Hauptmann

Another new addition to my researched awards:

Hi Paul, Wish I knew as that would definitely be cool... hoping more will come to light on some of these I've gotten but one never knows. Dan

Hi Paul, Don't know for sure... hoping one of the other members does and will kick in. Only thing I can find so far is in the green bible on page 145 end of paragraph one in the second column on the right of the page... "Two individuals were awarded the Bravery Medal six times." Dan

Sorry for the late reply gents... this week has been a bear and and a half at work... been totally wiped out! But deeply appreciate all your help on this one. The seller (truckingleo) listed a few more of these over time since I won mine... using the same set of pics as on the one I got. No wonder he wouldn't send me any additional pics. I mean I finally at least have a place holder till a good one comes along at the right price and I'm not out much at all but based on the other pics I had thought there was at least a chance of this one being real. As it is I've had to miss out on three good ones for very low prices over the last year. Seems every time the auctions end I have to be on the road with no way to bid. Probably should look into auto bidding but I've always kinda felt like that really wasn't very sporting. I prefer mano e mano down to the wire. But in this instance I've been very tempted. Seems when I can't be here watching them they go for cheap and when I'm on top of them they go too high. But I'm sure it'll all work out over time. Again many many thanks for all your help on this one. I deeply appreciate. Here's hoping I can show you a good one before it's all said and done. Dan

VERY NICE! Dan

Congrats! Good prices... especially on the NSDAP long service! Can't wait to see pics. Dan

My 57... or perhaps I should say post war as I believe these were not specifically mentioned in the 57 laws regarding such things and did not have to be redesigned re: denazification. Dan

Always a possibility. Shame of it is I'll bet they didn't get any info to go along with them. Were the prices decent? If so you might want to consider grabbing them and keeping them all together. Dan

I believe Paul is correct but consider the conditions/situation at the time. Most of them didn't have anything but the armband and a weapon. Those that were lucky enough to have uniforms and held a position of rank in the Volkssturm may indeed have had to make due with whatever was on hand. I've seen examples where they simply put the pips through the material of the collar with no tabs. It's just when I saw it that was what sprung into my mind. I checked Brian L. Davis book on badges and insignia and couldn't find anything closer. Dan

Wasn't this the one that was in the window of Dolf's bathroom at the Berghof? Sorry... couldn't resist. Nice piece though. There's got to be an interesting history behind it. Dan

Dan

Okay... the medal finally arrived. Ticked me off a bit as A) the seller never did send me additional pics and B) he waited a full week before shipping it! It even states in his auctions that items are shipped within two days. He ONLY ships Priority Mail which had it been shipped right out would have had it here in like 2-3 days. So much for $7 shipping! Anyhow, I've just done some scans... hoping this will tell the tale one way or the other. I paid $15.50 plus the shipping so I'm not out a lot either way but be nice if it's a good one. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Picture above (from wikipedia) of a cross, left near Ypres in Belgium in 1999, to commemorate the site of the Christmas Truce in 1914. The text reads "1914, The Khaki Chum's Christmas Truce, 1999, 85 Years, Lest We Forget". Dan

I'd suggest you write up this info and include a copy of a picture of your grandfather especially if in uniform during the period of the war or thereabouts. Definitely good to keep such history with the item. I assume you're not selling any of his medals, etc., but if you are considering that you might want to keep the IC as part of that grouping... again with the specific history written down. Otherwise this will just become one more anonymous Iron Cross with no specific history. The Christmas Truce is definitely a fascinating story. I've seen several documentaries on the subject and read about it in several histories of the war. In many ways it's a shame it just didn't spread and end up stopping the war in it's tracks. Imagine that... soldiers fighting a war that most of them probably did not want just deciding to stop, be friends with the enemy and go on from there. Methinks quite often that the world would be much better off without politicians and governments who tend to be the ones who start the wars... but you don't often see them fighting in them. http://aroundtheedges.wordpress.com/2009/12/24/the-christmas-truce/ http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_07_2010/post-873-127870585766.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_07_2010/post-873-127870587564.jpg

I'm probably wrong about this but I'll take a guess... possibly a Volkssturm Zugführer (Section Leader) which was equivalent to a Leutnant who's collar tabs had two pips. Just popped into my mind when I saw it... but again I'm probably wrong as I'm far from an expert. Dan

I second, third, fourth and fifth that motion... WE WANT/NEED YOU BACK RICK!!!! But even these posts by proxy help... miss you something awful! Just not the same without you! Re: the subject at hand... wasn't even born yet (not till Aug. 13th 1962) but even catalogs from the 60's bring the same feelings to me as this does to you. Unbelievable what things went for, even considering what money was worth back then (the good old days when silver was still part of our coinage and currency and was WORTH SOMETHING... as opposed to nowadays when even cents are only copper plated and none of it is really worth a hoot. Dan

Also this cockade (sellers description) is supposed to be included with the set... although it's not pictured in the full set just as a separate piece. Dan

I don't have a closeup of the Border Guards badge but happy to do that once it arrives (which I hope will be soon). I'll be checking out things on the case and will be happy to do additional shots if anything unusual pops up. Dan

Hi Gordon. Good to hear from you! Ask and ye shall receive.