Hi John,
Thanks for your efforts! I'm pretty positive the epaulettes are not German. The symbol on them is referred to as "Jupiter's Thunder Bolt", and appears in a military insignia context in a number of nations, although not always with the same significance. I'm hoping the nation from which these originate can be determined by the gilt metal trim (where tresse would be on a German epaulette) and stars, and lack of a use of button...