Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice example of a German WWII Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), in the 2nd Class for 18 years of service. This example comes with a Reichsadler (National Eagle) pin attached to the ribbon, indicating issue for the Heer Army and also the Kriegsmarine Navy. The Luftwaffe version is identical, except it has a different eagle attached to the ribbon.

This example is in very good condition, with a lot of the original plating still present, though there is some oxidation and flaking on the metal and particularly the hanger ring. The rayon ribbon is also in good shape, with minimal wear, showing just a bit of staining on the front and fraying at the end. The award is not maker marked, but that is typical for the Long service awards.

Wehrmacht Long Service Awards - 40, 25, 18, 12, and 4 Years:

This award was a military service decoration of NSDAP Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. The award itself is cumulative, so after the 3rd class, both a cross and a medal were worn, and the color indicated service.

On 16 March, 1936, Adolf AH ordered the institution of service awards for the first four classes, each reflecting the completion of a select number of years of military service.

Each branch of the Wehrmacht (army, navy, and air force) maintained their own version of the Long Service Award and the decoration was issued for four years (silver medal – fourth class), 12 years (gold medal – third class), 18 years (silver cross – second class), 25 years (gold cross – first class), and 40 years (1939 special class). The 40 years special class service award was introduced on 10 March 1939.

Professor Dr Richard Klein designed the awards. Recipients of lower year awards would wear the decoration simultaneously with higher level decorations. The manner they could be worn was:

3rd Class with 4th Class (gold medal with silver medal)
2nd Class with 4th Class (silver cross with silver medal)
1st Class with 3rd Class (gold cross with gold medal)

The Long Service Award was retroactive throughout a service member's career, encompassing Reichswehr service as well as service dating during and before World War I. As such, there were a handful of 40 year awards presented, even though the NSDAP era only lasted 12 years (1933-1945).