Westlichen Kriegerbund Medal

Westlichen Kriegerbund Medal

Ever have one of those days when you bid on a nice item only to find that you already have one? Ok, it is always nice to have a second copy so that both the obverse and reverse can be displayed, even if the medal is uniface with not even a makers mark on the reverse. So what did I get? It is a large 44.2 mm brass medal with a black enameled cross on which are the brass initials “W K B 1906”. The top legend starts at the left with “1870 DEN VATERLANDSVERTHEIDIGERN 1910” ( The 1870 Defenders of the Fatherland 1910 ). The lower legend starts at eight o’clock, “VOM WESTLICHEN KRIEGERBUND” (From the Western War Veterans Bund) The term Western could mean the U. S. or just the western states. The only geographical name I could find connected with the group was that one of their officers lived in Dubuque, Iowa. So what we have here is a medal issued by a German military veterans group in the U.S. to it’s members who were veterans of the Franco Prussian War on the 40th anniversary of that war!