Unsung heroes and less desirable units.

[Angel Farré]

Here we have a photo from a platoon in the autumm of 1.942. They were from N.A.229, one of those unit without KC winners, no DKiG winners, never named in the Wehrmacht reports, but take a look on this group of soldiers.

We have here a group of one unteroffizier, two gefreiters and five privates, look at his uniforms, all of them are decorated soldiers, all have suffered the rigors of the first winter and proudly wears his Ostmedaille ribbons, 4 of them has performed scepcionally well and were decorated with the KVK II with swords, but not being enough, in a platoon from a non combat unit, a unit that all of us associated with rear post, two of the soldiers has been awarded the EK II.

Sometimes we forget that being in a N.A. was not so glamorous as being a tanker of a pilot, but they also risk their lives, share the combat with his other comrades and performed their duty beyond what they were requested.

I like to see more examples of this type of soldiers, cookers, melders, supply troops, transport pilots,.... those without them no GD division or LSSAH could exist.

Angel

[D. Löwenhamn]

I'm no ribbon expert but shouldn't that be three EKII instead of two?

Best regards/ Daniel

[Angel Farré]

No, from left to right we have, private, Ostmedaille in the buttonhole, private, EK II and Ostmedaille in the buttonhole, private, KVK and Ostmedaille in the buttonhole, private, KVK and Ostmedaille as ribbonbar over pocket, gefreiter KVK and Ostmedaille in the buttonhole, private, Ostmedaille in the buttonhole, gefreiter, Ostmedaille in the buttonhole and finally at fron unteroffizier with a ribbonbar over his pocket with EK II, Ostmedaille and KVK.

Angel

[Tyler Ramsey]

Here is another group that is not known

this type of soldiers, cookers, melders, supply troops, transport pilots,.... those without them no GD division or LSSAH could exist.

I know what you are talking about, My Great Uncle was a Truck Driver for the Heer, and drove from 1944-45, people laugh at me when I get done telling them about my Great Grand Father who was in the Waffen-SS and winner of the EKII, and EKI, and they start laughing when I tell them about my Great Uncle who was a Truck driver. And I tell them they were just as important as the infantry soldiers.

[Angel Farré]

Tyler, that's the idea, people must start to apreciate the service that man done during the war. I don't think that a Tiger commander would be happy if his tank received no ammo or gas because noone wanted to be a supply driver or a fighter pilot couldn't flight because was not so glamorous to be a "blackman". I remember talking with frontline soldiers how they talk about melders and cookers who risked thier lives to bring hot food to the firstline trenchs or a fighter pilot who always remember that he couldn't shoot down a single enemy aircraft if his mechanics hadn't spent nights and nights repairing his aircraft.

We tend to glorify some soldiers and relegate others without a true reason, of course there wereperpetual rear soldiers that do nothing that could be named military, but thousand of others did their best to help his comrades.

Also we always have in mind the names of known RK and DKiG winners, but how many soldiers perform well beyond the call of duty but no officer was present or simply higher authority deceided that he didn't deserve further atention? I remember a conversation with a former infantry NCO who told me how at the end of the war the sector where he was was heavily attacked, it was a nameless position defended by a bunch of soldiers, no important to anybody except the poor fellows that were there, they wetre almost surrender and all had more or less clear that this was the end of his life or the beggining of a tour to Siberia, but suddenly appears an officer with some other soldiers, they attacked the soviet tanks, destroyed some with Panzerfaust, the enemy withdrawn, the officer told them to retreat to the divisional reagroup point and disappear, he always told me that how this officer saved the situation, rescuing him and his men and directing the attack was almost meritoriou of the KC (i suppose overstimated) but he never saw him again, no clue who he was or if he was part of his unit. This is just a small point to the hundreds if not thousands of small acts of courage that ended with no award, no mention, nothing except the remembers of those who saw them. (Incidentally this NCO ended the war in Austria, he and three other soldiers coming from the same village decided not to surrender and escape to his town, they found a Jeep used by the soviets and decided to take without asking his owners, driving only by night and using secondary roads they spent two weeks to finally arrive home where they hide his weapons and documents and destroyed their uniforms, no soldier ever disturbed them, he continued to work at his family farm till he decided to retire and moved to my island, someday I was on holiday at the pool of an apartment complex where I have one and I was reading a book relating german panzers, an old man look over my shoulder and after a moment of doubt he told me in low voice "I fought alongside this" the rest you can image it, we spent several beautifull summer nights drinking beer and talking, unafortunately he died a couple of years ago, still contact with his granson, he has now a beautifull P38 and the Soldbuch and some documents and photos from this brave soldier)

Angel