members were awarded the PAB-Bronze instead of the IAB-Bronze. I am assuming, Chris, that it depends on the actual Regiment. Most of the photos from SS-PzGren Soldiers in 17th Waffen SS GvB either had IAB-Bronze or GABs, minus their Recce BN who had PAB-Bronze. Could that be that the Division was a late bloomer in the war and only had StugIVs and SDKZ 222/250/251?

I am scouring through pages looking for information on Pionier Battalion #22 and saw your topic. My Great Great Uncle (Great Grandpa's Youngest Brother) was captured by the British during the Battle of Lero in the Aegean. He is in a Pontoon/Bridgebuilding Company. Do you have anything or know anything about this unit? Great Collection.

That is one of the nicer ones that I have seen. Thanks for sharing.

Very nice indeed. That is one of my bucket list items to own.

Ruptured Duck (Bill Shea), eMedals (Barry Turk-have had great dealings with them), Johnswarbooty, www.germanmilitaria.com and, http://www.germanwarbooty.com/ (Have had great dealings with them also). You still need to know what you are looking for. I would stay away from some of the other sights.

J, West, that has a great patina on that one. One of the nicer ones that I have seen.

Thanks. Pretty nice thread. Please stay in touch. Do you actually own those two documents?

I would love to see the photos of the group. Thanks for the response.

I know this is an old post, but recently I aquired some 13th Waffen SS items from my second cousin while cleaning out her parents house after the death of her mother. I ended up getting a Grey-green Fez, EM/NCO Collar tab, the Croatian Sleeve Shield, and Edelweis. If anyone is interested in the photos of the items that I got, please let me know. She ended up sending about three packages of stuff, including a tunic for an Obershutze from 17th WSS PZGren Division. The tunic is battle worn and is currently getting restored by a person who restores stuff for the Smithsonian. It was missing the collar tabs and Sleeve eagle, so I had to pay for originals. All thread used is original and all insignia is also. I pick up the tunic on 30 July 16. I have another package coming in a month of some edged items including a HJ Knife. If anyone wants some photos of it all, I will start a new thread and post them. Please let me know.

Bob, You know Willi S? I just saw him a couple of weeks ago. He has a pretty awesome collection

Hello everyone. I used to be very active on here until I lost my password. Happily, today i just got my account reactivated. As the title states, does anyone have any documentation on what "Assault Badge" did Panzer Grenadiers get from Waffen SS units, particularity late in the war. Does anyone have any cool photos of SS Soldiers, tunics, documents or anything of the sort? Thanks everyone, and happy to be back.

Wow, never have seen a chain with a PLM on it. It would be interesting to see whom it belongs too. The Freidrich Ordern 1st Class is a Wuertemberg Order. Think with a 1st Class order of that type, he was a Field Grade offier at a Minimum, but I could be wrong. To answer you Question, I do know of a Baden PLM winners. There are some great sources on here, alot more knowledgable than me. I am sure you will get some help.

If anyone wants larger photos, I can PM them to them. I am having a problem making them larger. Sorry. One is for a War Merit Cross II. Klasses, and on is a promotion document.

Hello I have a friend who showed me some copies of documents that he had. We are both interested if anyone else knows anything about him? We are looking for unit assignements, promotions, awards and what finally happened to him. Did he ever get the SS Honor Ring? Here are some photos of his documents. Thanks ostprussenmann

This is a an option from another military forum: Go to http://www.volksbund.de/ Click on "Grabersuche online" at the top of the page Click on "zur Onlinesuche >" in the middle of the page You will be given 5 boxes to fill in. They are: Nachname=Last name Vorname=First name Geburstdatum=Date of birth Todesdatum=Date of death Geburtsort=Place of birth Fill in as much as possible. Remember to enter dates as dd.mm.yyyy (so July 4th, 2001 would read as 04.07.2001) The new search procedures require that a questionnaire be filled out prior to receiving your search results. As a minimum, the items marked with an asterisk must be completed. They are: Vorname (First name) Nachname (Last name) Straße / Nr.*: (Street Address) Land / PLZ / Ort*: (Country/zip code/city) (If you are interested in completing the entire questionnaire, the translated version is at the end of these instructions) Scroll down to the end of the questionnaire and click on "Zur Ergebnisseite" You will be taken to a page that includes the address for the Commission and a short note thanking you for your support. Click on "Suchanfrage ausfuhren" You will then be given the results. The term "Die Recherche war lieder erfolglos" indicates that no results were found based on the information provided. Possible matches will be listed by last names that are linked to further information. Keep in mind that the database may occasionally be down for maintenance and updating (Wartungsarbeit). Once you have clicked on a possible match you will be taken to that individuals information page which lists: Zum Gedenken (In memory of) Nachname (Last name) Vorname (First name) Dienstgrad (Rank) Geburstdatum (Date of birth) Geburtsort (Place of birth) Todesdatum (Date of death) Todesort (Place of death) This is followed a short paragraph which describes where the individual is buried, if known. Copy the information and paste it on one of the many online translation services (such as www.freetranslation.com/). The results may not be 100% grammatically correct, but it will give you the gist of what you are looking for.

This is a wonderful grouping and quite impressive.

Agreed brother. I own a USP .45 made by HK and it is awesome. Also have a Kimber full size 1911. Extremely nice. What about the Sig Sauer 44/16 (known as the 210 model)? Have heard some nice things about it, but never seen one nor fired one?

I am going to have to say either the 1911 .45 or the Browning High Power 9mm. Reason is that both weapons were a very welll developed design and still are. Most weapons systems of that time (semi-auto) were variations of John Browning's designs or took things from his designs. History shows the best answers. Both weapon systems are still in service with various militaries. The USMC have gone back to a variation of the 1911. Now for looks, I will say the German Lugar. Chris, what is your reason for your choice? The P35 looks like a copy of the 1911, but good choice.

Here is an interesting note for modern times up to 2000. The Opposing Force (OPFOR) Battalion at Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas, USA and Ft Polk, Louisiana, USA used to award the Order of Glory in 3rd adn 2nd Class to its members in the form of the a Certificate and Medal (if they had them available) to wear on their OPFOR Uniform if they earned a Achievement Army or Army Commendation Medal that was earned during a Joint Readiness Training Center Rotation. The OPFOR BN's wore Russian Uniforms and trained like Russian Military Units; this was an incentive thing normally coming with a 4-day pass. I even have actually seen photos and copies of the certificates of US Soldiers in their special uniforms wearing the medal. This Battlaion was an American Airborne Battalion so they even jumped out of the Russian AN-2 Colt. I used to be in the Battalion so I had access to the archives. The Battalion was the 1-509 Airborne Infantry Regiment (a very decorated unit with WW2 lineage). Just a neat story to add to this posting.

Sad news that , CSM Plumley, Basil ("Old Iron Jaw"), has passed away. The following is the information that received: It is with a heavy heart that we report that CSM Basil Plumley passed away at 0400hrs this morning, 10 OCT 2012, after being diagnosed with Colon Cancer and moved to a Hospice a little over a week ago. CSM Plumley lost his first battle on this day, but i am sure he is now whipping Heaven in to shape, as his Soldiers meet him at the gates in formation. If any of you have seen "We Were Soldiers" or read the book "We were Soldiers Once and Young." this name will stand out to you. A true American Hero who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. v/r Jason Coad

More photos of the second one. Opinions please. I don't want to give him the wrong advice. Thanks ostprussenmann

Here is the hinged one.

Hi all, My friend Dave L. that I work with is heading to the MAX show this weekend and really wanted a 1914 EK I with 1939 Spange. He stated that he found two and was thinking about buying one of the two instead of going there. I do not have a clue about anything TR related. I remember seeing a posting on here a while back to question anything EK1 with spanges attached. One is with a Longpin and the other one is a hinged double screwback. He sent me pics of what he found on a website. What are your opinions of these. They look a little fresh to me, but I am not an expert on these.