Noncombatant EK2...1914

[PaulR]

Why are there only 47 non-combatant EK2s? Are they really that rare(with the ribbon and all) or just not that desireable? I know that in the modern military, 9-10ths of the military are the logistical support for the 10% who actually do the fighting. I would think that there would be far more noncombatant awards that noncombatants...

I hope that someone could shed some light on this topic.

Thanks
Paul Reck

[Vadim K]

Paul,
They are indeed quite rare and quite desirable. There were naturally far fewer non-combatant awards as it is harder to qualify for an award if you are not at the frontline. Just to give you an idea: there were some 5 million combatant EK2s awarded in WW1 ... and some 13,000 non-combatant ones.

[PaulR]

The only thing that stinks is that all people need is the non combat ribbon to make them. How can one tell?

Thanks
Paul

[Vadim K]

You cant, of course, unless the cross is on a medal bar (thats why mounted examples are far more desirable). With a non-mounted example the best you can do is determine if the ribbon is original or not, the crosses are of course the same.

[stogieman]

Any idea?

Does anyone have any idea on how many of the roughly 13K NonCombattant EK2's were awarded to women? I have a mounted NC EK2 coming from Detlev that's on a woman's bow. It's paired with the Honor Cross for survivors/widows...

[McCulloh]

Don't forget that there were @6,000 "noncombat" merit EK2s on "black white ribbon" also.
Nobody as yet knows about the WW1 status of women being awarded the EK. Some authors say NONE were authorized/allowed and certainly, nobody has yet published any documentation of a female WW1 EK award in any magazine articles or books.
I have however, seen ONE 1918/19 photo (sold on ebay.de for an astronomical sum) of a Prussian nurse wearing the KVK (1916) ribbon AND a definete EK2 ribbon in her uniform blouse's button hole.
I have seen NO references/documentation whatsoever anywhere regarding a female weiss/schwarz ribboned EK. I thought 10,000 of the 13,000 were given to civillians and post 1918.
Given the number of noncombat EK2s I have seen (ok-only 5, but out of 23 total) that have Silesian Eagles on them, it appears that the noncom EK2 was awarded with some significant frequency for Freikorps medical/logistical support.

[PaulR]

You say that 6000 EK2s non-combat were issued with the standard combatant black and white ribbon? How can one even tell the difference...even with the documentation?

[Vadim K]

You say that 6000 EK2s non-combat were issued with the standard combatant black and white ribbon? How can one even tell the difference...even with the documentation?

Thats the whole point: the only way you can tell these is if they come in a well-documented group, otherwise you would not be able to tell them from regular EKs. In some cases, if such an EK comes on a medal bar, you might be able to figure it out by looking at other medals, but I dont think it is worth paying more without substantial documentation. Dont you love this hobby?

[PaulR]

Why would they issue it in that manner to begin with.... It just makes things more confusing that way!!

[Rick Research]

"black-white" noncombatant EK is down a couple of threads on this page

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ad.php?t=36223

As for women with WW1 Iron Crosses--

Fräulein Lonny von Versen received a COMBATANT ribbon EK2 some time by early 1915. Her photo in what seems to have been some sort of self-created semi-Red Cross (a tip of white armband shows) uniform shows it hanging from her overcoat, quite a closeup portrait but appalllingly crappy xerox I made at college in the mid 1970s. It came from "Die Woche," an illustated weekly magazine out of Berlin, page 446 of Number 13. I neglected to note the actual issue date, but from Famous Old Crocks celebrating birthdays on the same page, it was late March or April... 1915.

I have also read accounts in the journals of the Bund der Asienkämpfer of nurses decorated with the Iron Cross (unspecified) in the last horrific final rout of September-October 1918 through Palestine and Syria and Iraq, fighting to protect wounded from being massacred. I'd expect a fair if tiny number of "senior sisters" to have gotten "white black" war effort EK2s.