landsknechte

I've been in the process of trying to research the owner of a ribbon bar that I've had in my possession for quite some time, a Bavarian aviator who served in both world wars.  I'm hindered a bit by my horrible command of the German language, and also by being on the wrong continent.  I wrote to the Bavarian state archive back in 2005, and received a letter back indicating that they have a file on him including some personnel records, some photo albums, along with some other materials, but they closed by essentially saying "sorry, but we're too busy to help".  (They did at least send me a copy of a single photograph.)  There's been enough time passed that I'd like to give it another go.  Perhaps some more stuff has been scanned or cataloged.  Anyhow, is there anyone out there that's dealt with them that could guide me through the process?  

I'm in the process of re-examining an old annoyingly minimalist ribbon bar of mine that very obviously doesn't include everything the recipient was entitled to.  I posted it in another thread, and an officer named Mencke (no first name known) was mentioned as a candidate.  He apparently received the HEK3aX and then later the HOH3X.  Anything showing up on the rolls?

Wondering if anyone has come across any regulations regarding receipt and wear of the  combatants or non-combatants version along with the version that was awarded to next-of-kin (the black medal / white ribbon).  Would it have been possible and/or permissible for an older soldier with a son who was KIA to have ended up with both?

I found this bazooka round at a flea market a number of years ago.  (Don't worry, it's deactivated.)

I can't see any remnants of the original paint, other than the black stripe which may or may not be original.  I had assumed that it had been monkeyed with over the years, with the weird screws in the shaft.  This morning I found a couple of photos online of other similar rounds.  Anyhow, is anyone able to glean anything about this round?  Was it a training round?  HE?  Something else?  Any indication of the model / age?  What did those screws do anyhow?  

1889 Jubilee, correct?

If so, is there anything that can be read from the fact that there's no long service medal?  Officer?  Reservist?

I can figure out two-thirds of this ribbon bar, but the last ribbon has me stumped.  Württemberg Karl-Olga Medal, Württemberg Charlottenkreuz, and ???

Anyone recognize the last ribbon?

(P.S. Yes, I am still alive.)

It must have happened all to often where the authorities would bend the rules in allowing the devastating wife or mom keep the insignia.

Devastating or devastated? I would imagine that would make a difference.

Just found this web belt at a thrift store this afternoon. It bears a certain familial resemblance to some British webbing, but I am so far out of my area of expertise, that I can't identify it. Anyone know what this might be? There are no markings that I can find anywhere on the cloth or the brass fittings.

Hmmmm. VERY (I mean VERRRRRRY) pale blue, with orangy red stripes... Japanese Order of the Sacred Treasure. The palest of robin's egg blues fades away to "dingy white."

Combination of combatant Iron Cross and "civil" KVK suggests somebody doing something potentially nasty. Waffen-SS?

Gut impression is that this is a M1957 West German bar from the style/size ribbons--so things could be banned that were worn originally. (Where is my whistling smilie thingy? been away tooooo long and still not "back" yet.)

This one post was one of my very few token appearances here over the course of the last year or so, so don't feel too bad. Nice to have you back amongst the living, in any event.

So, in regards to the nastiness, how do you mean? Did I manage to land Hans Landa's ribbon bar?

I am thinking "dirty" white.

Larry

Admittedly that's what I was hoping someone would say. I didn't pay a Hermann Göring Division price for it.

I received this shoulderboard recently:

Looking for second opinions on the Waffenfarbe. The color appears to be uniform, and doesn't appear any darker / different when you look in the various nooks and crannies that wouldn't have seen as much sunlight. In the photo below, this board is in the middle. The one above it is a Heer Infanterie board, and the one below it is a standard Luftwaffe Fliegertruppe/Fallschirmjäger board. It looks decidedly more yellowish than the Heer board, but downright white when compared to the Luft board below. Is this a HG board piped in a warm toned / dingy looking white, or is it a Fliegertruppe/Fallschirmjäger board made with piping that happens to be less colorfast than normal?

I have this ribbon bar photo saved in my files as Korvettenkapitän (Ing) aD Hans Otto...possibly IDed by Rick R?

Best wishes

Matt

At least we seem to have narrowed it down to an Ingenieur... lol

Awesome! Thank you!

If I'm reading this right, he was on the Hertha at the same time as Dönitz?

I would probably not share this link if I had any hope for it. But there's no wearer of this combination in my files.... andf it was sold years ago by one of the "famous" bar sellers...

http://www.ebay.de/itm/190800800260

The double Austrian Kriegserinnerungs-Medaille is an interesting touch...

Very nice ribbon bar. I believe this one came with a name when last sold.

Apologies for digging up an absolutely archaic post, but through a peculiar combination of familial chaos and changing email addresses, notification of your reply slipped under my radar screen... If I had the info, I've managed to lose it in the shuffle. Do you know any more?

Just got the bar in hand today. It's hard to tell with absolute certainty if the background color of the mystery ribbon was indeed a cool toned white to begin with, or if it was indeed a blue. I'm not seeing any evidence of fading on the front, when comparing that to the back.

Comparing the spacing and size of the stripes, it really does lineup much better with the Manchukuo than the Hessian decoration. Also, if that were the Hessian decoration, wouldn't the proper order of precedence be Hindenburg Cross --> Hessian --> Olympic?

Trying to track down the identity of the last ribbon on this ribbon bar, and one suggestion that I've heard is that it might be the Lithuanian Knight's Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great, or the Bronze Medal of the Order of Vytautas the Great. Could those of you more familiar with that decoration let me know if that is indeed plausible, and if so, possibly clue me in as to who typically received this award and under what circumstances they received it?

Thanks,

Chris

Anyone recognize what the ribbon on the far right might be? I'm drawing blanks on this one, thus far...

- Bayern. Militärverdienstkreuz mit Schwertern -> which class?

That one was based on rank, so it would have to be the Order not the Cross (the cross was for enlisted men). 4th class in this case, since 3rd class doesn't kick in until the rank of Oberst or so.

A very nice ribbon bar combo.

The holes are most likely for Wehrmacht Long Service devices rather than any other kind of long service imo....hard to say whether Heer or Luftwaffe.

Best wishes

Matt

I agree. Offhand, I can't think of any other scenarios where you would have two long service ribbons on a bar, whereupon both would have had a device. (I can think of some scenarios where one might have a device, and the other not.)

What colour are the eagles? I see one silver and one gold but they should be the other way about if so

The first one is silver, and the second one is gold. The odd thing is that the silver one appears to have the silver color literally painted on - you can see the brush marks where it was painted apparently after installation. I rather suspect that it was monkeyed with post war.

Gold crown and sword device on Bavarian MVO/MVK ribbon stands either for the 3rd class of the order, which is unlikely here, as it went to high officers (ca. Obersts), or for the 1st class of the merit cross, which is as unlikely ... I think we have an Unteroffizier, who wanted to have his device for 3rd class rather in gold than in bronze.

So he was a NCO in WW1, but probably an officer in the "Third Reich" Luftwaffe.

Nice bar!

If both of the long service devices are actually gold, I would suspect that this guy remained on in some capacity in the Weimar era (police maybe?) and then returned to the Luftwaffe.

The BMVK1XmKr could probably be ruled in or out pretty easily. There were, I believe, only like 117 or so of that grade awarded. Alternately, I'm wondering if this might be an example of someone who may have even been a low ranking officer in WWI, who then rose up the ladder in WWII - "adjusting" the grade of his MVO to reflect his current rank, versus the rank he had when he was awarded it.

I thought I had attached the image to the original post. Thanks for catching that.

-Deleted-

Thoughts?

Edit: 5x - I apparently can't count. (I really must go to bed soon.)