WW1 Mameluke of Lt. Herman R Holljes, 5th Marines AEF

[nchistory]

Just picked this up, probably dates to his commission in 1917.

Name: Herman Richard Holljes

Race: white

Address: 3018 N. Calvert St., Baltimore

Birth Place: Baltimore, Md.

Birth Date: 08 Aug 1891

Comment: USMCR 4/20/17 2 lt; USMC 9/1/17 2 lt; 1 lt 12/17/17, Mar Bks Paris Is. S.C. 5/17/17; Quantico Va. 6/13/17; 7 Co 5 Regt Base Det; Asst Fire Marshall St Nazaire France 9/10/17; 45 Co 5 Regt 1/9/18; Hq 3 Bn 5 Regt 4/-/18; Hosp AEF 5/16/18; Naval Hosp New York N.Y. 7/21/18; Naval Hosp Ft Lyon Colo. 9/3/18, Retired 5/24/19, Overseas 8/22/17 to 7/13/18, Toulon-Troyon Sector

Maryland in the World War 1917-1919; Military and Naval Service Records, Volumes I & II

Serbian

Order of St. Sava

[nchistory]

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Holljes on left

 

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Herman R. Holljes was born August 8, 1891. He was graduated from St. John's College, Annapolis, Maryland, and then entered the service of the railroad October 1, 1913, taking a special apprentice course at Mt. Clare, upon completion of which he entered the Test Bureau as material inspector March 6, 1917. He was furloughed April 30, 1917, to take a commission as second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. He was later promoted to first lieutenant. In the photograph on the next page showing two lieutenants, he is the one on the left. He writes as follows:

Dear Mr. Onderdonk:

Just a few lines to let you know that I am still safe and feeling fine. Expect to land sometime tomorrow, where, I do not know, could not tell if I did, but it is somewhere on the other side. At present we are in the danger zone. Yesterday we were all ordered to wear our life preservers at all times until we landed. We are very heavily convoyed by a fleet of U. S. destroyers. spector on April 4, 1916. In the summer of 1916 he attended the junior camp at Plattsburg and returned to the Test Bureau until the first training camp was organized at Fort Myer, Va. He made good there and was commissioned second lieutenant of infantry. He is now stationed at Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va. He visited the office a month ago and looks to be in perfect trim, and is very enthusiastic about the work.

I expect we will go under strenuous training for about a month.

All of the way over we have had delightful weather. Our vessel is a very steady ship and well equipped.

All during today we have had bits of wreckage float by from ships which have been torpedoed, also had an S. O. S. call from a ship that was attacked about ten miles from us.

Will drop you a few lines after my'arrival. I take this opportunity to thank you again for your many kind favors.

Very sincerely,

H. R. HOLLJF.S. 7th Company, 5th Regiment, U. S. Marines, U. S. Expeditionary Forces, via New York.

P. S.—The above was written last night. This morning two "subs" attacked us. Saw the wake of two torpedoes. We fired upon one of them and one of the destroyers got her. They are very difficult to see and in rough weather it is practically impossible to see a periscope. We are safe now and will land in a few hours.

FRANCE, January 22, 1918. Dear Mr. Onderdonk:

Just a few lines to tell you as far as possible where I am and what I am doing.

Up until last week I was stationed at the largest troop landing port in France. My job was assistant fire marshal of the docks. Our equipment consisted of a three ton Packard truck, two chemical engines mounted on Fords, and a few hose reels, but we could make more noise with it than the whole Baltimore Fire Department. About two miles from town part of the 19th Regiment of Railway Engineers was stationed. Our old assistant superintendent of shops McDonough and his company were there, including young Talbott, who inspected locomotives at Baldwins for you.

Last week all of the marines were called in and we are now going through our final training before going to the front line. We are quartered in small villages, very dirty ones too, the richest man is the one who has the largest manure pile in front of his house. Sounds funny, but it is quite true. I expect to go to the front line in a few months.

 

LIEUTENANT H. R. HOLLJES (Left)

Will government control of railroads make any difference in the Test Department? I hope not. There surely was a wonderful esprit de corps in that department and you can bet I am coming right back there if I live through this war and you still have a job open.

I wish to thank you for your very fine letter and assure you I certainly appreciated it.

We do not get much time to write and the mails are very irregular. However, will let you hear from me as long as I am in the game. . Hoping that you are well and to hear from you soon. My best regards to all the department. Very sincerely,

H. R. HOLIJER.

45th Company, 5th Regiment,

U. S. Marines.

 

 

 

His Jan 22 letter notes the dirty conditions of the village they were quartered. This is probably where he contracted Tuberculosis, which eventually took his life. The spread of the disease is helped considerably by overcrowded and dirty conditions.

[nchistory]

2nd Lt. Herman R Holljes USMCR., He was NEVER "tagged out" for being either WIA or Gassed in combat while in the French Theater of Operations during 1918. He was assigned to the 45th Co. until April, 2nd, when he was transfered to the 5th Marine Regimental HQ's Co as the 5th Marine Regimental Munitions and stay with them until again transfered to the 7th Co. (USMC), Headquarters, AEF, France and then shipped back to the US and was in and out of the Naval Hospital at Brooklyn, NY and at Fort Lyon, Colorado due to tuberculous while assigned to HQ's USMC, Washington DC. He was Medically Retired from the Marine Corps on May 23rd, 1919.

 

[gijoeou812]

Very Nice!

I love these swords, and this is a great one!!!!

Congratulations to you.

[nchistory]

gijoeou812 Thank you

[ChuckyD]

WOW!! What an impressive piece of history!! CONGRATS on your acquisition/find.

SF
Chuck

[sundance]

A beautiful sword and a great piece of history. He'd no doubt be pleased that a sword lover has it (for now). That is where the grips always breaks on those - must be a weak spot. I suppose the synthetic material grips address that problem.

[reschenk]

A neat sword with a great history. Who was the maker/distributor of your mameluke - Lilly-Ames?

 

It is interesting the etching on your blade still conforms pretty much to what was prescribed by the Uniform Reg of 1875 which restored the mameluke, i.e. that the words "United States Marines" be etched within a scroll on both sides of the blade. It appears he may have substituted his name on one side, but still pretty close. Most of the older late 19th century mamelukes I have seen have been marked just "U.S. Marines" in a scroll. I believe it was in 1918 that the USMC adopted the current etch design with the ornate rather than plain block letters.

 

[reschenk]

A neat sword with a great history. Who was the maker/distributor of your mameluke - M.C. Lilly?

 

It is interesting the etching on your blade still conforms pretty much to what was prescribed by the Uniform Reg of 1875 which reinstated the mameluke, i.e. that the words "United States Marines" be etched within a scroll on both sides of the blade. It appears he may have substituted his name on one side, but still pretty close. Most of the older late 19th century mamelukes I have seen have been marked just "U.S. Marines" in a scroll. I believe it was in 1918 that the USMC adopted the current etch design with the ornate rather than plain block letters.

 

[Leatherneck72]

Too bad about the grips.

[nchistory]

I will admit, I know very little about Mameluke swords of the Corps. I've been an American Civil War collector for 30 years, have just branched off to collecting WW1 & 2 US Marines. Yes its a shame about the grips, I think these are early made of Ivory. As for manufacture, I'm unsure but will check, guessing it's on the ricasso. That was good information on the etching reschenk. Was not aware of the 1875 regs., and didn't know the style changed in 1918. Assuming, Holljes got this at his commission in 1917, must have been the last year of this style. All information, is greatly appreciated.

[reschenk]

I wonder how upset the Lieutenant was when he received his mameluke and found they had misspelled his name, i.e. Hollies vice Holljes?

 

Your sword appears to have a second narrow fuller above the main fuller on the blade, similar to the one on the below M1859 USMC sword. Does it?

 

[nchistory]

Hi reschenk, yes it has 2 fullers, does that mean its an earlier blade? This is my 1st Mameluke, so any knowledge greatly appreciated.

 

I don't know it the LT was upset or not. In the USMC musters, I've seen it spelled both ways Hollies & Holljes, but most references WITH THE J instead of I.

 

At first I thought it wasn't his, but couldn't find another H R Hollies.

 

Also to note, he was from Baltimore, MD, and this was purchased from an estate in Baltimore. So pretty certain its him.

 

That's a nice sword you posted.

[reschenk]

Here are some notes on the post-1875 USMC mamelukes:

 

M1875 Mameluke: In 1875 the mameluke was restored and all officers were required to have one. The new sword was very similar to the pre-Civil War mamelukes, the primary difference being that the pre-war brass scabbard with the center ridge was replaced by a more modern nickel-plated scabbard with gilt mountings. Certain features of the sword were also standardized, i.e. the acorn finials on the guard, the circular grip fasteners with raised stars, and the dual fullers on the end portion of the blade. The regulation specified the blade be etched “United States Marines” on a pennant on each side of the blade. The earliest examples tended to use an abbreviated version “U.S. MARINES” in simple block letters on a pennant on both sides of the blade. On later examples the “United States” was usually spelled out at length and the owner’s name often replaced the “Unites States Marines” on the scroll on the obverse side. In 1918 the etching pattern changed to the current version with the “UNITED STATES MARINES” in fancy letters on both sides of the blade. At the same time, the second narrow fuller above the main fuller was removed. Other than these 1918 modifications, the design of the sword and its elements has remained remarkably consistent from 1875 to date. The material used for the grips, however, has changed over the years. The early examples all used genuine ivory, but in the 20th century a number of faux-ivory substitutes began to be used, and these can provide some indication of the age of a particular sword. Its use as an indicator, however, is limited by the extensive overlap in the time-frames in which the different materials were used - genuine ivory was still used at least until the 1950s for some high-grade swords.

This requirement for all officers to have a mameluke remained in effect until World War II when, on 29 October 1942, the Marine Corps issued Circular Letter 609 which abolished the requirements for officers to purchase and maintain a sword in order to conserve metal for the war effort. The requirement, however, was reinstated in 1954 (Check date) and remains in effect to this date.

 

The below is an early pre-1881 example of the M1875 by the Ames Manufacturing Company from CW Preservations eBook Swords of Honor.

 

 

The narrow fuller above the main fuller is indicative of an earlier blade. As noted above, I think they were dropped about the same time as the etching designs were changed. Another thing I noted about your blade is that it does not seem to have the distinctive double fuller on the final foot or so. This is a bit unusual, but not problematic.

 

The sword I pictured in my note above is a Horstmann M1859 Staff NCO sword from about 1880. Its blade is etched "U.S.M.C.".

 

 

You usually see these SNCOs being sold as CW USMC Officers' sabers. They are definitely not. CW Officers' swords had shark skin grips and gilt mountings. This sword has leather grips and brass mounts. Also, the etching on CW officers' swords was identical to that on Army M1850 Foot Officer swords; the "U.S.M.C." etching post-dates 1875.

[jon Holljes]

My name I Jonathan Holljes. No doubt this is my grandfather's sword. It hung on the mantle of our home when I was a boy. If you purchased it at auction then I know it was sold by a sibling who has gotten themselves into a tight place if their own making. However this should never have been sold. It js a family heirloom that as the diamond ring I gave my son for his engagement was the same diamond that was in Herman Richard Holljes ring given to Helen Duvall and which was then given by his son Henry Wirt Duvall Holljes to his wife Irene Cbennett and which I gave to my wife Jeni Bolas. I would appreciate you please contacting me to discuss a repurchase of this item. I greatly fear this will not be the last time I see such family treasures out in public circulation. Suffice to say addiction cause people to lose all sense of value!

My email is [email protected]. Please be courteous enough to reach back to me. I am greatly saddened to see this sword sold off for feeding an addiction.

[Bob Hudson]

My name I Jonathan Holljes. No doubt this is my grandfather's sword. It hung on the mantle of our home when I was a boy. If you purchased it at auction then I know it was sold by a sibling who has gotten themselves into a tight place if their own making. However this should never have been sold. It js a family heirloom that as the diamond ring I gave my son for his engagement was the same diamond that was in Herman Richard Holljes ring given to Helen Duvall and which was then given by his son Henry Wirt Duvall Holljes to his wife Irene Cbennett and which I gave to my wife Jeni Bolas. I would appreciate you please contacting me to discuss a repurchase of this item. I greatly fear this will not be the last time I see such family treasures out in public circulation. Suffice to say addiction cause people to lose all sense of value!

My email is [email protected]. Please be courteous enough to reach back to me. I am greatly saddened to see this sword sold off for feeding an addiction.

 

You can use the forum MESSAGE system to make direct contact with the person who currently owns this.