norwest78

What a great cased pair, Bob. Must have been hard to split those fraternal twins up!

Nice catch, Eric! I would have been scared off by that unusual pin.

Here's a few different styles that are available. The top one has an extension strap (which is out of the picture); the second one now has a strap that I recently acquired. Regards, Kevin

Excellent, Bob! Nice that it was awarded to a pilot AND you have some of his photos. Having pics really adds a whole new dimension to the award, and makes it less of an item and more of a piece of a man's personal story. Regards, Kevin

What a great quality tunic! I actually used to collect some of the land customs items before I went strictly Luftwaffe. It's very sharp-looking. You need a nice visor to go with the tunic; I've seen them pretty reasonably priced. So, you say you need a dagger, eh?

You were right, Eric! Now please tell me that I'll find some of his period photos. Thank you all for your nice comments. I wish all of you the best of luck in your collecting. Regards, Kevin

Yeah, pretty lucky, eh? It turns out that the fellow I purchased the goblet from found the document amongst some other items, several months later. So he sent it to me. Free of charge.

Hey, Eric. Guess what??

Maybe it's a diving suit adapted for space flight.

I have the awards, and documents of Oblt. Heinrich Bertsch, but I have no photos, other than those that come with his identification papers. If anybody has photos of this man, I'd be happy to discuss trade or purchase with you. I'd really like to find some nice pictures to go with his grouping! BTW, he started out in the army infantry and later joined the Luftwaffe as an observer. 4.(H)/ Aufkl?rungsgruppe 23 Feldpostnummer 32471 Awarded Ehrenpokal Aug 1942 Awarded DKiG June 1943 Regards, Kevin

Thanks for your comments, guys. I'll never know for sure the story behind this badge, but it's a beauty, regardless. The tombak Assman observers are tops in my book. Regards, Kevin

Simply awesome. Love the photo -- it looks like it's soaring through a cloud. --Kevin

Very nice selection of WWII handguns. I'd love to add a luger to my collection; the quintessential German "bad guy" gun, IMO. Also looking for a Femaru for my Luftwaffe officer. Thanks for posting. --Kevin

Just one last thought: I strongly suspect that this was period done, since it seems very unlikely that somebody would want to turn this into a brooch for wearing post-war.

Man, this guy got around! What's that he's looking at, a pinup book?

Thanks, John. One thing I was also wondering is why this was done. If it was a repair, why not reconstruct the usual vertical pin orientation? Somebody went to a lot of trouble to redo the whole setup. Was it a special request? If so, why? If the badge was to be pinned onto a garment, instead of using the usual vertically aligned loops, this would make sense. Might a flyer prefer to pin the medal more securely onto his fliegerbluse rather than have it flop around on the loops? Regards, Kevin

I believe this is tombak with nickel-silver plating. A horizontal pin assembly was put on; in fact, it appears that the usual vertical setup was never there, or else it was expertly removed. I'd love to have your thoughts on this one. Regards, Kevin

Hello Fran?ois. I'm afraid I can't get an image any more clear than the one you posted above. It looks to me like a four-leaf clover. --Kevin

I'm afraid I'm going to have to dig through a few boxes to find the photo. I'll post when I find it! Regards, Kevin

Do you mean that little diamond-shaped thing on his left lapel? I'll try my best later this evening.