"Das Reich" field made DKiG with provenance

[vonStubben]

Reverse

[Ludwig]

vonS-

IMHO, the talent and the materials WERE present
to successfully complete a project like this "im felde".
perhaps not in the forward lines, but the support areas,
where in 1942 or later it was make do or don't have.

and while it certainly makes sense to maintain a level
of skepticism, there is a point where making an assumption
based on what YOU know to be credible is a reasonable option.

i have found this to be a most interesting thread.
thank you.

joe

Agree!
Field-made doesn´t have to mean, that the cross was made in a muddy trench.
A panzer division was a small society so to speak, with a lot of possibilities.

[ApathyL]

Great thread guys!, unfortunatly for a story is just a story. To me that is not hard provence, what if he lost his original type, and went and bought a bad fake and just said, "the boys made it".... anyhow good luck and all the best.


Regards, Les.

[vonStubben]

This past Friday (3-13-09) I had the pleasure of finally meeting the man from whom I purchased this DKiG as we had never met before, our contact had only been via the telephone and e-mail (I bought the award through the mail from him). Prior to our meeting I forwarded him my user name and password so that he could review this thread. He was very impressed with what we are doing here and re-emphasized that all is as reported with no exaggeration. He also gave me this photo that he took of Weiss in 1952 on a day that they went together to visit FM E. Rommel's grave. One of the quotes by Weiss to my friend was quoted to me as him saying, "Hervey, the American soldier was a very good soldier, but, the war was not won simply by them, it was won by the American people. For every 500 aircraft we would shoot down the next day there would be 500 more to replace it, if we destroyed 500 tanks, the next day there would be another 500 to take their place. It was not the soldier, it was the American people".

Now here is a story totally unknown to any historians except those who were there. Otto Weidinger was with Weiss when returning from an SS reunion in Austria. While in the Italian Alps, which they had to cross to get back into Germany, Weiss suffered a massive heart attack behind the wheel and drove off the mountain road. Weidinger barely survived this accident. When the Italian authorities picked up Weiss's body Weidinger removed his personal effects which included his wallet and passport as he did not trust their safety with these "authorities". Once it was learned who these men were the "authorities" refused to release Weiss's body for it's return to Germany for buriel. The daughter of Weiss telephoned Hervey here in the States and asked if he could help knowing that he had very good connections throughout the U.S. Government. In turn Hervey contacted a good friend of his by the name Paul Rogers (Democrate, Florida) who was a U.S. Congressman. Congressman Rogers then contacted friends within the U.S. State Dept. and within a couple of days Weiss was released by the Italians and received a proper buriel. This I found VERY interesting and I hope you do too.

In ending this thread I would like to say that this DKiG of Hans Weiss will soon be appearing in a major reference book (where it rightly belongs) that is being written by a highly regarded member of our community and this pleases me and Hervey R. tremendously.

[Ludwig]

That was a really interesting story, Chuck!!!
Funny that the former enemies helped/"saved" the Weiss family from Weiss´ former allies...

[vonStubben]

That was a really interesting story, Chuck!!!
Funny that the former enemies helped/"saved" the Weiss family from Weiss´ former allies...

Yes,................"time heals all wounds",.................except for some who refuse to let it!

[Mike Yokum]

A fascinating story and as far as the validity of the award, it is obviously not an attempt at a fake, it's too crude for that. I find it a very plausible piece of history.