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Every personal item found on a battlefield generates great excitement. The item above, although in poor condition is no different.
It is the top half of a German identity disk or Erkennungsmarke, as described here in the museum.
The legend stamped onto it reads: 6 SS Pz. Gren. A.u. E. Btl 5 with the owners personal number being 847. This unit being an SS Panzer Grenadier replacement unit, the initial unit the wearer was placed in.
It was unearthed earlier this year (2005) in the Malempré area of the Ardennes. This area saw vicious fighting during the height of the Battle of the Bulge as soldiers from the US 3rd Armoured Division attempted to fend off attacks from SS panzergrenadiers and tanks of Das Reich.
After contacting the German authorities with the information on the tag there was the wait for a response.
Now we have the answer. The wearer of this tag is NOT KNOWN! The records in Berlin do not include reference to this tag.
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