Multiple badge holders

[Bookman]

In decades of collecting, I've had some unusual mystery cleared up. Some friends who were LW veterans possessed several badges, all earned sequentially. One fellow presented me with three. He was first with a flak unit, then an infantry unit, and finally completed flight school. Another, an early war pilot, wounded and then sent to the HG division, had the LW tank badge. A third had the radio man badge, prewar, then pilot badge (Graf was his instructor for a short while, and friendship lasted until his passing), lastly the "flieger erinnerung badge" after serious wounds rendered him unable to fly. That badge was late war, and had an additional protective coat of gilt paint. Most of the award certificates were lost, but their authenticity unquestioned. Their (current) finishes range from brilliant to worn. Lastly, another pilot had two badges, the pilot and the combined pilot/observer. He wore only the former as the latter had the unflattering nickname " wieder/noch" (neither/nor). Accepted to a fighter unit, he wanted (and did) fit in well.

[Tim O.]

It would be interesting if you have verified evidence of the Luftwaffe Panzer Award Badge being presented during the war. Examples of this badge are thought by most collectors to be of post-war production.

[edwest2]

I can understand the skepticism. Perhaps this will help:



https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/war..._luftwaffe.htm

[Bookman]

Best I can say is the old fellow showed me his decorations in a squadron reunion in 1982. His son retained it, while I was gifted with a frontflugspange fuer jaeger. I've of course seen good and poor reproductions since. None however match the one true original he had shown me.

[Bookman]

Sympathy for the tricked folks who have purchased 'fakes' in good faith. My first was 1970! Find it difficult to see Frontflugspange(n) with High numbered pendants. Example is a night fighter one with 1200 for sale twice in the last decade. Highest actual I've seen was '900' from a Stuka pilot. He was a wee bit shy of 1000, but said he stayed just shy of dying!