How Many Müllers Are TOO Many?

[Paul C]

Thanks to the peculiar German custom of omitting given names from Imperial records, soldiers in the imperial army were routinely referred to by their last name with Roman numerals for additional members of that unit with the same name

Doh

Rather than simply listing their given names and ranks.

Duh.

This, after 40 some years poring through such records, is the World Record for that practice

On 26 April 1918 there were AT LEAST 17 Müllers in the 3rd Company of Reserve Infantry Regiment 83 !!!!!

My thanks to Paul for posting this since I am not online. Rick Research

Edited July 13, 2010 by Paul C

[Bernhard H.Holst]

Hello Paul:

I am in agreement with all of the above.

As a little aside and perhaps to illustrate a minute glance of humor of which we Germans are supposedly totally void:

Two cases come readily to mind:

- a highly decorated German flyer by the name (you guessed it) Mueller had a rather prominent protrusion in his face . So he was called Nasen-Mueller (Nose-Mueller);

-another, artillery officer was called Mueller-Bumm (Mueller-Boom);

Bernhard H. Holst

[Chris Boonzaier]

I remember an Austrian Braggart when i was in the Legion.... He saw me with the book "Knights cross winners of the Waffen SS" and went on and on about his grandfather being an SS KC winner.

In fact.... he would show him to me in the book!

His name was... Schmidt!... Yup indeed... cant go wrong with Schmidt!... or can you?

When he took the book to show me this "KC Winner" grandfather... murphy law... there is none!

;-)

Maybe he should have chosen Müller!