landsknechte

Gotta love that tie too.

I've received a response that apparently the gold with the blue border represented the NSDAP Zellenleiter - Ortsgruppe, and the silver with the blue border represented the NSDAP Hauptstellenleiter - Ortsgruppe. --Chris

I think I found a photo of the gent in post #5 as an adult!

Eh, if it all fits on the screen, it's not a problem.

You're mocking my unhealthy obsession again, aren't you? No. I'm not paranoid, everyone is out to get me. The squirrels told me so.

If you get a chance to look at it, in the event that he's not comfortable with you posting it - PM me. I've got one likely Bavarian ribbon in particular that I'm trying to nail down. Thanks, --Chris

Hmmm... The ribbon bar chart that surfaced in this thread (link here) shows a remarkably similar ribbon to the ribbon in first place as the Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt "Medal of Merit for Combatants 1898-1914". Anyone know anything about that decoration? --Chris

My kingdom for the Bavarian page...

Take a second look at that photo... Isn't that guy that grew up to play "Mini Me" in the Austin Powers movies? --Chris

...also, would this be the DUI of an instructor / staff member, or might this be something that would have been worn by a student? My grandfather had some flight training at Randolph Field, and I'm curious to know whether or not this might be something that he wore (even if only briefly), or simply a memento. Thanks, --Chris

The scary thing is that I know I've seen that bar before. Not sure where, but I'm positive it's been on eBay in the past.

Cool. Do you know where the Training Center was located?

This group of items came out of some stuff that my parents recently found amongst my grandfather's effects. I know the ribbon bar isn't his (he was in the 8th AF in Europe), but the DUI has me intrigued. Does anyone recognize it? I believe the Latin motto translates to "so that men may fly", which would lead me to believe that it's either for some sort of ground crew unit, or perhaps a training unit. Also, am I right in assuming that the blue ribbon is likely a Presidential Unit Citation ribbon minus the metal border that's normally there? --Chris

I still am rather fond of the description posted by the seller of the last ribbon bar that I put up. Even if you're not a ribbon bar whiz, wouldn't it ring a few alarm bells in your own mind if your interpretation was telling you that you had a veteran of Waterloo and the invasion of the "Mamaland"?!? 120+ years in uniform? Methinks one long service ribbon wouldn't come nearly close enough...

If you're referring to the horizontal guard, it's two things: 1. A relic of the good old days when these things were actually expected to be used. Especially on the inside (the side opposite the knuckle bow) they do a wonderful job of stopping an opponents blade from sliding down your blade onto your hand or writst. 2. It helps with the grip. You can wrap your index finger around the cross guard, and it can give you additional control over the blade. There are still some modern "Olympic" style fencers that use a grip derived from this principle. --Chris P.S. The swords these were based on weren't exclusively French by any means, but in terms of sheer swishiness, they were probably the most French in idiom.

Still trying to figure out the context with which that ribbon would appear on a ribbon bar that's likely quite a bit after 1866, and since your bar is more or less in the same chronological boat... --Chris

#6 has caught my eye... Do you know much about the background of the original owner of this bar, and how he might have landed the Nassau decoration? --Chris

"Wearer's copy", right?

eBay Item number: 6600030948 It can be yours for only $100!

This one wouldn't be complete without the description... "This German Ribbon Board features 9 ribbons. The first one is black with white stripes. We think this is an iron cross ribbon. The next is blue with yellow stripes, it might be a waterloo ribbon. The next is white with blue and black stripes, we think it means order of military merit with swords. The next one is white and yellow, we think it?s a langensalzer ribbon. There is a white, black, and red one, we think it means Honor Cross Combatant. The next one is all blue. We think it means long and devoted service officer. We think the white red and green one means Mamaland Ribbon. The next one is white red and black, we?re not sure what that one means. The last one is red with green stripes. We think that one is a luitpold ribbon. The ribbon board also features 8 pins. There are 3 crossed swords pins and one of them has a helmet over it. There is another with three leaves and the number 25 in the center. There is one with four arrows pointing inward with a crown on top. There is another with two swords holding up a board. And the last one has a bird on it." Woo-hoo, hold up your boards on your swords, we're invading the Mamaland!

The proportions might be slightly off, but it's pretty close. I haven't been able to find anything whatsoever that's even vaguely close, but I'm rather out of my area on this sort of thing. Thanks, --Chris

Courtesy of Photoshop, I was able to put together an image that looks more like it:

The gray is about the same, maybe a hair lighter. No border. The white line is a double row of ~2-3mm white cord. No pic I'm afraid. I happened to be without my camera at the time. --Chris

Please bear with my crude representation. I don't have a photo of the item... I've seen a dove gray collar tab with a white double "line" made of a heavy cord that extends about halfway from the edge of the tab towards the middle. Ring any bells with anyone? --Chris

Very nice. To clarify my original post, I was thinking more in terms of the number of decorations present than sheer physical size.