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My most prized piece from WWII


Cobrahistorian
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Cobrahistorian

Hey all,

 

I figured I'd share the story of what is probably my most prized possession, my wedding ring. It belonged to my grandfather, who was my best friend for 33 years of my life. My grandparents got married on May 24th, 1942, just after Papa was drafted. He went to Basic, OCS and then was posted with the 103rd division before being sent overseas as a replacement officer in May of 44. He joined up with the 83rd division's 330th Regiment in Carentan in July of 44 and remained with them until the cessation of hostilities.

 

He wore his wedding ring throughout his time overseas until the Huertgen Forest in November of 44. He had taken an officer patrol out and during the mission, they had to get into the second story of a building (can't remember if it was Stadbredimus or Sterpigny). In order to do so, he and his men had to scale a drain pipe. While climbing, he slipped and was literally caught hanging by his wedding ring. He regained his footing, they accomplished their mission and then he went back to the aid station to have his finger looked at. It had swelled considerably and the medic told him he would have to have the ring cut off or he'd lose his finger. Reluctantly, he agreed and the ring was cut in two places to remove it.

 

The ring was then sent home to my grandmother in an empty envelope! The letter he'd written to accompany it was sent separately, and unfortunately, my grandmother received the ring 3 days before the letter. As she tells the story, she "kept waiting for the finger to arrive in the next morning's mail!" The letter did finally arrive, much to her relief.

 

Flash forward to 2005. My wife and I had just gotten engaged and we were visiting them for a weekend. As we were leaving, Papa turned and asked me if I wanted to have his wedding ring. I'd grown up hearing that story and assumed that the ring had been discarded. After he returned home from Europe, he'd had the ring repaired and wore it for years until it was too small for his finger. If you look closely, you can see where the repairs were made, but it definitely takes a trained eye. The inscription "MP to JCG 5-24-42" is still there, although the M has been lost from the repair.

 

Unfortunately, he never got to see me wear it, since he passed very suddenly in the spring of 2006 while I was in flight school. I never take this ring off.

 

I'm slowly working on writing down his recollections. Fortunately, he left me with an audio tape, all of his documents, maps, etc and I've now gotten in contact with a couple of his soldiers. It is a long term project, especially since I have two other books to write before that, but it will be done.

 

Thanks,

 

Jon

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Cobrahistorian
A story well told! Any chance of a photo of the ring? Thanks for sharing your story!

 

-Ski

 

 

Thanks for the comments and the welcome guys. I'll see what I can do about a photo of it. Should be able to get a good shot when I get home tonight.

 

Jon

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memphismeister

I have to say that reading this post is pretty cool. Let me add my story

Thirty nine years ago on the 14 of feb my mother recieved a telagram stating my Father had died from injuries received from a cobra crash in Vietnam. As the Army goes some of his personal effects were sent to his mom and not to us. Missing from his effects was a 18k half ounce gold family crest ring he had made.

 

My mother always wondered what happened o the ring. Fast forward to 2008. My first cousins upon the death of of my Grandmother came by my house. They had stuff that belonged to my dad. In looking at pictures one cousin noticed the ring we talked about. He said he now knew who the rightfull owner was. Well 6 months later on the 4th of July I was given back my Dads famly ring.

 

38 years later and now its on the rightfull owners finger

 

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Cobrahistorian
Cobra thats pretty cool

 

Memphis,

 

Equally cool story about your Dad's ring. Glad to see it is back where it belongs.

I've spoken to a couple Playboys pilots over the years, both while writing my book and after I got my wings and started flying guns. The Playboy Platoon was the first Cobra unit in Vietnam and has one hell of a history. Those guys were absolutely #1.

 

Jon

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memphismeister
Memphis,

 

Equally cool story about your Dad's ring. Glad to see it is back where it belongs.

I've spoken to a couple Playboys pilots over the years, both while writing my book and after I got my wings and started flying guns. The Playboy Platoon was the first Cobra unit in Vietnam and has one hell of a history. Those guys were absolutely #1.

 

Jon

Dont forget that Dragon platoon also had Cobras. The whole unit converted to Cobras

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Cobrahistorian
Dont forget that Dragon platoon also had Cobras. The whole unit converted to Cobras

 

 

Absolutely! Sorry about that! I've got some really good shots of a Raiders Snake from 1969 when they were supporting D/151st Infantry (Ranger) from the Indiana National Guard. LTC Ken Rubin, Playboy 6, was a fantastic resource for the Cobras book I did in 2003. He commanded the Playboys in 1968 when they transitioned to the Snake. Great guy to talk to!

 

Jon

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memphismeister

Yes the 334th has a lot of history behind it but its hard to get alot of information post 68. What many people dont know is that the 334th is a direct UTT unit that everyone else learned from. Hince the First with Guns. What is amazing is that a unit like this does not have a very strong presence on the web.

Of course I feel slighted when all I see is Playboy company w00t.gif I would venture to say that there was some great smack talk between the platoons. BTW check out one of my post with the 334th Cobra patch

 

PS I think I have a email here some where from Rubin

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  • 5 months later...

you both guys has very nice family piece

 

i also have what i consider as a charm : a bullet that my dad shot when he was in service to make it a necklace chain jewelry

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Cobra/Memphis,

Thank you both for sharing your family stories and the rings. Both are powerful pieces that remind us of those behind the relics we collect.

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Cobrahistorian

Wow, pretty cool that this one resurfaced. I haven't really moved on much with my Grandfather's story, but his uniform, documents and photos are all on display in my museum room.

 

I was very fortunate this week to be able to expand our family military history display. I received my wife's grandfather's uniform, photos and discharge from the Navy. Doing some research into his experience now. He was a Corpsman on a carrier with a Marine Detachment late in the war. I don't know too much about Navy/Marine stuff, but it has been fun trying to piece together exactly which ship he was on and what he did during his 3 years in the Navy.

 

Now to track down information on my several uncles who served...

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  • 1 year later...
Wow, pretty cool that this one resurfaced. I haven't really moved on much with my Grandfather's story, but his uniform, documents and photos are all on display in my museum room.

 

Now to track down information on my several uncles who served...

 

 

Jon,

 

Stay on target - get your pop's book written, THEN worry about the various uncles...Free advice being worth what you paid for it, I hope you'll take it! :)

 

Awesome stories above about the rings, thanks for sharing them!

 

Steve

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Cobrahistorian

I did want to make a correction in my initial story above. The action where he was caught by his ring was not during the Huertgen campaign, but during the Bulge, and after reviewing a couple different things including the recording that he made for me, I'm pretty sure it was in Sterpigny, Belgium during the Bulge.

 

Steve,

 

I hear ya! I've gotta knock out this P-47 book first and hopefully will be able to work on Papa's story a bit more after that. It's a long-term project, but I'm moving forward on it....

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