David, Stijn
Stijn David was born in Belgium in 1975. His interest in military history dates back to his childhood, when his grandfather sparked his interest in the history of World War II and the associated awards and decorations by giving him some of his World War I artifacts. Already with the age of 12 years he started to collect medals and when later on he ventured into the area of German orders and decorations he made contact with a former German Glider Pilot. Inspired by this contact he began to research this mysterious pilot group. It soon became clear that much on the subject was unknown and many collectors’ myths were prevalent as well. To date the author has visited more than 100 former German Glider Pilots and remains in contact with many more. Aside from his B&D publication, Stijn David is also active in other research of orders and decorations.
Garlasco, Marc
Marc E. Garlasco is a researcher and writer specializing in military analysis. He was an Iraq analyst in the Pentagon on 9/11 and later served as Chief of High Value Targeting in the Pentagon during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. A close relationship with his grandfather, a veteran of the Luftwaffe Flakartillerie, sparked a lifelong interest in military history, his family history, and collecting items of historical significance. Born and raised in New York City, he now lives in New York State with his wife Carolyn, and daughters Jessica and Emily.
Maerz, Dietrich
Dietrich Maerz was born in Germany in 1953. He has Master degrees in Mechanical Engineering as well as in Business Administration. Since his early years, he has been interested in general history, especially the Great War and the Second World War, consequently picking up early the fascinating hobby of collecting and studying German orders and medals. His books are internationally acclaimed and considered the standard works on the subjects. He has been living in the USA since 1999 together with his wife and his three children.
Rivett, Jo
Born in Europe, raised in Cape Town, South Africa, and living back in Europe in central Switzerland with his wife since 1997. His interest for coins and the history they hold paved the way for an interest in small enameled badges from Europe during the past 100 years. Not content with what post war literature and opinion was offering - to explain not only the errors and oddities encountered- but in many cases history itself, he took it upon himself to better understand what in many cases is brushed aside by collectors or not addressed for lack of a suitable response. For the past ten years, the author has intensified his study of one specific item, The NSDAP Membership Badge, using historical research, an in-depth study of specific traits as well as forensics, to attribute the “Party Badges” its correct place in history.
Stimson, George
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1954, George Stimson has been studying the history of the Third Reich and collecting German militaria since he was a teenager. After attending public schools in Cincinnati he earned a bachelor's degree in German from Hobart College in Geneva, New York in 1976. Upon graduation from college he traveled extensively and worked in a variety of professions before becoming a writer/publisher and editor of B&D's International Medal Collector. He currently resides in northern California.
Scapini, Antonio
Antonio Scapini was born in 1978 in Verona/Italy. After High School he graduated from the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy of the University of Verona with a dissertation on the Vietnam War. Being a professor of history and literature he has already published numerous essays and research related to history of the Second World War and Third Reich Militaria. He has also worked with authors and world-renowned researchers and is the author of several important books with research on militaria, decorations, badges, and documents of the Nazi period, also translated and published in English language, including The Soldbuch and Wehrpaß of the Wehrmacht, Decorations, Badges and Award Certificates of the Third Reich, The Memel Medal, The Italo-German Medal for the African Campaign, Julleuchter - the candlestick of the SS, and others. He is married and lives in Verona, where he teaches literature and history at a High School.
Siegert, Ralf
Ralf Siegert was born in Heidelberg in 1966. In his early youth he started to collect German militaria. Initially his interest was in orders and medals, later on in uniforms, Pickelhauben, and Reservistika. In 1990 he changed his focus to swords and daggers of the Third Reich and published his first book about the SA-Daggers in 2009, followed by similar successful works about the service daggers of the SS, the NPEA, and HJ, followed by several books on edged weapons of the Luftwaffe, the Heer, and the Kriegsmarine. Ralf Siegert is married and has two children.
Weber, Sascha
Sascha Weber was born in Heidelberg/Germany in 1977. He completed his apprenticeship as an energy electrician in the division of systems engineering with the German Railroad. Following, he started special training to become a locomotive engineer. He is currently working in this profession at RAILION/DB-Logistics.
The trigger to start collecting came at the age of ten when he found the Cross of Honor of the German Mother in his grandparent’s attic. Since then he paid more attention to German history and started collecting medals and orders of the period of 1933 – 1945, and wanted to find out more about their background. Over the years the author intensified collecting with an emphasis on the area of combat awards and medals of the German Wehrmacht.Sascha Weber is married and has four children.