Handmade EK 1

[Daniel Murphy]

Gentlemen,
I have a mystery for you. Here is a cross I acquired from a veteran, after he refused to sell it for many years. The veteran was in the U.S, Army and he had photos of where he served and where he got this piece. It is handmade of cardboard over which black cloth has been glued and the frame is cut from very thin sheet tin. Now assuming this piece is wartime manufacture (which it definitely is), what do you think about where it may have come from or who he may have gotten it from?
Dan Murphy

[Daniel Murphy]

Here is the reverse. The pin and catch are made from one piece of wire. Look closely at the cardboard, that is the main clue. Your efforts will be rewarded.
Dan Murphy

[eindecker2]

here is my guess - probably was aquired from a POW who found out that he had been awarded the EK1 before the end of the war. His comrades or himslef makde the cross for him to wear proudly as there were no more nice cased EK's being handed out. The lack of the swasticka makes me believe that this was made under the same conditions as that of the Laplandschild. Just a stab at the hisotry. Very nice cross by the way

[Daniel Murphy]

Eindecker,
Fantastic guess and you are correct. I had expected someone to say uboat made, but the missing swastika was the key. This was made and worn by a German POW in a POW camp in Delaware. This vet who was a guard there saw it and confiscated it from the POW. Most of the POW's were Afrika Korps vets or U Boat crews captured off of the coast after their subs were depth charged. He most likely had his original piece confiscated upon capture and spent some time carefully making another, only to have it taken as well. The cardboard is from a wartime Half and Half tobacco packet. It may not look pretty but this is one of my favorite pieces.
Dan Murphy

[eindecker2]

A Deleware made EK! Wonder what their LDO # was... Hey - fantastic EK with fantastic history behind it - would love to own one with so much providence.

[Okrach]

Indeed a great story and even greater piece

[tinmantis]

I just love pieces like this, facinating, and totally irreplaceable
lucky you!
regards
jon

[joe campbell]

danny, mi boy!
ya' done it again!

this is a most impressive piece
(at least historically!) and i can
see why it's a favorite.

thanks for the pix!

joe

[Skullhead]

Very nice!

[Erickn]

Fantastic piece! I can see why it would be one of your favorites!
Best regards,
Erickn

[WaA257]

Nice Piece!

Dan, that's a neat piece you have there. Do you know if it came from the POW camp in Delaware City? Some of the old buildings there still have graffitti from the German POWs. Not much else left there (ref POW camp) but the remnants of one of the old guard towers. When I used to patrol the Middletown area several of the old farmers used to tell me stories of how the "German boys" used to work the area farms especially Rutkowski's Potato Farm. They all said that these guys were exceptionally hard workers and very polite. I was told that many of them were captured in Africa. They used to truck them down from Fort Dupont and Fort Delaware in Delaware City in trucks. I was told like 30 prisoners and two guards! Makes you wonder if any of this old stuff is still beneath the ground there. I guess our only other claim to fame is that a U-Boat surrendered here at Lewes in 1945.

[MIKE12550]

It fascinates me when people can create something out of nothing.The POW who made this did a fine job with limited resources.Hats off to the creator and the owner for posting! mike

[Daniel Murphy]

Everyone,
Thanks for the kind words, I had hoped you would find it interesting. From what I remember the camp was in Greenwood or Greensboro , Delaware. One of the small camps that were spread out in the rural areas for the POWs to work on the local farms. There was one in my town as well. The two small barracks stood for a long time until they expanded the Little League field. One of the POWs stayed and eventually joined the police force. It was said he enjoyed using his billy club just a little too much. Most of the older poeple here remember them as well. To my understanding there was never a problem since they were treated well and the farmers gave them plenty of extra food. Ours were all POWs from the Afrika Korps too.
Dan Murphy