Germany, Wehrmacht. A Cased War Merit Cross, I Class With Swords, By B.h. Mayer Archive designating this soldier as a

designating this soldier as a Canadian

and today emphasizes its role as a shooting sports association

encompassed by a circular border inscribed with “FÜR LEISTUNGEN IN DER HJ” (FOR PROFICIENCY IN THE HJ)

for we knew we might be called to move at any time

measuring 162 mm (w) x 19 mm (h)

Germany, Wehrmacht. A Cased War Merit Cross, I Class With Swords, By B.h. Mayer Archive designating this soldier as a(Kriegsverdienstkreuz I. Klasse mit Schwertern und Etui). Constructed of silvered zink, consisting of a Maltese Cross, the obverse with pebbled arms and a central wreathed mobiled swastika, the reverse with a barrel hinge and banjo style pinback meeting a flat wire catch, the pinback marked with code L 18 for maker B. H. Mayer, Pforzheim, measuring 49. 57 mm (w) x 49. 45 mm (h), weighing 21. 0 grams, accompanied by its period original presentation