WIA Purple Heart of Albert H. Price

[MasonK]

I stopped in a new shop that opened around me that had an advertisement out front that said, "we buy military items". I figured if they buy, then they must have items for purchase.

 

Pickings were slim as they are just starting out, however I was immidiately drawn to this Purple Heart and the accompanying news article. I asked I could check it out and was a little hesitant as the only provenance was this article. The heart is numbered, which is a first for me. I decided to snap a photo and think about it overnight while I did soem research. Plus, the shop had to do some research as well since it was not priced; it was put out for display to show what they are looking for.

 

Long story short, I was quite surprised to find the soldier was attached to the 366th Infantry Regiment (to be honest, based on the photo in the article, Albert didn't look African American). Long story short, I went back the next day (today) and purchased at a price comparable to the value of the heart and case without any provenance.

 

In any case, I present you with the Purple Heart of Lt. Albert H. Price. Below is his obituary which provides quite a bit of information on his early life, time in service during WWII and post war life. This man led quite the distinguished life, to say the least:

 

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituari...e_above_racism/

 

 

Albert H. Price, who struggled against racial discrimination to become a pioneering business executive, died May 3 at the VA Medical Center in Bedford of complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 85.

 

Mr. Price was born in Somerville and was raised mostly in Washington, D.C., which was still largely segregated at the time. Ambitious from a young age, he earned his private pilot's license there when he was just 16, flying a plane he would later describe to his son Kendal of Boston, as made of "wood and cloth."

 

Mr. Price was a member of the ROTC in high school and at Howard University, where in 1942 he received a degree in finance. That year, during World War II, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Army and assigned to the 366th Infantry Regiment, an all-black unit. He began training to be a fighter pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen, but before he could finish he was returned to his infantry unit and sent to fight in Italy.

 

In 1944, he was wounded there in an attack that killed 43 of the 60 soldiers in his regiment. He was awarded the Purple Heart.

 

After the war, Mr. Price tried to launch a career in corporate finance but faced significant discrimination because he was black, relatives and friends said.

"It just wasn't heard of," Kendal Price said of his father's career choice. "The story he would tell was, he would send his résumé out and he would get these calls for these interviews. And he would go and they would see he was black, and suddenly the position had been filled."

 

Mr. Price earned a master's of business administration from New York University on the GI Bill in 1948. That year, he was hired as a junior accountant at Ronson, a manufacturer of precision engineered products, such as lighters. He was promoted to controller, and in 1955 he earned his master's in public administration at New York University.

 

He was promoted to vice president at Ronson in 1968, making him one of the first black executives at a publicly held Fortune 500 company, his son said. The promotion was reported in The New York Times, prompting racist hate mail. But Kendal Price said his father never showed him the letters until he had graduated from college.

"He really made a big effort to make us not feel the anger and the frustration," he said.

 

Mr. Price lived in East Orange, N.J., before settling in Princeton in 1964. Race riots in Newark and civil unrest elsewhere in the state dominated headlines in the 1960s and early '70s, but he never showed anger over them, said Julian T. Houston, a retired superior court judge in Massachusetts and a family friend.

 

"He was able to explain to [his children] what was going on without sacrificing anything, without succumbing to anger or rage, and with sympathy with what was taking place," Houston said. "I don't think I ever heard Al raise his voice. He had a wonderful temperament."

 

Mr. Price also served on the boards of Princeton Hospital, his local YMCA, and other nonprofit organizations.

 

Mr. Price went on to work as head of internal auditing and as ethics officer for the New Jersey treasurer's office. He retired in the late 1980s.

 

Mr. Price enjoyed listening to opera, had a great sense of humor, and loved to work in his garden.

 

"He was courteous; he was polite, he was soft-spoken; he was always well-dressed; he was very, very kind," Houston said. "He didn't sacrifice his integrity to the sort of temporary values that were taking place around him."

 

In addition to his son, Mr. Price leaves his wife of 59 years, Augustine (Terry); three other sons, Earl of Brooklyn, N.Y., Glenn of Bend, Ore., and Byron of Cambridge; a sister, Claudine Penson of Athens, Ga.; and five grandchildren.

 

BIRLS File

[MasonK]

Purple Heart and WWII Victory medal that accompanied it...

[MasonK]

Reverse of medals...

[MasonK]

Numbering... Rex Products if I'm not mistaken...

[MasonK]

National Jewish Welfare Board Wound notice. Not sure why he would be listed on this, however it is definitely him as the 1930 and 1940 census confirms the address and his mother as Kate B. Price.

[MasonK]

Close up of the newspaper article

[MasonK]

Finally, a photo of Albert later in life...

 

[MasonK]

A quick question for the PH gurus out there. I know early Purple Hearts that are numbered are traceable by that number. Considering Albert would have been awarded this in 1944, I assume there is no way to confirm he was indeed the recipient of this Purple Heart, correct?

[Jack's Son]

Very nice presentation, with excellent research! :thumbsup:

[scottplen]

Nice !!! I need to find this new shop ?? He could be Jewish ! did you look for his enlistment record ? :thumbsup:

[MasonK]

Thank you, gentlemen!

 

Scott, I thought that may be a possibility but seeing as services for his funeral were at a Catholic church (per another obituary I found) and that he was on the board of the YMCA, I think that rules out Judism as his religion, unless he converted.

 

After doing some research, the purpose of these card was to record servicemen who were wounded, killed, taken prisoner of war, etc. The majority of those recorded were Jewish, but not all. I assume Albert would fall in the latter category. Here's the article from Ancestry for anyone who may be interested:

 

http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2125

[wtdowney]

Regarding: WIA Purple Heart of Albert H. Price
Started by MasonK , Jul 11 2012 08:18 PM

 

Hello, MasonK - I have read with great pleasure your information on Albert Price. I knew him well - and he was a hell of a guy in all ways. I met him through his son, my best friend for many years. You have done a great job researching his life, though there are many more stories that could be told. Which leads me to my point: I know that his son, my friend, would cherish Albert's Purple Heart. I know nothing of military collectibles, but I wonder if there is some way you and I could arrange to provide this medal to his son ? If you were open to it, I would of course, be pleased to purchase the medal and associated items ... but I can well imagine that you, too, are now attached to this great man. But I had a thought the other night on this topic: my family has an interesting history, with some connection to Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and some items of history have come down to me. I have done enough research on these items to know that they tell a fascinating story - and even now, I find various archival materials related to this tale ... dozens of articles in the New York Times archives, for example. So, I wonder if you might be open to the possibility of a trade ? I would be pleased to tell you more, and send pictures and so forth. I think you would find that what I am offering is most likely of more value as an antique, beautiful for display - and would provide fertile ground for more research. If you have the opportunity to be in touch, I may be reached at 617-262-3597 or [email protected] - and even if not interested, I would be grateful if you could confirm receiving my message - All the best, Bill SixOneSeven-TwoSixTwo-ThreeFiveNineSeven.