WW2 Chinese Medals Presented to an American

[kanemono]

Here is a group that contains an interesting Chinese medal that I have seen posted here but no one seems to know its identity. I bought this group from the family and the note on the Chinese medals was in the frame. The note states that the coin-medal was presented to all American personnel in December of 1945 by a Chinese General. The knife is a PAL and has Calkins initials carved on the scabbard.

Theodore W. Calkins, Jr. was born in in East Troy, Pennsylvania, November 10, 1913. After graduating from Troy High School, Calkins was a partner with his father in the T. Weller Calkins and Son General Store in East Troy. He married Pauline M. Wilber in 1937. Calkins was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1944. He served with the 96^th Field Hospital which was organized October 1944 at Camp Barkley, Texas, in anticipation of an invasion of Japan during the autumn of 1945 and the treatment of a half million potential war casualties. The field hospital’s destination was China. The 96^th Field Hospital was deployed to India on February 7, 1945 aboard the Navy troopship USS General A. Mann. It continued travel by rickety train and then vehicle convoy through Burma and into China over the treacherous Ledo-Burma Road. When they arrived in Kunming, China, to set up the field hospital, they found it was not needed and they were sent to Liuchow and then to Shanghai, China. After being discharged from the army Calkins worked for the Elmira Star Gazette as a district circulation manager. Theodore W. Calkins, Jr. died on February 24, 2011. The coin medal was presented in 1945 to US personal in Shanghai, China.

 

 

[kanemono]

next...

[GIl Sanow]

The Chinese medal was issued to veterans who served in China during WW2 by the Republic of China (Taiwan) in the 1970's. My then neighbor was such a vet and he got a letter from the Taiwan (nationalist China) embassy asking if he was the officer in their records. He replied in the affirmative, and they mailed the medal with a letter of thanks for his service. I have his uniform and the medal, but never got the letter.

 

The Peoples Republic of China(i.e. communist China) took over the mainland after the war and eventually joined the U.N. etc. Pres. Richard Nixon opened diplomatic relations with red China and apparently the Taiwanese government sent out the medals to gain a favorable response from Americans.

 

G

[kanemono]

I have other groups with the Republic of China medal, what I trying to identify is the coin-medal. From the note with the group the coin-medal was a official presentation from the Nationalist Government. Does anyone have any information?

Dick