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December 7th, 1941.....USS Oklahoma Purple Heart.


Jack's Son
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"Pearl Harbor pair to Chief Pharmacist's mate James T. Cheshire USS Oklahoma (BB-37). Purple Heart, gilt split brooch, and engraved, "James T./Cheshire/CPhM/USN".

 

Navy good conduct medal hand engrave "CSC/75519/James T./Cheshire/U__Medical School/Washington DC/ 192_" .

 

 

Pin back bars 1937 and 1940; with several very heavy corroded uniform buttons, a small crucifix, and a small 'stamp' with his name in cursive, the good conduct medal is heavily corroded from seawater having been recovered from the sunken hull of the USS Oklahoma.

 

CPhM James T. Cheshire was born in May 1902 in New Hope Kentucky. He and 429 shipmates were killed in action on 7 December 1941 when the USS Oklahoma (BB-37) capsized and sunk on battleship row after being hit by five Japanese torpedoes.

 

The ship was righted in 1943 and teams went aboard to recover human remains before repairs begun. The Good Conduct Medal was apparently recovered during that recovery effort CPhM Cheshire is commemorated by the Naval Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu" (Quote, JFP.)

 

post-8213-0-01885400-1365397706.jpg

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ludwigh1980

Nearly brings tears to my eyes. It is groups like this that drives home our sacred duty in preserving these artifacts. Thank you James T. Cheshire. No amount of gratitude can emulate the sacrifice that you made on that day in the service of our country. Rest in Peace. Thanks for bringing his story to the forum Jack's Son.

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wartimecollectables.com

I've owned a few Dec. 7, 1941 Purple Hearts to include a couple Army examples. But this is by far the most amazing example I've seen. One almost never encounters artifacts from Pearl Harbor vessels let alone items to accompany the man's award. If you read the story of the sinking of the Oklahoma, the crew was incredible. Many remained in the fight after abandoning ship. The first American Chaplain to die in WWII was the one aboard the Oklahoma. Guess I have a soft spot for this vessel, years ago I owned the Captains sword as obtained off the vessel during rescue attempts on Dec. 8th. Glad to see this group in good hands!

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WOW! the recovered artifacts with the PH really makes this grouping real. The PH while amazing in itself was never worn by this sailor. it is the other items that really bring home the personal loss. Thanks for showing.

 

Mike

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Robin,

 

Congratualtions on winning this piece. I was wondering who had won it. A very moving piece to say the least.

 

Gary B

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Sobering .I am glad you could obtain this grouping and post it for everybody to share. Thanks, Robert

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Hey JS...welcome back to the forum! Good to have you back "on deck" again! Hope you're well on the road to recovery? First class medal / story...as usual! ;)

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Raidercollector

Very rare group. To have and Cherish. Glad you have it. Thanks for sharing it. Love those recovered items, What a group.

Nick

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Wow, fantastic group Robin! That would be perfect for displaying in an old brass porthole one of the members often uses.

 

Mark

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Brian Dentino

Another outstanding, historical, and poignant grouping R! The whole really tells the story/sacrifice made by so many.....thanks for sharing it with us.

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Eye-popping group. I'm going to have to list this as my favorite Navy KIA group that I have ever seen.

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I was really taken by this group as well, thank you all for your comments. I have an appointment to have high magnification pix taken later this week, I'll add them. :)

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