Against all odds…
On May 10, 1945, in a field near the Dutch town of Soest, the remnants of the German 6.
Fallschirmjäger Division, as well as ad hoc members of other units, including Cossacks, Waffen-SS and the ‘Hermann Goering’ Division, formally surrendered to the Allies, in this case to the 1st Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment.
Among the men photographed that day was this Luftwaffe’s veteran. His clothes and awards tell an interesting story:
On his pilot’s leather jacket, above the zipper, is pinned a Kampfflieger clasp (operational flight clasp for bomber crewmen), and below it, on the left, a pilot’s badge.
This combination seems to indicate that this man was at some point a bomber pilot with at least 20 missions to his name, the minimum required to be awarded the bronze clasp (60 for silver, 100 for gold).
As for the other awards, besides the Iron Cross and the Wound Badge (at least silver for 3 or 4 wounds), he also has the Ground Assault Badge (the one with a lightning below the eagle), awarded to all Luftwaffe personnel who took part in ground military actions.
He is also wearing M38 Paratrooper trousers, identifiable by the pocket flaps.
All put together, it seems to suggest that this man not only saw action as a bomber pilot, but after transfer to the Fallschirmjäger, also saw combat as an infantryman.
By all accounts an impressive career only topped by the fact that he actually survived it (almost) in one piece.
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