Hauptmann

U-502 Type IXC Commissioned May 31, 1941 Sunk July 5, 1942. http://www.uboataces...nsignia39.shtml http://uboat.net/boats/u502.htm Dan :cheers:

Fantastic collection! Any chance we could get a pic of the Olympic tray? I'd KILL for that bar with the 2nd Class Olympic Decoration in the center! :speechless1: BEAUTIFUL! :love: If you need help with sizing pics, send me a PM and I'll either be happy to help out or I can suggest a program that will do it which is super easy to use. Dan :cheers:

Hoping this is the right place for this... if not please feel free to place it were it would fit better. I ran across this review of Patton when looking for something else and found an interesting little tidbit: Still another old friend, an officer in our U.S Army Mountain Division, told me a less sensational story, but also a revealing one. He had been placed as the NCO in charge of a security detail at Reich Marshal Hermann Goering's estate, Karinhall, in Bavaria, during the last days of the War. He said one day a huge convoy of black vehicles appeared in the distance. Alarmed at the possibility of a last ditch panzer unit breakthrough, he phoned his superior, who in a short time, after checking with headquarters, told him to relax. It was General Patton's command force. Presently, the General, pearl handled sidearms and all, stalked through the treasures amassed by Goering. After the convoy had left, my friend was chagrined to find valuable items, including a massive ring belonging to the Reich Marshal, were missing. Three weeks later, my friend, who was temporarily broken a grade for the breach in security, saw newsreels of General Patton being greeted by Mayor James Curley on the steps of Boston City Hall. "The SOB," my friend laughed. "He was was wearing Goering's ring!" http://www.epinions.com/review/mvie_mu-1016042/mvie-review-678F-C76E7A8-38810957-bd1?sb=1 I'd sure love to see that newsreal... and possibly be able to take a good still from it showing Patton wearing Goering's ring. Has anyone else heard this story or have any other info on it? If Patton had it I wonder what happened to it. I've never heard of it being in the Patton museum. One wonders if he added any other such souvenirs to his budding collection of militaria? Dan :cheers:

He does indeed... forgot to mention that. Quite possible... but again hoping others will jump in here to confirm or give other info. Dan :cheers:

The one on the far left and the one second from the far right may even be WW1 uniforms as I don't see the wreath around the lower cocade on the caps. The other one in the center does seem to have the wreath. I'm guessing they are retired officers who were given the right to continue to wear their uniforms. But I'm far from an expert in this area so hoping others with more knowledge will jump in here. Dan :cheers:

Individual 1870: Dan :cheers:

1870 Bar:

Bar with Crown Order:

Bavarian Bar:

My latest:

Dan :cheers:

And all dressed up:

Well, it arrived Saturday and having it in hand I saw that it was just plain dirty! Old dust, gunk, etc. Badly stored over the years I assume. So I decided to clean it, carefully, with an old soft toothbrush and water taking care to dry it thoroughly using a blow dryer and taking the time to insure that all the water was dried up. I think it made quite a difference. I still need to get a better ring for it but have one on as a place holder for now. Used my last piece of spare original 1914 EK ribbon for it, one with a bit of wear itself. I think she's back to quite a bit of her original glory. She's now ready to join the rest of the EK's in my collection. Before: After: Before: After:

The ribbon also appears to be from a WW2 German Mother's Cross. Dan :cheers:

Also, here is the link to that March 7th thread: http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/53676-help-needed-on-this-italian-proxima-soli-order-set/ Dan :cheers:

Dan :cheers:

I'm taking the liberty of posting the pics of the Orders in question so they'll be hosted here on GMIC and if anything happens to the ones hosted on the other site the thread will still have use as reference.

Gary, many thanks for the info on the Nakhimov badge. :jumping: Sorry for the late reply but been having fits with some dental problems and I've not been able to keep up with things as well as I normally would. I spotted this one which I'm guessing is for a Suvorov academy... looks to be similar to the Nakhimov.Will have to try and get one at some point and see if it's the same construction and quality. Dan :cheers:

Wow Dave... fantastic and fast! :jumping: Many thanks! Would it have been unusual for this to have been the only award to someone? Dan :cheers:

My first and only such doc so far... don't have it in hand yet but hopefully within the week: I know less than nothing about these so anything anyone can tell me about it, including the name of the recipient and the signature would be deeply appreciated! If a bigger version of the pic is needed please PM me with an email and I'll be happy to pop over a larger version. Many thanks! Dan :cheers:

Many thanks gents! :jumping: That's just what I needed to know. I felt it looked good... but in this day and age, I'm sure you'll agree, one can't be more careful. Is it possible to come up with the maker or is that not possible due to the original ring being absent? It's not a biggie... just be a nice extra. Also would there be any harm in carefully cleaning this one up a bit? I'll be able to tell more once I have it in hand when I'll do better scans and repost. I have ribbon for it... will just have to get a replacement ring. Will probably just get one made up from silver wire by my jeweler if nothing else. I've seen them for sale for not too much out of England but the seller just makes them from silver wire... so I figure why not just have my jeweler do it here and save a ton of time waiting for a shipment from across the pond. She's definitely been there done that but I want to give her a good home and some TLC to get her looking sharp again. Again my deepest thanks for your help here. Dan :cheers:

Does this one look okay? I've got it if I want it... waiting for further info ie: whether magnetic, three piece construction, etc. These are the only pics I currently have... but hoping they'll be enough for now. It looks okay to me but many eyes are always best. Many thanks! Dan :cheers: