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BBB Purple Heart : Wounded in the PI in 1899 . 19th Infantry


KASTAUFFER
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I acquired this grouping at the Show of Shows because I knew it would be a while before I found another like it.

 

Pvt. Taylor enlisted in 1897 in Michigan prior to the Spanish American War. When the war broke out, he was serving with the 19th US Infantry.

 

During the Spanish-American War, the 19th was one of the first units sent overseas. Transported by train to Mobile and then Tampa, on July 21st the regiment boarded the USS Florida and USS Cherokee to set sail for what was then called "Porto Rico." They spent a year in Ponce performing guard and provost duty, then sailed to New York where they boarded trains to the west coast. On July 27, 1899 they sailed for Manila.
The regiment was broken into company-sized units and participated in many battles with the Insurgents before returning to the U.S. in 1902. They served a second tour in the Philippines from 1905 to 1907 and a third and final tour from February 1910 to May of 1912.

 

On Oct 24, 1899 , he was shot in the left leg above the ankle. The wound gave him problems for the rest of his life. Due to this, and problems he had due to "Diarrhea" he was discharged based on disability and was awarded a pension.

 

For the rest of his life he continually fought to have his pension increased until his death on 1943. There is a large stack of documents with the group related to that.

 

His Purple Heart and his campaign medals were awarded to him in 1932. They are attached to a board just as he left them.

 

The campaign medals , including the rare Porto Rico Occupation medal are all numbered, but not traceable.

 

The Philippine Insurrection was a terrible campaign that has all but been forgotten in today's world. The US sent soldiers to the PI in 1899 for the insurrection and the war really did not completely end until the start of WWI.

 

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BigJohn#3RD

Yes, a fantastic group. I don’t blame you jumping on it. I would have done the same had I seen it first. LOL

 

On a serious side, the government has always been quite stingy when it comes to compensating most of its veterans for wounds and injuries received while in the performance of their duties.

 

Thanks for posting.

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Brian Keith

Excellent grouping! Love all the items still together! Thanks for posting it. Interesting the cost of his issue items. I can imagine him carefully picking out that pipe in a shop and spending many quiet hours enjoying his smoke.

BKW

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That's a pretty much impossible group...not only are PI PHs exceptionally rare, but to find all the paperwork with it and the rest of his medals and insignia! Fantastic!!!

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Without the Purple Heart medal and documentation, this would still be considered a great group. The Purple Heart and supporting documents just takes it to a whole new level! These pre-WWI Purple Hearts are tough enough to find, but with the documents? Just amazing!

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What is the red felt with unit designation?

 

An armband?

 

I agree with Dave, a rare PH.

Its a hat band, probably from his veterans hat.

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Thanks for all the comments guys! I was pretty stoked to be able to acquire this group,

 

Kurt

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Kurt,

That is an amazing group. The pre-WW1 Purple Heart is the icing on a many tiered cake. The original paperwork is fantastic. It is a shame the battles always are written so small over the paper fold and difficult to read. Congratulations on finding a gem.

Dick

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