Mike Dwyer

Crapola!!!!

Beautiful shoulderboards! But, I have to ask.............on the color plates of regimental shoulder boards that I have, I thought it listed all regiments that had special cyphers on their boards. The list skips from I.R. Nr. 53 to I.R. Nr. 80. Does this mean I.R. Nr. 72 was given their cypher after the plates were published, or did the plates just leave them out?

Truly beautiful. One of the most beautiful modern orders I've ever seen.

Christophe, Very, very nice. My first mini.................

Thanks, Dave. I figured it was probably some royal visit or something.

Rick, Any idea how a German officer would get a medal from neutral Sweden in 1914?

Nice photo. I'm guessing by the insignia on the hat, and the style of the hat, that he's Ottoman Navy?

Thank you very much, Christophe. Yes, they are very nice photos. He looks like he was a very striking man.

Thank you, Ulsterman!

The back of the 1916 card

Front of the card dated 1916

Now the note on the back of the card:

Okay, I received the two postcards yesterday. Somehow I missed the fact that both cards had been written on the back. I could be mistaken, but I think the writing is a note from Hans von Frobel himself. I'd like to ask those of you who are much more talented than I to translate the writings from the two cards for me. First the front side of the card dated 1915:

My father had one of these! If I recall correctly it was like the middle one you posted. He was a great believer in knives and at some time prior to D-Day he taught hand-to-hand knife fighting at Fort Benning, GA. He carried his FS in both WW2 and Korea. I believe my elder brother ended up with it. I haven't seen it in years. Kind of off topic, but my dad also carried a Randall in both WW2 and Korea. When my brother went to Vietnam, he carried the Randall too. The leather handle got some type of jungle rot and the leather started coming off. My brother wrote the Randall company in Orlando, FL and asked about repairs. They told him they were very impressed by the knife's history and to send it in. They completely repaired the handle like new and refused to take any payment for it!

When Rick said, "This is the classic "penultimate" Prussian officers' award of WW2...." I think it was a typo. I'm pretty sure he meant to say WW1.

I'm certainly the last person who should be answering this because I don't know much about this subject, but from the colors of this sword knot, I'd say it's an officer's knot from the Kingdom of Bavaria (blue & white).

Breathtaking, Ralph! An outstanding display of one of my most favorite awards! I'm afraid I only own one 3rd class with swords and crown. Maybe someday................

Also, if your friend isn't necessarily hung up on getting the medals from the government, you can purchase the medals yourself. It used to be illegal to sell medals, but now it is not. One dealer I've used in the past is http://www.usmedals.com

....or truly dedicated.

Thanks, Glenn! It's nice to know a little more about him than just his last name!

Well, I just won both of these cards on eBay! Now, could someone possibly give me more information about Hauptmann von Frobel? If I'm going to be keeping his photos, I'd love to know more about him.

That would be me.

Well, I normally only collect postcards and photos of royalty and generals, and my finances are a bit limited right now, but in an effort to attempt to keep these two photos together I've made a bid on both of them. We'll see what happens.

Would someone mind letting us less knowledgable people know what medals we're looking at on the two medal bars? I recognize some of them, but many I don't. Thanks.

Red Eagle, I am guessing if this were awarded to a man, it would hang from the neck?