Okay, okay:
After U20 was lost, Walther Schwieger was given command of the slightly larger U88 on April 7th, 1917 and on 30th July 1917, he was awarded Germany's highest decoration for gallantry; the "Pour Le Merite" medal, or "Blue Max" as it was more popularly known, in recognition of his having sunk a total of 190,000 tons of allied shipping.
He was the 8th U-boat commander to receive this covetted award.
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Established in 1667 by Margrave Frederick (later to become King Frederick I), the Orden Pour le Mérite was originally known as the Brandenburg Ordre de la Génerosité (Order of Generosity). Reorganized by Frederick II in 1740, it became the Orden Pour le Mérite (Order of Merit) and was awarded to military personnel and civilians. The Order was again reorganized in 1810 by Frederick William III who reserved it solely for individual military achievement on the battlefield against the enemy. After the Prussian army occupied Paris in 1814, a total of 1,662 Pour le Mérites were awarded. Of those, 1,470 Pour le Mérites were awarded to Russians. In 1842, Frederick William IV added a civil class for scholars, painters, sculptors, and musicians. Following the armistice of 1918, the Orden Pour le Mérite was never again awarded for military service.
During World War I, Prussia's highest military award, the Orden Pour le Mérite, was awarded to military personnnel for repeated and continual gallantry in action. Recipients were required to wear the medal whenever they were in uniform.
Of all officers in the German army and navy, the most frequent recipients of the Orden Pour le Mérite were junior officers in the German Air Force. During World War I, it was awarded to 81 German military aviators: 76 army aviators and 5 naval aviators. Of that total, 78 of the recipients were officers who held the rank of Captain or below.
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Quote:Pour le Merit:
(English: Order for Merit) distinguished Prussian order established by Frederick II the Great in 1740, which had a military class and a class for scientific and artistic achievement. This order superseded the Ordre de la Générosité (French: "Order of Generosity") that was founded by Frederick I of Prussia in 1667.
Frederick William III made the order solely military in 1810, but in 1842 Frederick William IV created a civilian division for the arts and sciences. In this division were such prominent Germans as Savigny, Lessing, Mendelssohn, Schelling, Schlegel, Tieck, Meyerbeer, Grimm, and Humboldt. Foreign members included such luminaries as Count Borghese, Chateaubriand, Faraday, Herschel, Daguerre, Liszt, Rossini, and Carlyle. During the Franco-German War and World War I, the military division was the highest individual reward for gallantry in action. The order went into a period of stagnation after 1935 but was revived by the Federal Republic of Germany in 1952.
Currently the order is awarded to men and women who have made outstanding achievements in either the arts or the sciences. Membership is limited to 30 German citizens, of whom 10 must be in the philosophic-scientific field, 10 in the natural sciences, and 10 in the arts. Foreigners (not more than 30) may become supernumerary members. The order, which has only one class, is administered by a chancellor elected by the members. If a place becomes vacant, the members themselves elect a new member.
The badge is a gold medallion of the Prussian eagle surrounded by a blue-enameled scroll with the inscription Pour le Mérite (French: "For Merit"). An arrangement of F's and II's (for Frederick II) surrounds the eagle, and the scroll bears four crowns. The insignia are returned on the death of the holder.
source: Encyclopædia Britannica. 2005. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service
26 May 2005 <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9061104>.
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I want you to know that a couple of decades ago I was the arm wrestling champion of the Hog's Breath Tavern (Pub) in Carmel California - not entirely unfamiliar with the drinking (and fighting) Irish.
