ID tag found on USAAF airbase

[Steve T]

Hi guys

Thought I'd post this here as some of you experts on German ID tags may not visit the forum where this has been posted originally.

August 13th 2010 I found a German tag on an USAAF airbase in England, amongst many other items. The base was used as a POW camp at the end of the war and I keep finding German items there. Mostly I find buttons but I have now found 3 'half' tags.

My theory is that one or more of the POWs had taken the 'half' tag from a fallen comrade, with a view to notifying their superior of the man who had been killed, only to find themselves a POW before they could hand them in. In England, they decided that, as the war had ended, no-one would be in a position to accept the tags so they have dropped them at the camp.

Here is the latest one I have found. Any information on it would be most welcome. It reads;

Stamm Kp Pz Gren Ers Bt 164
305

The 'brass rubbing' was me just making sure



Thanks for your help

Steve T

[Matt L]

Unfortunately, that's the wrong half to be taken for notification- that's the top which stays with the body. Broken discs seem to be common at some POW sites, and sometimes both halves are found, suggesting the disc was broken purposely to 'destroy' it- perhaps when prisoners were processed, their original ID was taken and they were given prison tags, the old Wehrmacht ones broken so they were clearly already 'used'; given the witch hunt for SS men at the end of the war, it's a likely tactic to prevent any from posing as Wehrmacht (as did happen). But it's not a dead-man's disc

[Steve T]

Matt L

Thanks for the info

No.....I realised it isn't a 'dead' man's half. I don't know if you can recall but I have found 2 other 'half' discs at this site, both of which were deadmans halves, both of which had been snapped into half again, (therefore into quarters).

I was more interested in the possible tracking of the soldier himself, although I realise this is virtually impossible, it would be nice to have some idea of his final unit, rather than the replacement Battalion he appears to have come from.

Cheers

Steve T

[Inf Div 121]

If You can read German....

Infanterie-Ersatz-Bataillon 64 - Lexikon der Wehrmacht

[Steve T]

Thanks ID 121.

It was batallion 164 though

I found them. Google translator works well.

Cheers

Steve T

[Inf Div 121]

Steve, I think that there is letter l because I see that there is is dot after it and it is bigger than 64.

Panzer-Grenadier-Ersatz-Bataillone 164 never existed Panzergrenadier-Ersatz-Bataillone - Lexikon der Wehrmacht

Andris

[Steve T]

ID 121

You are, sir, totally correct ! It says Btl 64, not Bt 164 as I had read it.

Many many thanks

Steve T

[Matt L]

Generally Ersatz units supplied the Regimenter of the same Wehrkreis at least- the 'connection' between field units and Ersatz units was sometimes just an ideal or a paper association; often enough, when I looked into it, a soldier went to a unit that was not the one his Ersatz unit was supposed to supply, but most of the time it was one at least in the same Wehrkreis. The Lexikon should show you all the reasonable possibilities. There wasn't any shortage of transferring too so really anything you find is just a possibility, no more unfortunately.

[Killroy]

Which USAF base did you find these at? I am near some myself here in Texas and would love a little treasue hunting. And also hows it going guys im new to the forum.