Anthony Charles
New member
More explosive topics. Paddle grenades and rifle grenades/launchers ready to do damage. The happiest day of my life I think was about 1986 when I was at Verdun illegally digging up a caved in bunker in the Ravine de Morte not all that far from the Trench of Bayonets. My German, American and French collector buddies ignored the "Interdit" signs and went deep into the heavily forested valley and found the opening to a caved in German medical Unterstand a French hunter had lead me to. The hunter originally found a dead German in this hollow, skeleton and Gewehr 98 and all his leather equipment. His head was crushed by the corrugated steel roof. When I went there the skeleton and leather boots, ammo pouches etc were still to be found! I told myself, plan a trip with all my foolish buddies, bring battery powered cassette player, lots of German beer and French bread, sausage etc and "dig 'er up". And over maybe four days that we did. I felt like I was Indian Jones and we were unearthing King Tuts tomb. One thing after another came out of the dirt. Under the poor guy crushed by the roof I found the stairs and another guy completely buried. Firs the hobnail boots appeared! Then in an air pocket with rocks and rubble and some French garbage form the 1960's (we weren't the first relic hunters there!!) I found a Pickelhaube with the cover and still on it. The cloth had fused into the Prussian eagle it was awesome. We got real drunk and stayed that way the whole time and dug to the tunes of the mid 1980's. Turns out the guys in that dugout were from that unit with skulls on their caps, Hanover I think. I found a nice skull and cross bones. My French buddy found a dog tag with the unit on it and the guys hoe address. He wrote to the address and got a photo of the guy from a granddaughter. My Frenchie buddy also found an experimental MG 08 electrically illuminated front sight in it's box. We tried to dignify our acts when we sobered up by calling this battlefield archaeology. Oh well..one day I'll pay for my sins.