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Para wings relic


jim023haarlem
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jim023haarlem

Hello,

 

Last week a friend found these incredible reclics in Belgium.

Id like to know more about the makers of these badges, especially the unmarked one.

 

Regards Jim

 

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Never seen an Aurocharm wing.

 

The other wing looks like an issue wing for para jump school graduation.

 

This looks like a significant find.

 

And there is more than just the wings going on here.

 

What is this find all about ?

 

Sure would like to hear about it.

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I think what this might be is a dump for a temporary cemetery. It looks like the kinds of things they would have there, and the tags the kind of tags they would be using to mark unidentified and German graves. What does bug me a set of sterling wings in the ground for so long and no tarnishing, but whatever. I assume that what we are seeing is a nice cross section of 'stuff' that was found on bodies - probably when they were unearth for reburial. I would assume that there is, or was a cemetery nearby.

 

I would encourage the finders not to sell it all off, but to keep the lot intact, or at least do a complete photo record of it. It is a time capsule, the likes of which may never again be found.

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One set of wings were made by Durocharm (that is easy, it says it on the back). The other, unless they have some hallmark I can't see, would be all but impossible to ID beyond that. Both are nice and it is pretty neat it was found buried in the ground.

 

It almost looks like you found an old refuse pit from WW2. It almost looks to me that someone just swept up all the odds and ends of stuff (including a bunch of old tags) and tossed them into a hole in the ground.

 

The stainless steel tag that says UNIDENTIFIED and has a just a number and GRS looks very much like grave marker used by the grave registration service. This makes me think that this may have been a cache from a headquarters or medical detachment of some kind that buried all the accumulated detritus when they moved on.

 

Very interesting.

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Or as Jgawne said, a dump for a temporary cemetery--which actually seems more likely to me. Also, I think they cleaned up the wings, but if they were buried and no air got to them, then they wouldn't necessarily be tarnished.

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So are we saying these tags were made by GRS personnel for deceased GI's and enemy soldiers? That would explain some of the differences seen on these dug tags.

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That lone CIB picture..it has a bullet hole through it ?

 

Very significant find.

 

I studied archeology under Graham Webster at Wroxeter on the Severn in the UK.

 

We found a Roman garbage pit in the middle of an access road from 140 AD or so.

 

We recorded and DREW several layers and quite a few cross sections.

 

We worked with small trowels and stiff brushes.

 

The way things are thrown away can tell you something about the day they were put there.

 

Very interesting find.

 

I hope you can give us some historical background on the area and units without giving away the location ?

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In post # 1 the tag and money appears to have shrapnel or other damage like the CIB in another post.

 

Is the ring in Post #1 a "german skull/SS ring"??

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I'd have to double check, but it seems I recall the GRS would make up new tags based upon what info they had on a german body- so that it would work within their system of how they handled everything. Such as working in the model 70 adressograph for paperwork. Same as needing an unidentified tag so as to record the exact movements of the bodies and their status.

 

When you develop a standardized system for keeping track of bodies, you bring everyone into it so as to keep order.

 

I would advise the finders to run all the dirt in that local area through a screen. I suspect there may be a great many small items that are not metal.

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It may have been a trash pit at a field hospital which was located in this vicinity. A real historical treasure trove which needs lots of research and preservation. Fantastic find! Bobgee

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It may have been a trash pit at a field hospital which was located in this vicinity. A real historical treasure trove which needs lots of research and preservation. Fantastic find! Bobgee

 

 

I was thinking that too.

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The German and unidentified tags pretty much indicate that there was a GRS unit working there.

 

I agree,Thats the first thing I thought when viewing this earlier today.

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My line of thinking was how do I explain the Garbo tag ?

 

We don't even know if he was wounded or not.

 

Why is his tag there ?

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A grim, but spectacular find. I agree with the others about this being GSR processing site. Lot of US and German stuff mixed together. There are also Lot of dog tag blanks in your find, that suggests the processing center.

 

Please keep us updated as the dig progresses.

 

Dennis

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Well I have to agree with JGawne on this one. There were (to the best of what I have been able to research in 30+ years) 3 different GRS places around Bastonge. These are from one of them. By "dumb luck" # 2 was discovered less than 18 months ago. AND NO! I DON"T HUNT GRAVE PITS! I was there with a Veteran of the 101st and #2 surfaced while they were doing construction in that area. People would be "floored" with what we saw and left and didn't take.

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I am reading this and wondering if I am the only one who has a discomfort level with such finds.

 

I am not being critical of those who are recovering these items, and I am sure they are being handled with respect.

 

But these are not items from battlefields or foxholes. The consensus seems to be that these are from a graves registration point.

These are the material remains of men who died in combat. Somehow that just puts a different spin on it for me.

 

I am curious why these items were not interred with their owners... rings, jump wings, etc. Items damaged by bullets... I understand

why they would be discarded. But I don't understand why other items were pulled and separated, and then discarded into what we

are calling a dump site. If they were not to remain with their owners, then why were they not returned to the next of kin?

 

This "find" is a mystery, and a sad one at that. It raises questions that have not been answered since 1944.

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