The Face of Courage is a rare title that is packed with information and can
easily serve as a definitive reference, and yet often reads like a fast-paced
novel. It is the story of the 98 soldiers of the German Armed Forces - Army, Air
Force and Waffen-SS - who were awarded both the Knight's Cross and the Close
Combat Clasp in Gold during World War II. These men were members of a unique
group. They were honored for actions that helped decisively influence the
battlefield, and they stared into the eyes of death on no less than 50
occasions. While individuals were often honored for one or the other quality, it
was a rare man indeed that showed both leadership prowess and the ability to
survive close combat on many occasions. Although more than 7,000 soldiers
received the Knight's Cross - Germany's highest military award, often compared
to the United States' Congressional Medal of Honor or the British Victoria Cross
- only 98 also received the highest award for physical courage in the face of
the enemy. While the student of World War II may find many familiar names in
this book, there are also a number of less-famous soldiers that achieved this
high honor. In addition to offering several pages of text and photographs
devoted to each of the individual recipients, the book offers a concise overview
of the creation, purpose and award criteria for both of the medals, a discussion
of contentious cases and exhaustive footnotes. Here are the 98: Auer * Baichl *
Baunach * Becker * Bialetzki * Boosfeld * Buchner * Buck * Degrelle *
Deutschmann * Dittlof * Donnhauser * Dutter * Eckert * Eisele * Fink * Finke *
Franke * Frankenfeld * Friedrich * Friedrich * Gössmann * Grunau * Hack * Hackl
* Hamberger * Hansen * Harthan * Hertel * Hinz * Hofbauer * Holzer * Jacobeit *
Jochims * Juchem * Juschkat * Kämpfe * Kaiser * Kempas * Klein * Knittel *
Konopacki * Konopka * Kranz * Kroeg * Kutschkau * Lainer * Lehmann * Lex *
Lindenberg * Loos * Lorenz * Macher * Mager * Maringgele * Meitzel * Meyer *
Misera * Möller * Möller * Moldenhauer * Müller * Obschil * Ostermeier * Peichl
* Phoenix * Pössinger * Preuss * Radermacher * Rentschler * Richter * Richter *
Rudnick * Rutkowski * Sauer * Sawatzki * Schäfer * Schlags-Koch * Schmelser *
Schneck * Schreiber * Schreiber * Schulze * Schwanbeck * Seebach * Singer *
Stadler * Tittel * Vinco.
