While serving in (then) West Berlin, I picked up a very nicely framed Iron Cross 2nd Class/EK II awarded on 12 Oct 1916 to Gefreiter Alexander Bolze, 7th Company, Garde Fusilier Regiment.
A German friend, Rudi Dohnisch, saw the EK II document; he told me the story of why there is a beetle or Maikäfer in the lower left-hand corner of the document. He explained early in the unit's history; that an incident occurred. During a spring field maneuver, the Garde Füsilier Regiment came out of a field, and Maikäfer literally covered the men's uniforms. A senior officer seeing the Maikäfer on all unit's uniforms was amused and addressed them as Maikäfer. The regiment took this comment as a compliment, and Maikäfer became the unit's nickname. From that period on, the GFR used the Maikäfer on documents it issued to its unit members.
A German friend, Rudi Dohnisch, saw the EK II document; he told me the story of why there is a beetle or Maikäfer in the lower left-hand corner of the document. He explained early in the unit's history; that an incident occurred. During a spring field maneuver, the Garde Füsilier Regiment came out of a field, and Maikäfer literally covered the men's uniforms. A senior officer seeing the Maikäfer on all unit's uniforms was amused and addressed them as Maikäfer. The regiment took this comment as a compliment, and Maikäfer became the unit's nickname. From that period on, the GFR used the Maikäfer on documents it issued to its unit members.
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