Urkunde vor Kriegsverdienstkreuz Klasse 1. mit schwertern, Keitel signed

[jamie7d7]

Collected my first KVK1 award document, I haven't seen that many around.

This one for a KVK1 with swords is awarded to an Oberveterinar. I can only imagine he was near the front lines tending to horses or similar to be awarded the swords.

The document is signed by General der Infanterie Keitel, the brother of the famous Fieldmarschall.

I've put it in a nice Riker case along with an early KVK1 by Carl Poellath.

[hucks216]

It looks like the signature is fading a little so you will need to keep it out of sunlight. The KvK with Swords could also be awarded for courage and/or achievements not necessarily near the enemy. He could, just as an example, of already had the KvK II Kl and a stable in the army rear areas caught fire and he rallied the men to save the horses or saved the horses himself.

[HPL2008]

This one for a KVK1 with swords is awarded to an Oberveterinar. I can only imagine he was near the front lines tending to horses or similar to be awarded the swords.

Military veterinarians went everywhere the troops went and actually had very high losses (almost 16 % of the Wehrmacht's veterinary officers were KIA, the percentage being just slightly below that of the military physicians).

However, just for the sake of accuracy: The fact that he was decorated with the KVK with swords as such is no indicator for frontline service. The KVK with swords was awarded for "merit in military warfare" as well as "merit achieved while subjected to the effects of enemy weapons". Under the former provision, military personnel who were awarded the KVK for their wartime achievements in the line of duty would always be decorated with the swords award, as their service was by definition part of military warfare.

The latter provision allowed the award with swords to auxiliary- and other wholly civilian personnel if the services for which they were decorated were rendered under fire, during air raids etc., thus setting them apart from those decorated for service under safe homeland- or rear area conditions. (For example: A homeland-based railway official decorated for logistics work in the interest of the war effort would get the KVK without swords, but a train driver decorated for operating his trains under difficult wartime conditions including partisan attacks and strafing runs was eligible for the KVK with swords.)

(Note, though, that "courage" or bravery" where not factors here. When the KVK was instituted, it was expressly for the purpose of creating an award separate from the Iron Cross, which up until WWI could also be awarded for meritorious wartime service, muddling the purpose of the award. Now the Iron Cross was solely awarded for bravery and leadership of troops in action, whereas the KVK was for all other kinds of war merit.)

By the way, military veterinarians were not just responsible for caring for army horses (as well as service dogs and carrier pigeons); an important part of their work was in the field of food safety and hygiene, which included the examination of locally procured food including livestock to be slaughtered, proper disposal of animal carcasses, supervision of field butcher shops etc.