Paul R

It must have been a butt-pug then. Much bigger... devastating to imagine.

His Soldbuch has him transferred to the Infantry-Ersatz Regiment in early 1945. This brought him against the British. I've been able to restore a sequence of events for the battles where Major Reck won his two TDBs. On the 14th of April, 1945, the Battle for Alhorn took place. The British were trying to cross the Lethe River to take the town of Alhorn. This was prevented because of the destruction of a major bridge. Here is an account: http://www.worcestershireregiment.co...ed_b_r_n_elder So based upon the above linked narrative, Max took out his two tanks somewhere between Alhorn and Großenkneten. The badges were award on the 18th of April, 1945. I have not been able to nail down an exact date or details of the battle for Großenkneten yet. Of note, there was a small airport that was utilized by the Luftwaffe during the last month or so of the war, so this would be a key position. I am shocked that I cannot find anything on the battle- yet. I wrote to the British archives to see if they have any information on this series of battles.

Were any members able to attend?

Great stuff. Thank you and your friend for sharing. Was he an aircraft mechanic before going into the HG? Notice the trade badge on the lower photo.

Has he ever posted a photo of himself here?

Agreed. His friendship was genuine. There is nothing that he would not do for anyone he considered a friend of his.

It sounds like a really cool item. How is it named? Can you please share some images?

Thank you!! I am thrilled to be done with the hard part. Jeremy, here are images of the Soldbuch. Here are some highlights from his 40 page service record. If interested, I can upload it all.

Good day, I am happy to report that I have acquired all of the awards for Major Max Reck, as noted in his records and Soldbuch. I received a huge packet of 75 pages of testimony pertaining to his participation in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, which is being translated by a friend. I am awaiting a few other packets from various Bundesarkiv sources (Berlin namely), as well as a request sent to the Polish government. Also, I have his service record. I am now hoping that details of his service before and after Warsaw are present, as well as any possible award recommendation narratives. There are a few shoulder boards I need for a complete representation of his units as he wore the ranks. I am much closer to the end than the beginning. I am still very excited about this project and am happy the the $$ part is completed. Paul

That is a beauty. It is hard to believe that it is 100 years old! Lucky grandfather and granddaughter.

Give us a hint...? No jinx with a hint.

Is that CCC on the block a gold version?

Very interesting. I had no clue that beaded helmets were combat helmets that failed quality assurance tests Very cool. Thanks!

M42s are my favorite. It is pretty solid for ground found! Congrats.

I would love to see some close up of the embroidery word. It looks to be an awesome item. They are worth a LOT of money, but I cannot give you a good number... but close to 7,000-10,000 dollars?

Mervyn is who immediately came to mind when I saw this thread. He would have been all over this one. This is an awesome gift. I wish I had your relatives!

Thanks!!! Most likely, the Chief did not put the bar together himself. These were professionally assembled. Additionally, I assume that since there are more than five medals per row that this bar was made for him for wear AFTER his time in service. What are your thoughts?

It is a great looking bar. What is the era of the last medal?

Nice one!! It is funny how millions of these were reported to have been issued, but they are so rare to find on bars.

A super cool 1930s through WW2 medal bar to a Navy Chief!!! It is a shame that there is no way to track down a name. Regardless, I had to grab it.

I guess you will know if you return home to find the police busting through the foundation of your cellar. :-)

Thanks! Do you have images of the ground dug badge? How complete was it? I still need one more.

Cool. I was just wondering the same, as I pre ordered as well. We are getting antsy! :-)

I love this helmet Chris. Is the liner still present?

His Ehrenblattspange is enroute!! One more piece remaining... the last Tank Destruction Badge. $11.6K down one more remaining!!!!!! This has been painful, but fun at the same time.