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GI'S BRINGBACKS - SS OFFICER'S CLOSET


flyingtigerfan
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flyingtigerfan

Hi All,

Neat lot of souvenirs brought back by a local veteran. T/4 K O T H E brought home some interesting things, on one of his capture papers is a unit - 336th Engineers, A Co. I believe this was a D-Day unit but detail and rosters are hard to find. Some of the items were stored inside - good, some were stored in a shed - bad, very bad. I'm guessing he came across an SS officer's closet somewhere along the way as there was a "1st pattern" chained SS dagger with mint unmarked blade - stored inside! In the shed were 2 SS officer belts and buckle - one leather, one brocade, lucky the buckles were aluminum, the belts suffered a bit. Also in the shed was a SS officer sword hanger - early type rusted with a nice big crescent shaped bite out of the material. A German uniform was stored out there too, only a few buttons remained of it. In shed were also 2 metal helmets, no decal and Luft, a destroyed pith helmet, 2 poor German canteens, his canteen, K98 cleaning kit, Wehrmacht belt and buckle. Inside house were also a US paratrooper knife, Case knife, German boot knife, armband, box of his papers, patches, dog tag, ID bracelet, ribbons, photo with captured German truck, etc. Here's some pics:

-Rob

 

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Simon Lerenfort

Sad to see items that a vet brought back have faded with time. There's a metaphor there somewhere...

 

The truck in the photo is a Steyr 1500 with the wooden Einheits cab. The ephemera and dog tags might not be the most valuable but for me they are the most interesting.

 

The Pith helmet might be salvageable but would take a brave person to try and soak it and then reshape it.

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flyingtigerfan

Thanks for the comments and info. Just neat to still find untouched bringbacks, I only wish I could have heard the stories behind them from the veteran himself like in the old days......

-Rob

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USCapturephotos

Even with the condition issues, I loved seeing this post. Would love to make a large find like this myself and as you say...would have been great to hear from the vet himself about the stories behind the artifacts. Thanks so much for sharing!

Paul

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Great finds. Would like to see the remnants of the German uniform even if it is just buttons remaining..

 

The pith helmet could be reshaped a little and restored a little, would take a little effort but it could stand a chance at being semi-presentable.... Too bad these items were stored outside for so long. I'm sure the veteran who brought them back never thought that 70's years later people would be interested in them..

 

A great grouping though...

 

It validates that these items are still coming out of homes, sheds, barns, whatever...

 

Leigh

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flyingtigerfan

He had a number of capture papers, I believe the one in the picture was for a Luger and a tripod. Others were for more items that weren't there and some that were. Another just said German knife, sun helmet, camera, 2 P38s...... he liked souvenirs. There was also a Case Sportsman knife in with the others, possibly carried by him. I'll have to look for the uniform buttons. The liners were actually kind of ok in the helmets, one had a bad animal stain (luftwaffe), the other cleaned up well as did the helmet - it was a no decal m42.

-Rob

 

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Kurt Barickman

Yah, thats a great group ! Would love to see a photo of the blade of the chained SS. The SS Officer belt buckles are very rare to include the SS officer sword hanger are rare items as well and the rest of the group is just gravy! Congrats on your score.

 

Kurt

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flyingtigerfan

Thanks for the comments. Here are some pics of the dagger blade, the condition of the blade is hard to believe. I am going to list some of these German items for sale on this forum if anyone wants to check them out. Thanks.

-Rob

 

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Kurt Barickman

The blade is stellar! That and the buckles are great. I have found many groups over the years from veterans when I was tracking them down hot and heavy and storage had definitely had a major impact on many German items I found but have only really found a handful of SS items in veteranś groupings over the years and you did well on this one!! Congrats again.

 

Kurt

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