Walter Gericke
Walter Gericke was a German officer in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II and a general in the Bundeswehr of West Germany. He was a recipient of the Knight's [Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves].
Gericke took part in the Battle of the Netherlands and the Battle of Crete as a Fallschirmjäger battalion commander. He later commanded the Fallschirjäger-Regiment 11 and fought in the Battle of Anzio.
Gericke joined the newly formed Bundeswehr after the rearmament of West Germany and as a Generalmajor led the 1. Luftlande-Division from 1962 to 1965.
In 1974, Gericke supported the establishment of a war cemetery in Maleme which is the final resting place for 4,465 German soldiers who lost their lives on the island of Crete during World War II.
Awards
- Iron Cross 2nd Class & 1st Class
- German Cross in Gold on 12 December 1943 as Major in the II./Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 6
- Knight's Cross of the [Iron Cross with Oak Leaves]
- * Knight's Cross on 14 June 1941 as Hauptmann and commander of the IV./Fallschirmjäger-Sturm-Regiment
- * 585th Oak Leaves on 17 September 1944 as Major and commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 11