Treasure Chest, the memorabilia of Gen. F.J. Chesarek

[Ricardo]

WOW!!!

[Sabrejet]

I think we can safely say you've hit the ground running!!

[jgawne]

Be very careful with the CdG. there are a number of different versions of it, both individual and unit- the last thing you want to do is mess with something and later regret it. TAKE YOUR TIME! tripple check anything before you do it.

 

If you do not have his records, you may want to hire a researcher to pull them from the archives- which I would suggest Geoff from GoldenArrowresearch,com, not only as he does great work, but he is the son of an 8th ID man as well.

[manayunkman]

My feeling is to leave everything as is.

[Brian Dentino]

Holy 4 star collection! Great to have family related items, and you have every right to be proud. I personally agree with those that stated their opinion that you leave everything as it is.....fantastic medals btw! It would be cool to see if any are engraved to your uncle. Great stuff, and thanks for sharing it with us here!

[Ches-Gen-4]

That star on the Croix de Guerre is interesting.

 

Is that the General's artistic addition ?

 

 

I will scan his DD-214 tonight and post the section concerning decorations.

 

Just asking, but are you questioning the size of the star or just the fact that there is a star displayed? I am interested to know, thats why I'm here. Thanks, Bob

[Ches-Gen-4]

This post has been moved to the GROUPINGS section where it can remain as one continuous post. Thanks Craig!

[Ches-Gen-4]

Documentation is all that I have to base my information on my Uncle. Here is his DD-214 showing his military history.
We were talking about the French Croix de Guerre in his medal display and whether or not it should have a star or a palm or both.
Looks like he received two CDG's. So, which is the correct way to display this medal?

There are more decorations listed in section 30- REMARKS

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[CNY Militaria]

What a fantastic group you have! Glad that a family member is there with interest to keep his legacy and history remembered. Thank you for showing this wonderful collection. Do you have any of his dress or fatigue uniforms?

 

Justin

[Ches-Gen-4]

What a fantastic group you have! Glad that a family member is there with interest to keep his legacy and history remembered. Thank you for showing this wonderful collection. Do you have any of his dress or fatigue uniforms?

 

Justin

 

Thank you for the complements. I have his dress whites, his mess dress whites, his dress blues and his beautiful mess dress blues. The one uniform that was missing was his everyday work greens. What we think happened was that he took them to be cleaned and either got sick or somehow forgot and never recovered them. My Aunt has no recollection of what happened to them. Fortunately I have all of his ribbon racks and ranks. I plan to display all of his uniforms in time. Bob

[Ches-Gen-4]

I would like to present a little background information about the life of General Chesarek (pronounced Chess-R-eck) if I may.

Ches's father (my Grandfather) Joseph, came to America as an immigrant from Yugoslavia, entered America via Ellis island and ended up in Calumet Michigan to live with his aunt. He eventually met and married a local girl named Mary Pontello. They settled in Laurium or Calumet where my dad, his two sisters and Ferdinand were born.

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In 1934 Ches was accepted to the U.S.M.A. at West Point.

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He graduated in 1938. Here he is with his proud parents.

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I also have a couple of different USMA wool blankets as well as his uniform as shown earlier.

Ches entered the U.S. Army as a Second Lieutenant.

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I will add historical photos, documents and artifacts as time allows. Thanks to all for your kind complements. Bob

[EGA-DOG]

Awesome!!! Can't wait to see more!!

[Pete-o MSU]

As a collector of MI Upper Peninsula items this is amazing...Calumet old copper country... There can't be many 4 star generals from the UP thanks for showing!

[Titanfan]

Absolutely incredible! Those custom ribbons racks are way too cool...

[airborne1968]

Another thing you should be aware of, and a good reason NOT to alter anything, are the changes made to Army regulations governing the set up of awards and decorations. Over the years changes were made pertaining to the order of ribbons worn (ie the Purple Heart was once worn below the Army Commendation Medal) or the type of appurtenance (ie star, oak leaf, palm, etc.) worn on a particular ribbon or medal also changed (ie an oak leaf cluster was once worn on the National Defense Service Medal but now a star is worn instead). I would simply set up a display of the artifacts without altering anything. After all, you're going to be making a decision to change or second quess a four star general's action/reasoning for how he wore his uniform. Do you really know the Army regs of the time as well as he did?

 

A really great collection and I'm sure the story behind it is even more impressive.

[Ches-Gen-4]

 

 

As a collector of MI Upper Peninsula items this is amazing...Calumet old copper country... There can't be many 4 star generals from the UP thanks for showing!

I think it's amazing that you find much at all to collect from the UP. I know this isn't exactly what you were looking for but I thought you may get a kick out of it. This diploma is huge measuring 21" x 16". Sorry for the lousy photo. Bob

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[Ches-Gen-4]

Another thing you should be aware of, and a good reason NOT to alter anything, are the changes made to Army regulations governing the set up of awards and decorations. Over the years changes were made pertaining to the order of ribbons worn (ie the Purple Heart was once worn below the Army Commendation Medal) or the type of appurtenance (ie star, oak leaf, palm, etc.) worn on a particular ribbon or medal also changed (ie an oak leaf cluster was once worn on the National Defense Service Medal but now a star is worn instead). I would simply set up a display of the artifacts without altering anything. After all, you're going to be making a decision to change or second quess a four star general's action/reasoning for how he wore his uniform. Do you really know the Army regs of the time as well as he did?

 

A really great collection and I'm sure the story behind it is even more impressive.

 

Thank you for your input Tom, seems the general consensus to to leave it alone so that is what I will do. Bob

[Pete-o MSU]

Thanks for showing that Bob, you would be surprised at how much I have gathered from UP veterans! Great group of items!

[Ches-Gen-4]

Lets talk combat boots....or not. The boots shown below were part of the Generals artifacts. They have his name inside each and both boots are serial numbered. I am hoping that these are or were his field boots that he is wearing in the photo in the first post where he is standing next to General Pickering. The brand is NETTLETON. The only thing that kinda throws me off is the spur knobs sewn on the back of the heel. Is or was this common? Or are these nothing more than old riding boots? What do you think? Bob



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[Ches-Gen-4]

Went through a few photos tonight and found this one. I think it's my favorite so far. Was it commonplace for soldiers to wear their
helmet liner instead of the steel pot?

[Ches-Gen-4]

Shown below is another one of the framed pieces from my uncles collection. They must have had this done around the same time as the medals frame.
The bottom name plate is chromed and the whole display is hard to photograph because of all the glare. Hope you are continuing to enjoy all these
artifacts. More good stuff yet to come. Bob

[jgawne]

That is a GREAT photo! although I'm thinking it's an Ike, and probably just after the war.

 

liner was commonly worn in non combat areas instead of a hat. You were supposed to always have some sort of headgear on, and ity served the purpose without being heavy.

[Ches-Gen-4]

Thanks. The more I look at that picture the more I like it. I'll have to have a nice size print made and frame it for the wall.

I would think that is the same IKE jacket that he is wearing in the photo with Gen. Pickering in my initial post. Here are a
few more I found tonight. None of them are marked as to location or dates so anyone out there that can shed any light on
these I would appreciate it. Bob

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[Ches-Gen-4]

In memory of those gave their lives on this day in 1941. God bless you!

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[Ches-Gen-4]

I haven't got around to opening up the Generals medals display yet to clean the glass and reposition some of the sagging medals
but in the mean time he did have two of his most prized medals and decorations still in the original cases. The first I will show is his
Silver Star which is engraved with his name and I am displaying it along with the wrist watch that he wore all through the war. It was made by
Crawford Watch Corp. and although it is well worn and even beat up, yes the crystal is cracked...it still works. Bob

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