2 new ribbon bars

[Claudio]

Dear forumites:

Here I am showing you two ribbon bars which were bought recently by my brother Marco. The longest bar shows a pretty strange combination (see twice the same red cross/volkspfelge ribbon). What do you think?

Ciao,

Claudio

P.S.: The longest ribbon bar has been placed upside down... sorry!

Edited December 6, 2006 by Claudio

[Claudio]

Here is the reverse of the bars; as you can see this is the usual bar system used late in the war with the interchangable metal pieces. It looks as on the back these metal pieces have never been touched since assembly... but I could be wrong. I really don't like the combination of the longest bar.

Please let me hear your most appreciated comments.

Ciao,

Claudio

[Ulsterman]

I think #2 is fine. i have photos of berlin police who later went into the Wehrmacht who had this medal combination.

#1...I do not know-but Rick will.

[Gerd Becker]

Well, i think, the combination of the big one is not impossible. Assumed, he got the Centenary first and added a Long-service award, the War Merit Cross and the Mecklenburg Cross in WW1, he went on as a civilian in a Red Cross fuction somewhere. The two white-red ribbons are probably a Red Cross-award from Weimar-area and a Volkspflege-Medaille then.

I am curious, what the Evil Twins™ have to say to this one.

I have no problems with the 5-place bar.

best,

Gerd

[webr55]

Of course, enough has been said about tab backs...

But apart from that, #1 could have been someone born around 1878/79, enlisted around 1897. Got the LD2 as a reserve NCO, but was - maybe - a Bahn official (Golden Treudienst = continous service from at least 1902 on, no Hindenburg). As such, he got the Kriegshilfekreuz and the Anhalt (combatant, but I don't think that's a major problem) as WW1 awards. Later, two Red Cross/Volkspflege awards (maybe medal first, then cross) - don't know why they are not placed together. Ultimately, he added a KVK2 w/oX at age 60+. Possiple in principle, I would say.

Chris

[Guest Rick Research]

Yes, I agree. You have a former 12 years enlistment NCO who was in a "war essential" civil service job during the First War and was still in that during the Second. Reichsbahn does seem most likely.

Ther should NOT be two Red Cross/Volkspflege awards, but I have seen such non-regulation wear in this sort of "60 something" group. He probably had different VERSIONS of awards, 1922-34, 1934-37, 1937-39, and 1939+ and somehow neglected to return a lower grade-- or even erroneously got the same grade in a different version twice.

No problems at all.

[Ulsterman]

I've been thinking about this bar a lot and looked through a lot of DRK books last night. there is a photo of a mid 1940s DRK man with this sort of double DRK medal on his bar (wearing an M43 cap no less) in the same " penultimate one at the end placement . I wonder if it is because one was a replacement for a war time award or another was for cultural merit. Odd, but nice.