Dave Danner

The Militärdienstzeichen was established on 19 September 1849 by Franz Joseph I. It is still used in roughly the same form today. 1. When founded, there were two categories, one for officers and one for enlisted. For officers, the 1st Class was for 25 years and the 2nd Class for 50 years. For enlisted, 1st Class was 8 years and 2nd Class was 16 years. The Officer's 1st Class had the silver crowned double-headed eagle device in the center of the cross. The 2nd Class differed only by having a gilt double-headed eagle suspension. The enlisted versions had the Roman numerals VIII and XVI on a 15mm wide center medallion with a raised edge. The edge of the medallion for the XVI version was a wreath of oakleaves. 2. In 1867, the enlisted crosses were changed to 12 years (XII) and 18 years (XVIII). The center medallion was 17mm wide. The edge of the medallion for both was now a wreath of oakleaves. 3. In 1869, the enlisted crosses were changed again, to 12 years (XII) and 24 years (XXIV). Both went to having just a raised edge, no wreath. 4. In 1890, the crosses were changed again. The classes were renumbered so that the higher class corresponded to the higher number of years. The officers' crosses were divided into three classes: 1st Class for 50 years, 2nd Class for 40 years and 3rd Class for 25 years. The enlisted versions remained 24 and 12, but as noted, the 1st Class was now the XXIV and the 2nd Class was now the XII. The Militärdienstzeichen 1. Klasse für Offiziere was 35mm wide, and the edges of the cross were enameled in black. In the center was the golden crowned double-headed eagle device. The suspension was a golden crown, 20mm high (including the orb and cross), as seen in the Niemann pic you posted. The pebbly line on the rear is correct, too. The Militärdienstzeichen 2. Klasse für Offiziere was the same as the 1. Klasse, including the black edge, only without the suspension crown. The Militärdienstzeichen 3. Klasse für Offiziere was the same style as the original officer's 25, and the eagle device was silver. The reverse was flat. The enlisted crosses were little changed, except the higher class went back to having a wreath. The 2. Klasse had an XII on a round medallion with a raised edge and the 1. Klasse had a XXIV on a round medallion edged with a wreath. 5. In 1911, the enlisted crosses were changed yet again. The enlisted crosses were now divided into 3 classes as well: 1. Klasse - XXIV - wreath on edge of medallion 2. Klasse - XII - no wreath 3. Klasse - VI - no wreath 6. Not again! In 1913, the Militärdienstzeichen 2. Klasse für Offiziere was changed to 35 years. The enlisted crosses were changed to XX, X and VI years. The 1. Klasse had an XX on a silver medallion (with wreath), the 2. Klasse a X on a silver medallion (no wreath) and the 3. Klasse a VI on a bronze medallion (no wreath). 7. In 1934, the Militärdienstzeichen was resurrected in the Austrian Republic. For officers, it was for 35 years and 25 years, and for enlisted it was for 12 years and 5 years. They were not Roman numerals, as you can see by the images from Bert's Sammlerecke. 8. The current republic versions are for 25, 15 and 5 years: Wehrdienstzeichen 1. Klasse für Dienstleistungen im Ausmaß von 25 Jahren Wehrdienstzeichen 2. Klasse für Dienstleistungen im Ausmaß von 15 Jahren Wehrdienstzeichen 3. Klasse für Dienstleistungen im Ausmaß von 5 Jahren So in summary, for enlisted, Imperial Militärdienstzeichen could have the following numbers: XXIV, XX, XVIII, XVI, XII, X, VIII and VI. XXIV - 1869-90 (no wreath); 1890-1913 (wreath) XX - 1913-1918 (wreath on silver medallion) XVIII: 1867-69 (wreath) XVI: 1849-67 (wreath) XII: 1867-69 (wreath); 1869-1913 (no wreath) X: 1913-18 (no wreath, silver medallion) VIII: 1849-67 (no wreath) VI: 1911-18 (no wreath) I will leave figuring out officers' crosses to you. As for what you posted: Post #1: Fantasy. There was no Imperial XXV for enlisted, and officers' crosses never had numerals. Post #2: A standard enlisted XII from 1869-1913. Post #3: Militärdienstzeichen 2. Klasse für Offiziere, 40 years if 1890-1913, 35 years if after 1913. Post #4: Militärdienstzeichen 1. Klasse für Offiziere (1890-1918) Post #5: A 25, not a 40/35. The mother-of-pearl and the odd eagle make me think provate purchase. This could be a pre-1890 1. Klasse or a post-1890 3. Klasse. Post #6: Another 25. Bert's Sammlerecke has a fair number of different varieties, showing differences in the eagles, the styles of the crosses and the mother-of-pearl background.

Yes. Yellow with a wide red stripe on each side.

9 September 1916. I would doubt that it is a WW1 bar due to the lack of other awards and the fact that the KVK is not mounted (none of the ribbons is even a close approximation).

Here is an example from J?rg Kalies of a Baden DA Schnalle:

The Baden DA is a Schnalle, or clasp. What's there is all there is to it. It was not normally worn on a ribbon bar, but when it was, this was how it appeared. The War Merit Cross doesn't belong there. Whether it was part of the group (i.e., the guy might have helped out as a retired soldier/civil servant and never added the medal to his pre-war bar) we can't know.

It's post-1902 by the Jubilee Medal. Looking more closely, to judge by the placement of the hooks, it should be a small gold and a large silver Merit Medal. The Merit Cross is already there. The missing Jubilee is a $40-$50 item. A Friedrich I silver Merit Medal is at least $100, and I've only ever seen one small gold (and it was $800). The only odd thing is the lack of a Baden Felddienstauszeichnung.

It should be the Merit Cross, a couple of merit medals, either a KDM or a WW1 Honor Cross, the Centenary Medal, a Bronze Jubilee Medal and a Baden DA 1.Klasse. Both merit medals are missing, as well as the Jubilee Medal and the KDM/Honor Cross. Reassembling the bar would be difficult, as the second medal is likely a Large or Small Gold Merit Medal, and based on the era, would be in real gold. It is possible, though, that it is two Silver Merit Medals, one from Friedrich I and one from Friedrich II.

Bernhard Knauer, the Court Goldsmith in Oldenburg. Thread is here. Meybauer and others also made replacement pieces. Here is an example that Stogie-Rick posted in that thread:

The Navy hasn't always preferred a Naval Reserve, as the Naval Reserve wasn't founded until 1915. Most of the formal state naval militias also only date from the late 1800s. The main reason is not rooted in seagoing tradition or Navy politics, but in the constitutional structure of the armed forces. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution states that "The Congress shall have power... [t]o raise and support armies," and "[t]o provide and maintain a navy". It was envisioned that there would not be a standing army (or at least much of one) but there would be a standing navy. Thus, for land warfare, the maintenance and existence of state militias was necessary to allow for the raising of armies in times of war, but since there already was a standing navy, the same reliance on states was not necessary. Even today the Navy doesn't rely much on reserves. There is no Navy National Guard, and the Selected Naval Reserve (those that actually belong to reserve units) is about 20% of total Navy strength. By contrast, the Army Reserve and Army National Guard together outnumber the active Army. The Air Guard and the Air Force Reserve are about one third of total Air Force strength. Mobilization also shows the difference in service philosophies. As of October 5, 2005, 122,147 Army National Guardsmen and Army Reservists are called up, but only 4,610 Navy Reservists, 6,732 Air National Guardsmen and Air Force Reservists, 8,606 Marine Corps Reservists, and 519 Coast Guard Reservists. These numbers fluctuate - in Spring 2003, during the height of conventional combat operations in Iraq, more than 35,000 Air National Guardsmen and Air Force Reservists were called up - but I don't think Naval Reserve call-ups have ever exceeded 12,000 since September 11, 2001. And while the Army has called up entire combat brigades (and even several division headquarters), and the Air Force entire wings, most Naval Reservists called up are individual augmentees or from Navy Cargo Handling Battalions and Naval Mobile Construction Battalions (Seabees).

Three things to keep in mind: 1. The services have different criteria for the "V". 2. The services have different criteria for which medals qualify for the "V". 3. The criteria have changed over time. The "V" is known as the Valor Device in the Army and Air Force, but is referred to as the "Combat Distinguishing Device" in the Navy and Marine Corps. For the Army, the current regulation is as follows: The Army does not authorize the "V" device for the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross or the Army Achievement Medal. For the Navy and the Marine Corps, the medals authorized the "V" are: Legion of Merit - During Vietnam the "V" was authorized for service subsequent to 17 July 1967. It was discontinued in April 1974 but reauthorized effective 17 January 1991.Distinguished Flying Cross - "V" authorized for valor (heroism) after 4 April 1974.Bronze Star Medal - authorized for valor (heroism).Air Medal - authorized for single mission Air Medals for valor (heroism) after 4 April 1974.Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal - authorized for valor (heroism).Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal - During Vietnam the "V" was authorized for service subsequent to 17 July 1967. It was discontinued in April 1974 but reauthorized effective 17 January 1991.In addition, sailors and Marines are authorized to wear the Joint Service Commendation Medal with "V". For the Air Force, it is more complicated: Distinguished Flying Cross - "V" authorized for heroism approved on or after 3 Jun 2004. Retroactively, for earlier DFCs for heroism between 18 Sep 1947 - 2 Jun 2004, the award will not be re-awarded, but Air Force members may wear the "V".Bronze Star Medal - "V" Device for valor (heroism).Air Medal - "V" Device for valor to Air Medals awarded for heroism effective 21 Oct 2004. No retroactive awards.Air Force Commendation Medal - "V" authorized after 11 Jan 96. "V" indicates an award in a hostile area, not a valor award.Air Force Achievement Medal - "V" authorized after 11 Jan 96. "V" indicates an award in a hostile area, not a valor award.Air Force Outstanding Unit Award - "V" for AFOUA awarded for combat or direct combat support actions. Air Force Organizational Excellence Award - "V" for AFOEA awarded for combat or direct combat support actions.Like the other services, Air Force members are authorized to wear the Joint Service Commendation Medal with "V". The Joint Service Commendation Medal (JSCM) is a Department of Defense award, so it covered by DoD regulations rather than service regulations. Initially (between 25 June 1963 and 31 March 1976), the "V" was authorized if the JSCM was for an act or service involving direct participation in combat operations. Effective 1 April 1976, this was chnaged so that the "V" Device was authorized if the JSCM was for valor (heroism) in a designated combat area. This distinction is confusing, so much so that it played a role in the suicide of an admiral. During the Vietnam era, the "V" on the JSCM indicated not valor, but combat participation, and distinguished the JSCM from one given for merit not involving combat. There is some confusion in the Navy's regulations on this. They do call it a "Combat Distinguishing Device", not a "Valor Device", after all. But current regulations say that the device indicates heroism (except in the case of the Legion of Merit: Navy regulations don't specifically say what authorizes a "V" for the LOM, but the LOM is generally a merit/leadership award, not a valor award). Air Force regulations, however, are a mish-mash. For certain awards, the "V" indicates heroism. For others, it indicates combat participation. And the nature of Air Force operations makes "direct or indirect support" confusing. Is the guy loading bombs on a B-52 in Kyrgyzstan or Kuwait in direct support, but the guy loading bombs in Ramstein or Lakenheath or Elmendorf not? This came up in Kosovo where officers and airmen in the United States received Bronze Stars for merit (which is a combat award) rather than Meritorious Service Medals (the equivalent non-combat award) because they were considered to be in direct support of combat operations.

Jeff beat me, too, but I threw in some extra detail. So we know the what, but what about the who/why? I don't know much about the criteria for various awards, but I would guess that this is a group to a lower-ranking civil servant (teacher, postman, clerk, etc.), with the two service medals giving us a rough timeframe (1920s-1940s). Would the Sacred Treasure be effectively a reward for long service, like a Prussian Allgemeines Ehrenzeichen or a Red Eagle?

The ribbon bar is upside-down; the medals are in reverse order. They are : 1. Order of the Sacred Treasure, probably 8th class (unless gilt, in which case 7th) 2. Showa Enthronement Medal 3. 2600th Anniversary Commemorative Medal Emperor Hirohito (Showa was his reign name) was enthroned in 1928. The 2600th anniversary of Japan was celebrated in November 1940. The Order of the Sacred Treasure is unique among Japanese medals in being on a tri-fold ribbon.

http://shinhanga.net/dates.htm

алтан means "golden". Same as altin in Turkish (only without the dot on the "i") Алтан гадас од, though, does indeed mean "polestar". In post #13 (Spread three), the signatories are for different officers than those on the book Rick posted. Rick's were signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the Presidium of the State Great Hural of the Peoples Republic of Mongolia. (БНМА Улсын их хурлын тэргїїлэгчдийн дарга and БНМА Улсын их хурлын тэргїїлэгчдийн нарийн бичгийн дарга). These, however, are signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the Presidium of the Lesser Hural of the Peoples Republic of Mongolia (БНМАУын бага хурлын тэргїїлэгчдийн дарга and БНМАУын бага хурлын тэргїїлэгчдийн нарийн бичгийн дарга). The Lesser Hural (бага хурал, Baga Hural or Baga Khural) was the lower house of the Mongolian parliament, with the State Great Hural being the upper house. The other medal does indeed appear to be an Order of the Red Banner of War Merit, second to the Order of Sukhbaatar in the order of precedence. 1. Сухбаатарын одон 2. байлдааны гавьяаны улаан тугийн одон 3. хєдєлмєрийн гавьяаны улаан тугийн одон 4. байлдааны гавьяаны одон 5. Алтан гадас одон 6. байлдааны медаль 7. хєдєлмєрийн медаль The spellings of several of these words has changed between the two documents and between modern Mongolian usage, too. You can't make it out because it appears to be in Uighur script. It is probably a signature, but it could be a scribbled reference to another award. If another award, though, it is in an odd place. I think the three dotted lines below the order of precedence is the space to indicate lesser awards from those 7.

Lt. Col. Rowan Tink of the Australian SAS received his Bronze Star Medal in July 2002 "[f]or exceptionally meritorious achievement while serving as commander [of the Australian Special Forces Task Group], Australian Defense Force, with Coalition Task Force?Mountain, in Bagram, Afghanistan. [Lt. Col. Tink's] outstanding leadership, strategic and tactical proficiency, dedication to duty and commitment to mission accomplishment in a combat zone under the most extreme of circumstances greatly contributed to the success of Operation Enduring Freedom. [Lt. Col. Tink's] performance of duty reflects great credit upon him, the Australian Defense Force and the Coalition members of Coalition Task Force?Mountain." He took command of the Task Force in January 2002 and the award came on his handing over command in July, so this would be an example of the expedited process to which Jeff refers.

No doubt State Department approval is more pro forma in these cases, but good bureaucrats in the Pentagon will make sure every block is checked. The intelligence background checks can't be avoided, of course. It would be rather embarrassing to discover, say, that the Ukrainian brigade commander in al-Kut being recommended for a Legion of Merit or Bronze Star had hosed a village full of Afghans as a Soviet Army lieutenant. Your average Royal Logistic Corps captain, though, is likely to come up clean pretty quickly.

Some corrections: The Army has awarded two DSCs for Iraq. One to Master Sergeant Donald R. Hollenbaugh, a Delta Force (1st SFOD-D) operator, and one to Col. James H. Coffman, Jr., a Special Forces officer who was serving as an advisor to an Iraqi Special Police Commando unit. The Afghanistan DSC was to Maj. Mark E. Mitchell, another Special Forces officer. The Marine Corps awards site indicates eight Navy Crosses to Marines for OIF, but I can only account for seven. They may be counting the one Navy award, which was to a Navy corpsman assigned to a Marine unit.

To echo Ed's and Jeff's points, and as has been noted in various discussions at WAF on award comparisons before, you can't adequately compare a particular US award to a particular foreign award, since you can't even compare an award from one service to that of another service, or an award from one war to that of another, or even from different periods in a war. Consider Ed's example. An Iron Cross 2nd Class given in Sept. 1914, when it was Prussia's premier egalitarian bravery award, can't really be compared to an Iron Cross 2nd Class given in October 1918, when it was just one of millions. A Bronze Star given in 1944 in the ETO would be a different animal from one given in 1969 in Vietnam (and one given in 1965 in Vietnam would be different). And given their differing standards (and the lack of as many lower awards in the Army*), an Army-awarded Bronze Star and a Marine Corps-awarded Bronze Star are two different awards. Ed, a comparison with a MID might not be too much of a stretch, but as I recall, the Silver Star Medal was originally created to replace the Silver Citation Stars on the WW1 Victory Medal, so to some extent the Silver Star was comparable to a MID or a Croix de Guerre with Palm, with the DSC at the time being closer to a Military Cross/Military Medal (again, caveated comparison). This of course would not be a comparison to last beyond WW1. With the Bronze Star Medal, it is also important to remember the valor/merit distinction. A Bronze Star Medal for merit is relatively common, especially for the Army. As of 31 July 2005, for Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Army had awarded 27,953 of them. For Operation Enduring Freedom, the number is 8,363. As of April 28, 2005, the Marine Corps had awarded 619 for OIF and 46 for OEF (where the Marine component is small). But for valor, the numbers drop significantly. For OIF, the Marine Corps has awarded 396 Bronze Stars with the "V" Device indicating valor and for OEF, just 25. The Army has awarded 837 for OIF and 451 for OEF. When you consider the number of troops who have served in these campaigns (and the fact that there are a few multiple Bronze Star recipients), the ratio for the Army is roughly somewhere around one Bronze Star for every 15 soldiers and one Bronze Star with "V" for every 400 soldiers. I don't even have a guess for the total number of Marines who have served in OEF and OIF, but I do have a rough metric for how many saw combat. There have been 49,582 awards of the Combat Action Ribbon for OIF and 5,084 for OEF. So one in 125 Iraq veterans and one in 200 Afghanistan veterans who saw combat received a Bronze Star for Valor. In Iraq, about one in 25 Marine combat veterans received a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with "V", and one in 15 received a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with "V" (multiple recipients skewers the ratios somewhat). For the higher awards, the Army has awarded one Medal of Honor for OIF, one DSC for OIF, one DSC for OEF, 165 Silver Stars for OIF, and 37 Silver Stars for OEF. The Marine Corps has awarded 8 Navy Crosses for OIF, 24 Silver Stars for OIF and one Silver Star for OEF. The Navy has awarded 2 Navy Crosses (both posthumous) for OEF and one for OIF and the Air Force has awarded two Air Force Crosses (both posthumous) for OEF (I don't know Navy or Air Force Silver Star numbers). ____________ * The Army Achievement Medal may not be awarded for combat, so the lowest Army award for combat is the Army Commendation Medal, with the Bronze Star Medal next. The Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, however, may be awarded for combat, both for merit and for valor, so with the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal there are two levels of award before the sea services reach the Bronze Star Medal. As for the Air Force, the Air Force Achievement Medal cannot be awarded for valor, but may be awarded for combat merit.

For foreign recipients, the process is a little more complicated, and requires various intelligence background checks and State Department sign-off. Below are the relevant regulations from DoD 1348.33-M, Defense Department Manual of Military Decorations & Awards (PDF). By a MILPERS message dated 11 April 2003 (Word format), the Secretary of the Army delegated wartime approval authority for Operation Enduring Freedom down to the Commanders, Coalition Forces Land Component Command (COMCFLCC) and Combined Joint Task Force 180 (CTJF-180). On 20 April 2003 (PDF), the COMCFLCC for Operation Iraqi Freedom was also given approval authority. Although this means the general in charge in theater can approve awards that would otherwise require departmental approval, the procedures set forth below must still be followed. I assume (but I have been known to be wrong ) that the sister services have similarly delegated approval authority.

By a protocol of 23 July 1913, and a series of authorizing regulations thereafter, the Orders Council for the Bulgarian Army Staff decreed that the Medal "For Merit" ("За заслуга") "would also be given for meritorious contributions in wartime," by appropriating for it the ribbon of the Military Order "For Bravery". The award criteria were basically the same as in peacetime. It was not a bravery award. For enlisted soldiers, the Soldier's Crosses for Bravery were the appropriate award for bravery before the enemy. For merit, the awards were the Medals "For Merit" and, for more senior NCOs, the Silver Cross (6th Class) of the Order of St. Alexander with Swords (with and without crown) and in certain cases the Silver Cross (6th Class) of the Order of Military Merit, with and without crown. Wartime awards of the Silver Cross of the Order of Military Merit were on the ribbon of the Military Order "For Bravery", but wartime awards of the Order of St. Alexander remained on its statute ribbon (which was also the statute ribbon of the Medal "For Merit").

On the question of rarity, Brunswick's KVK was much rarer than Oldenburg's Friedrich August Cross. Just to add a little context: At the time of the war's outbreak, the Duchy of Brunswick had a population of a little over 500,000 (it was 494,339 in 1910). It maintained one infantry regiment (Braunschweigisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr.92), one cavalry regiment (Braunschweigisches Husaren-Regiment Nr.17) and one artillery battery (5./Feld-Artillerie-Regiment von Scharnhorst (1. Hannoversches) Nr.10). Oldenburg, though a Grand Duchy, was just about the same size (its population in 1910 was 483,042, but Oldenburg had a higher growth rate, so it probably had passed Brunswick by 1914). Like Brunswick, its main military contribution was an infantry regiment (Oldenburgisches Infanterie-Regiment No.91) and a cavalry regiment (Oldenburgisches Dragoner-Regiment No.19), plus parts of two field artillery battalions (2. and 3./Ostfriesisches Feld-Artillerie-Regiment Nr.62). And being a maritime state, Oldenburg had a somewhat bigger contingent of its sons in the navy than Brunswick. Despite this rough parity in size, the difference in award numbers is striking. As Jens notes, there were approximately 8,000 awards of the KVK2 and an unknown (but considerably smaller) number of the Bew?hrungsabzeichen and of the KVK1. By contrast, there were about 62,800 awards of the Friedrich August Cross 2nd Class and 6,900 awards of the 1st Class (and an unknown number of "Vor dem Feinde" clasps to the FAK2). To give some idea of how prolific Oldenburg was with navy awards: in the February 1918 Navy Rank List, every Admiral had the Friedrich August Cross in both classes. Among Vice Admirals, 14 of 19 had both classes. Among Rear Admirals, 13 of 23 had both classes, and a 14th had just the 2nd class. Out of 113 Captains, 46 had both classes and 3 more had just the 2nd class. Brunswick's KVK was held by one Vice Admiral and 6 Captains. Down the ranks, the total numbers go down, but the ratios are similar. 25 Fregattenkapit?ne had one or both classes of the Friedrich August Cross, while only 2 had the KVK. For Korvettenkapit?ne, it was 77 to 5. And this is the February 1918 rank list. Over the next few months, doubtless many others received more awards. Given its late date of institution and the paucity of previous KVK awards, I wouldn't be surprised if no more than a handful of navy officers received the KVK 1st Class.

Also, there is apparently another Ritter von Müller besides the aviator Max. This one was a Leutnant in 1. Pionier-Bataillon and survived the war.

Thanks everyone. Oddly, I already had Narr. He is Gottfried Ritter von Narr. He was a Leutnant with 8. Feldartillerie-Regiment Prinz Heinrich von Preußen, assigned to Kampffl.Sch. OHL I, and killed in action on 18 October 1917 at Valenciennes. He is buried in Frasnoy (Nord) cemetery. He was born on 31 March 1893 in Würzburg. Given all of O'Connor's work, it's odd that not only could an MMJO Knight disappear into the woodwork, but that an aviator MMJO Knight could. If he is not on your list, I see three possibilities: (i) the lists are incomplete, (ii) he was stricken from the rolls or (iii) the Ehren-Rangliste incorrectly lists him as "Ritter von".

Can anyone with access to a copy of Bayerns Goldenes Ehrenbuch or Virtuti Pro Patria check these and give me their first/given names? ____ Ritter von Dreher - IR3 ____ Ritter von Bengl - IR10 ____ Ritter von Finsterlin - IR4 ____ Ritter von Goß - IR20 ____ Ritter von Schramm - IR4 ____ Ritter von Maußner - 2.FußAR, 6.FußAR ____ Ritter von Müller - 1.PBtl ____ Ritter von Mußbach - RIR12 ____ Ritter von Narr - 8.FAR ____ Ritter von Nerz - 8.FAR ____ Ritter von Neubert - JBtl1 ____ Ritter von Rudolph (supposedly stricken from the MMJO roles in 1926) ____ Ritter von Sailer - IR21 Thanks in advance!

Interestingly, my 57er EK1 also has that little ring, but on the bottom arm. I assume that it was part of the die (a ring/depression from the pin used to knock the cross out of the mold). My EK2 also has the ring, and again on the lower cross arm: