Gifts from Veterans
Moderator: Tom Houlihan
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- Author & Moderator
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- Location: Portland, Oregon & France
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- Author & Moderator
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- Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2003 10:40 pm
- Location: Portland, Oregon & France
A welcome gift from a veteran is a book from their personal library. In September 2003 I was visiting with my long-time friend, Fritz Hahl, a former infantry Obersturmführer from Regiment “Westland”, in his home near Regensburg. He gave me these four books about the history of the Dutch in the Waffen-SS. They are in the Dutch language and have been out of print for a number of years. Fritz Hahl had a special affinity for the Dutch as he had served in the Regiment “Westland” from 1941 to late 1944 and this regiment was predominately comprised of Dutch volunteers. One of the authors, Jan Vincx, a Fleming from Belgium, had been a former Untersturmführer in the “Wiking” division and had given each of those books to Hahl following publication.
A few weeks after returning home I met for the first time the Dutch Waffen-SS veteran HaEn, who lives near me in Portland, Oregon and who is now a well-known fellow Feldgrau member. I loaned those books to HaEn for a number of months and found them very useful in his own research. What a pleasure it was for Fritz Hahl to learn a few months later that the books he had given me had quickly been put to a very good use by a Dutch veteran living on the other side of the ocean!
John
A few weeks after returning home I met for the first time the Dutch Waffen-SS veteran HaEn, who lives near me in Portland, Oregon and who is now a well-known fellow Feldgrau member. I loaned those books to HaEn for a number of months and found them very useful in his own research. What a pleasure it was for Fritz Hahl to learn a few months later that the books he had given me had quickly been put to a very good use by a Dutch veteran living on the other side of the ocean!
John
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- Brendan Hunt
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- Location: Vermont, USA
Mr. Moore,
Your collection is an inspiration. What I think is even more impressive than the collection itself is the fact that you approached these veterans, met them and befriended them, and in a sign of friendship and gratitude for what you do, they presented you with gifts.
I personally think this is very, very cool.
-B
Your collection is an inspiration. What I think is even more impressive than the collection itself is the fact that you approached these veterans, met them and befriended them, and in a sign of friendship and gratitude for what you do, they presented you with gifts.
I personally think this is very, very cool.
-B
Brendan
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Brenden - Thanks for your comments, but I do not believe that these men were expressing any special gratitude to me. As people get older they naturally look for other people to give certain possessions to who they believe will appreciate these things and not turn around and attempt to sell them. I never asked for anything, but their time and a few photos. Also, I did not necessarily befriend them so much as we befriended each other. It is more a situation of mutual respect. Germans are a generous people, especially to children.
John
John
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Fritz Hahl was born on Christmas Day in 1922 and promoted to SS-Untersturmführer in March 1943. My son and I first met Fritz Hahl in Munich in September 1996, just a couple of weeks after our mutual friend, Günter Bernau, had died. It was Bernau who got Hahl and me in contact with each other earlier in the year. We had agreed to meet at the fountain near Marienplatz at a certain time as we were both driving to Munich from other cities. We had a very nice visit. The next time my son traveled to Germany with me was two years later in 1998. Fritz Hahl gave him the commemorative coin set below from the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The coins are solid silver and the largest measures 1.75 inches across and collectively they have a face value of 220 Canadian dollars. To my son's credit he has kept them all these years as he brought them over this morning so I could take this photo.
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At the annual reunion of the SS-Panzer Rgt. "Wiking" we were all riding in Fritz Hahl's car from Niedernhall to Jagsthausen to attend a ceremony when we stopped for lunch in a country Gasthaus. From the left are Fritz Hahl, me, Eberhard Heder and Günter Jahnke. Also, it was at the Jagsthausen ceremony where I met Doug Nash for the first time.
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Re: Gifts from Veterans
This HIAG "coaster", which is actually more like a small plate, is 4 inches in diameter, made of pewter, with a colored plastic inlay with the HIAG logo and Waffen-SS motto. It was given to me by the former SS-Obersturmführer Gerd Knabe, who saw combat with the "Nord" division in 1941-42 and the "Hohenstaufen" division in 1944-45.
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Re: Gifts from Veterans
John,
Fantastic posts, thanks for sharing your experiences.
I can only concur about the generosity of Germans and the veterans . About 5 years ago i visited RKT Bodo Spranz at his home in Bremen and spent an afternoon in the company of him and his lovely wife.Their hospitality was first class.
At the end of my visit as i am an ex Artilleryman and Bodo was an Assault Artillery man i presented him with some original WW2 British Artillery Badges, then despite my insistence that he didn't need to give me a gift he insisted and wouldn't let me leave until he presented me with his Knights Cross and Oakleaves stickpin which is now the most prized possesion of my Miliatria collection.
It was a wonderfull afternoon and one i will always remember,
regards
Paul
Fantastic posts, thanks for sharing your experiences.
I can only concur about the generosity of Germans and the veterans . About 5 years ago i visited RKT Bodo Spranz at his home in Bremen and spent an afternoon in the company of him and his lovely wife.Their hospitality was first class.
At the end of my visit as i am an ex Artilleryman and Bodo was an Assault Artillery man i presented him with some original WW2 British Artillery Badges, then despite my insistence that he didn't need to give me a gift he insisted and wouldn't let me leave until he presented me with his Knights Cross and Oakleaves stickpin which is now the most prized possesion of my Miliatria collection.
It was a wonderfull afternoon and one i will always remember,
regards
Paul
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Re: Gifts from Veterans
Great story Paul. Could you post a photo of your Ritterkreuz stickpin? That's something that most of us will never see.
This beer glass from the HIAG in the city of Coburg was also given to me by Gerd Knabe. The glass is 6.5 inches tall.
This beer glass from the HIAG in the city of Coburg was also given to me by Gerd Knabe. The glass is 6.5 inches tall.
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Re: Gifts from Veterans
Gerd Knabe also gave me several sets of lapel pins depicting his wartime awards. These pins are worn at veteran reunions. The pin on the lower left is for the 6.SS-Gebirgs Div. "Nord".
John
John
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Re: Gifts from Veterans
John,
My aplogies for not posting the stickpin , i have been having a few computer problems so hopefully will get it done soon !!
regards
Paul
My aplogies for not posting the stickpin , i have been having a few computer problems so hopefully will get it done soon !!
regards
Paul
- Tom Houlihan
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Re: Gifts from Veterans
I like that Nord stickpin. The one I have just shows the Hagalrune.