Certificate of the Iron Cross 1st Class 1939, German Navy, Invasion Front, June 1944

Certificate for the Iron Cross 1st Class, 1939. The certificate is in very good condition, showing only minimal signs of use. It is neither creased nor punched with holes. The Iron Cross was awarded to Lieutenant Commander Wilhelm Henke on June 14, 1944, by the Commander of Western Security (BSW). He was a member of the 2nd Outpost Flotilla. Wilhelm Henke was severely wounded when his ship was sunk during operations on the Normandy invasion front on June 11 and died the same day in a military hospital on Guernsey (Channel Islands). A portrait photograph of the recipient in uniform is also included.