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bobdina
07-17-2009, 02:47 PM
German Chancellor Angela Merkel made history as she presented her nation's first heroism award to soldiers since the Iron Cross was outlawed at the end of World War II.

The four soldiers were awarded the Honour Cross – a medal struck only last year after much hand-wringing and soul searching in a country still deeply pacifist after the wars of the last century.

They received their medals for 'selfless courage' shown in Afghanistan last year. They did not fire any shots but rescued badly injured comrades near Kunduz after a suicide bombing on October 20 .Two parachute regiment soldiers aged 22 and 25 were killed in the blast. The soldiers who rescued their comrades showed 'selfless courage in the face of great danger,' they heard when they were presented with the medals at the chancellery in Berlin.

Ammunition was exploding all around them as they tended to the wounded amid the carnage after an armoured vehicle was blown up. The blast also claimed the lives of five Afghan children. The soldiers are Sergeant Majors Jan Berges, 29, Henry Lukas, 29, Alexander Dietzen, 33, and Sergeant Markus Geist, 29.

Mrs. Merkel told them: 'You displayed great personal courage and comradeship. Germany thanks you for your bravery.'

The Commissioner for the Armed Forces of the Bundestag, Reinhold Robbe, said; 'Virtues such as comradeship, loyalty, courage and bravery are central to, and have a new meaning for, the German Federal Armed Forces soldiers in recent years.'
The award of the medals is a landmark event for the German military.

The government for long sought to find a suitable replacement for the Iron Cross, which was first handed out by King Frederick III of Prussia in 1813, and finally to boys of the Hitler Youth fighting in the ruins of Berlin in 1945.

The Honour Cross was finally ordered by Defence Secretary Josef Jung as Germany’s hitherto homebound Bundeswehr has taken on more and more overseas duties in war zones in recent years – Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan among them.

Previously there was no medal available to reward exemplary courage and – with the taboo of the Third Reich making a return of the Iron Cross impossible – the Cross of Honour was struck for those whose 'bravery goes far beyond the expected measure of service'.

bobdina
10-08-2009, 03:03 PM
Bundeswehr to award decoration for bravery for the first time

The German Bundeswehr will honour soldiers' acts of bravery for the first time in its history. Chancellor Angela Merkel herself will hand over the awards according to a press release of the federal government. In view of the fact that Merkel is in the mid of an election campaign where she wants to avoid Afghanistan-related debates at all costs, this is an interesting and important development. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily reports that four soldiers would receive the award for their service after a Taliban attack on 20th of October 2008. On this day, German soldiers were looking for a group of Taliban which had launched a rocket attack on the German camp in the provincial capital. When they were busy with securing two seized rockets, a suicide bomber sneaked up on their "Mungo"-vehicle and blew himself up, killing the German paratroopers Patrick Behlke and Roman Schmidt as well as five Afghan children. The "Mungo" caught fire due to ammunition storages which exploded again and again. At the risk of their lives, the soldiers were able to rescue a seriously wounded soldier immediately and stood by another one trapped inside the burning vehicle.
Thanks to Ragnark for requesting this and providing info.

bobdina
10-08-2009, 03:21 PM
Any other info on them post it here and I will make sure it get's displayed. Bob

nastyleg
10-09-2009, 03:48 AM
The two German soldiers were trying to comfort or give the kids something when that fucking jawa commited that unforgiveable act of murdering the four innocent children and the soldiers. Godbless these soldiers and those who have fallen.


FUCK THE JAWAS

Ragnark
10-11-2009, 09:16 PM
Any other info on them post it here and I will make sure it get's displayed. Bob

thanks, mate
markus geist is a staff sergeant not a sergeant

next week we have a lil funeral service
its realy hard without these both comrades
but we still fight for them