Honoring an American Hero

[peterson45]

I have always been interested in my lineage and where I came from but it hasn't been until recently that I began to research it to try and find out more and that is where this comes into play. I had always been told by my grandfather that I had a relative that had won the Medal of Honor and he would show me the citation and for a young kid it was cool but as I got older I wanted to learn more but I sadly found out that there was nothing else that my family knew.

 

What I was able to learn later from some newspaper clippings was that He had enlisted in the Army in 1933 and was in it until he was killed in combat on March 30th 1945. Through that time he served with the 18th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division. He saw combat in all of their major campaigns and even landed on the first wave on D-Day. He had received the Medal of Honor, the Bronze star and the Purple Heart with 2 Oak Leave Clusters and if you ever get the chance read his citation citation. These articles fueled my interest a little bit more to the point where I contacted NARA to get his service record but sadly it was one of the many that was destroyed in their fire.

 

But then I was given the greatest of all opportunities when I studied abroad this past fall in England. While I was at school they offered a trip to Amsterdam for international students and I began to think about it because I had known that my Great Uncle was buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery and while I was there was able to visit the cemetery and pay my respects to him which no on in my family had been able to do and for me that was a powerful experience (just as it is when you go into any military cemetery) to see all the white crosses and then to see his name on one of them in real life (because before that time all i had seen was a picture the the American Battle Monuments Commission had sent to the house at my Mom's request) it was a very powerful experience.

 

even recently I have been able to piece more of the puzzle together because when He died he left behind no family, was never married, so it was always a mystery to me where his Medal of Honor went and his uniforms nad recently with the help of the Awards and Decorations Branch of the U.S. Army I have been given some help in that they have sent me the citations for his Medal of Honor, his Purple Hearts and his Bronze Star so now I have something to pass down in my family to remember him by and with receiving of the list of medals and awards he has achieved I will now be able to go on to my ultimate goal of recreating his uniform so again I have something to pass down to later generations in my family and so it can accompany his m1 helmet which I have recreated to honor him.

 

I feel it is necessary to know your heritage and to honor those in it and that I why for me this is a great undertaking and have enjoyed every minute of it so far and will enjoy every minute of it in the future

[67Rally]

I have always been interested in my lineage and where I came from but it hasn't been until recently that I began to research it to try and find out more and that is where this comes into play. I had always been told by my grandfather that I had a relative that had won the Medal of Honor and he would show me the citation and for a young kid it was cool but as I got older I wanted to learn more but I sadly found out that there was nothing else that my family knew.

 

What I was able to learn later from some newspaper clippings was that He had enlisted in the Army in 1933 and was in it until he was killed in combat on March 30th 1945. Through that time he served with the 18th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division. He saw combat in all of their major campaigns and even landed on the first wave on D-Day. He had received the Medal of Honor, the Bronze star and the Purple Heart with 2 Oak Leave Clusters and if you ever get the chance read his citation citation. These articles fueled my interest a little bit more to the point where I contacted NARA to get his service record but sadly it was one of the many that was destroyed in their fire.

 

But then I was given the greatest of all opportunities when I studied abroad this past fall in England. While I was at school they offered a trip to Amsterdam for international students and I began to think about it because I had known that my Great Uncle was buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery and while I was there was able to visit the cemetery and pay my respects to him which no on in my family had been able to do and for me that was a powerful experience (just as it is when you go into any military cemetery) to see all the white crosses and then to see his name on one of them in real life (because before that time all i had seen was a picture the the American Battle Monuments Commission had sent to the house at my Mom's request) it was a very powerful experience.

 

even recently I have been able to piece more of the puzzle together because when He died he left behind no family, was never married, so it was always a mystery to me where his Medal of Honor went and his uniforms nad recently with the help of the Awards and Decorations Branch of the U.S. Army I have been given some help in that they have sent me the citations for his Medal of Honor, his Purple Hearts and his Bronze Star so now I have something to pass down in my family to remember him by and with receiving of the list of medals and awards he has achieved I will now be able to go on to my ultimate goal of recreating his uniform so again I have something to pass down to later generations in my family and so it can accompany his m1 helmet which I have recreated to honor him.

 

I feel it is necessary to know your heritage and to honor those in it and that I why for me this is a great undertaking and have enjoyed every minute of it so far and will enjoy every minute of it in the future

 

 

First off, let me welcome you to the forum.

 

What you have done is to honor your relative who served his country and gave the utmost of sacrifices to her, by keeping his memory alive and creating a tactile legacy to hand down to your generations. I hope that you are successful in locating the actual medals/decorations that were awarded to him and probably presented to his parents.

 

I am thankful for your uncle and your family. It would be an honor if you could share some scans of those certificates with us.

[peterson45]

Here are the Citations for the 3 Purple Hearts (even though they say Patterson they are his I have already contacted the Army about this mix up and are waiting to hear back) and his Medal of Honor Citation

[peterson45]

and here is his Bronze Star Certificate

 

[Allan H.]

Here are the Citations for the 3 Purple Hearts (even though they say Patterson they are his I have already contacted the Army about this mix up and are waiting to hear back) and his Medal of Honor Citation

 

This was some really fantastic stuff- to be related to an MOH recipient and to be able to secure copies of documents for his medals and I congratulate you for that. I do want to call your attention to the middle Purple Heart certificate. Look at the embossing on the heart and then look at the other two embossed certificates. This is a real testiment to the out-going quality of the govenment printers these days. That heart doesn't land anywhere near the center of the golden border of the medal's image.

 

Think of this- the people printing these awards to honor a Medal of Honor recipient's memory couldn't throw out the bad document, they simply used it. Can you imagine how the family of one of our current heroes might feel if they were to get one of these pieces of garbage? :thumbdown:

 

Our combat wounded and dead deserve better. perhaps you can send them an image of the lousy certificate and ask them to try again. I believe that I would!

 

Allan

[TomV]

Interesting Thread!

I visit the cemetery in Margraten quite often. Great that you've been able to visit your relative's grave over there.

[peterson45]

This was some really fantastic stuff- to be related to an MOH recipient and to be able to secure copies of documents for his medals and I congratulate you for that. I do want to call your attention to the middle Purple Heart certificate. Look at the embossing on the heart and then look at the other two embossed certificates. This is a real testiment to the out-going quality of the govenment printers these days. That heart doesn't land anywhere near the center of the golden border of the medal's image.

 

Think of this- the people printing these awards to honor a Medal of Honor recipient's memory couldn't throw out the bad document, they simply used it. Can you imagine how the family of one of our current heroes might feel if they were to get one of these pieces of garbage? :thumbdown:

 

Our combat wounded and dead deserve better. perhaps you can send them an image of the lousy certificate and ask them to try again. I believe that I would!

 

Allan

 

Allen,

 

I hadn't noticed that but oddly enough I have already contacted them because they misspelled his name on the Purple Heart certificates and I should be receiving them soon. I agree that they should take more care in honoring our soldiers because i would have understood if all the certificates were misspelled but it was only a few of them it seems like they need someone there who just checks everything for consistency so this doesn't happen again

[peterson45]

Interesting Thread!

I visit the cemetery in Margraten quite often. Great that you've been able to visit your relative's grave over there.

 

the cemetery was an such a beautiful and tranquil place and it was nice to finally get to pay him the respect that he deserves