How did you "earn" your wound badge?

[Friedrich Köhler]

I earned my wound badge in black after a k98 blew up while firing. No great physical wounds but some minor splinters and chock

[Panzer212]

I haven't had the fortune of earning one myself , but one of the guys in my unit has. He earned his wound badge, in gold (should be silver if you ask me), during a private event. He was firing smoke grenades from his K98 grenade launcher when one blew up the launcher. The launcher broke apart sending steel shrapnel up the length of his arm. Arm covered in blood he was taken to the ER where he was taken care of. He eventually noticed his ID disk was missing, someone at the hospital had stolen it.

[grenadier Biermann]

Ooh My goodness

[Friedrich Köhler]

It isn't safe beeing a reenactor. Glad he made it!

[Oberleutnant Ulrich]

I know one who got a head full of cramp-ons...

[Irland-redaktion]

For a while I wasn’t going to bother posting in this topic because I don’t think it’s important but to be frank about it in the past I sometimes would've woren a black wound badge as a personal reminder to myself of the injuries I received while I was in SS uniform way back in my old skool SBG days in 1998. Following an incident which I won’t get into I spent 5 days in a hospital bed with a 4” fracture to my scull and a CAT scan revealed that I had further bruising to the brain. Following my release from hospital I then had to endure the mother of all headaches 24 hours a day for another 6 weeks and as a result I went from having perfect 20x20 vision all my life before the injury to gradually having blurred vision at close range and I now can’t focus clearly at anything up close without reading glasses.

Do I believe I've 'earned' it?
In the context of the bizarre world of world war 2 German re-enactment that we find ourselves in I think I probably have.

Am I proud to wear it and glad that I've 'earned' it?
Definitely not, i'd rather have my perfect vision back.

[scrann]

lost the end of my finger and nail bed , plus two broken ribs

[jimmyvonk]

Fell in a gun pit in the dark over a 20mm flak.... broke two ribs.... it was dark... may have been beer involved.

[berlin1945]

Fell in a gun pit in the dark over a 20mm flak.... broke two ribs.... it was dark... may have been beer involved.

that was so funny to read well earned

[paulmfjr2]

Shot in the back of the head by a blank firing K98 from a distance of 12 ", took me off my feet, peppered brass in the back off the head, bleeding etc.

[dbloge]

The units I have been in require medical attention for the BWB. I received mind for stretching/tearing a an ACL ligament.


DL

[Sarge]

Our organization requires treatment by a Dr to wear the black Wound Badge.
However if you were awarded a Purple Heart on active duty you can wear a silver Wound Badge. So I wear a silver. Goes good with my Fallschirmjäger badge u. Lw Ground Combat badge/25 (we permit a nr'd badge, as aplicable, for those who were awarded a CIB).
Sarge

[grenmartens]

we are reenactors guys - we can't EARN anything because we weren't there. Just concentrate on researching the impression you are giving and keep to common and typical uniform and kit, including awards. Black wound badges were common and typical by the mid to late war years so may reasonably be worn.

[soest]

I understand Herr Grenmartens point totally. However I do think it important if you are part of a group for the group to have some "award" system otherwise I think it could get seriously out of hand if you are doing a "generic" impression. There will always be those people who would wear every medal or badge they can lay their hands on regardless of whether it is "appropriate" to the impression of the group as a whole or as an individual. If your impression is of an actual individual that served then that may be different as then you would wear what that person earned but would have to pick a particular time of service, for example a person doing an impression set in 1940 couldn't wear an award that was introduced in 1943.

[ringer]

our guys have the same criteria as Das Reich in that it requires a hospital visit to "earn" a wound badge, a few of us have got the odd broken tooth from combat but all you get from that is a funny smile...