ScottP

Gordon: This is not the first HV/black wrap portrait I have seen. Others I have seen are missing the skulls on the tabs as well. My guess/assumption is the skulls were removed in accordance with regulations that ordered removal for all non-panzer personnel, who - for whatever reason - wore the black Sonderbekelidung. In some circumstances it was issued to Sturmgeschütz personnel. This official may have been assigned to such a unit...but could have just as easily been assigned to a Panzer unit. Scott

Thank you for the compliment Dan! It was rewarding to do this and I am grateful for the help and attention of a few people who made it possible. scott

Paul: Not sure what their ranks were...but they are both working for Graves Registraion these days...and were demoted quite low. Seriously - I do not know...sorry. Scott

A letter Sahlender sent to the gentleman who first acquired his Panzer uniform. I edited out his address and phone.

The page with his official photo - taken in a Waffenrock when he was an officer candidate.

A few scans from his personnel record

2

Thanks to your collective generosity, I was able to reconstruct Major Sahlender's ribbon bar. In my opinion, it came out quite accurate. In any case, it completes the display of his uniform. I am attaching a series of images...including a few from Sahlender's personnel file from the National Archives. sincerely, scott

Thanks...done. Yep...from poking my nose under a lot of ribbons, I was able to determine the prongs were not put through the hole but, as you state, splayed out on the reverse side of the ribbon. Scott

Rick and Hardy: Mission nearly accomplished. The SOS this year was a wealth of little ribbon bars and pieces (Ed - so I did not have to canibalize the original bar...and in fact, sold it) and I was able to get alomst everything I was lacking...just the individual crown (although a guy there had boxes of repro devices!). The bent swords seemed not to matter so much as they originals in the image are not real clear...andthey came on a two-piece bar mission one ribbon. Attached is the result...once I get the crown, I'll settle in the Bulgarian award on the bar and restore it to Sahlender's uniform. Scott

Rick: Thanks. That is generous and much appreciated. I will insist on paying for anything I receive, however. I'll be at the SOS next month with hopes of completing my search for the various parts. Hardy - your help to date has been invaluable...and I am happy you've found the thread. I've actually been a GMIC member a while, but never made time to check in, what with finishing writing my books on GD (publishing by Schiffer this year). Then...I thought of Rick and his in depth knowldege of ribbon bars to help me determine how I might reconstruct Sahlender's. It just took a little poking around the web communities to find where he now spends his time. My first thought was anything that had "Gentleman" in its title. scott

With the exception of the newly discovered Rumanian ribbon (and devices), I have loose ribbons for everything else.... I am not in a big hurry at all...more interested as you say that I identify the bar correctly.

Ed: ....which is how my conversation with Rick began...is there another method to reconstruct the bar from original parts? I am open to suggestions....but determined to display the uniform as it appeared in the portrait. scott

Rick: Thanks. Now that you point that out...I see what you see: the darker bands. It also makes more sense that he'd have two Rumanian awards (at least, NOT have two Bulgarian awards) since he had two jobs with the Rumanians: one in a Nachrichten Lehr and then later with I Rumanian Corps. I was afraid that crown was a separate piece...what are the odds of fnding one of those? along with the swords? scott

one more image of Sahlender's uniform...from an angle similar to his portrait.

So...with what appears to be the means to easily disassemble and reassemble to acquired ribbon bar, and having the appropriate replacement ribbons and devices, I think I can complete the reconstruction of all of Sahlender's badges and medals. You agree? or am I missing anything? Scott

In an effort to reconstruct his ribbon bar - since the odds of finding an examle of this exact combination are slim to none - I have obtained this 4-space bar as the basis of the reconstruction as well as the four ribbons, and a crown and sword device (ie, the one on this bar with the Hohenzollern ribbon). Still to get is an appropriate swords, as the WW I one attached to this bar does not compare well with that in the portrait of Sahlender - i.e., the angle of the Frontkampfer swords is too steep in my opinion from what I can see in his portrait.

This image is an enlargement of his ribbon bar. With help from his personnel file and some friends/collectors, we have identified (l. to r.): EK II, Bulgarian Order of Military Merit with Crown and Swords, Bulgarian Military Bravery Order with Swords and the Rumanian Crusade Against Communism Medal. Thus, the two middle ribbons are the same light blue with silver strpes along the edges, but different attachment devices. With respect to the crown/swords and swords, it appears the former is German vs Bulgarian...probably imperial, and the latter is German as well...probably a set from a KVK II. I am informed that such miniature devices were not often used by Bulgarian officers, so German awardees usually used German devices. Thus - in color, his bar would have looked like the reconstructed image (except devices in gold, vs silver).

Here is his actual uniform - absent any awards. The location of his original awards is not known. While reconstructing the badges is easy from reading his personnel file from the National Archives, his ribbon bar has been problematic since his personnel file does not make direct reference to all ribbons worn, nor does the single known portrait of him clearly show the ribbons on the bar.

Rick: I have started this thread in order to continue our offline discussion about the Sahlendar ribbon bar. Images and descriptions of what we have discussed are attached. First - Sahlender's portrait: