teufelhunde.ret Posted January 23, 2010 Share #51 Posted January 23, 2010 Thanks Tom for sharing the group with us - a remarkable first hand account! s/f Darrell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhcoleterracina Posted January 23, 2010 Share #52 Posted January 23, 2010 Great job for keeping it all together. Far more value than the sum of its parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croix de Guerre Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share #53 Posted January 24, 2010 One of the many cool bonus items in the group was Fred's original French issue M2 gasmask, bag and canister. When I first picked it up, the mask had hardened into a solid mass of cotton cloth and petrified goo. I imagine it hadn't been opened since 1918. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croix de Guerre Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share #54 Posted January 24, 2010 One of the many cool bonus items in the group was Fred's original French issue M2 gasmask, bag and canister. When I first picked it up, the mask had hardened into a solid mass of cotton cloth and petrified goo. I imagine it hadn't been opened since 1918. After slowly and carefully flakeing away 90 year old bits of dried nastiness I was able to free the straps and gradually the mask began to resume it's original shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croix de Guerre Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share #55 Posted January 24, 2010 After slowly and carefully flakeing away 90 year old bits of dried nastiness I was able to free the straps and gradually the mask began to resume it's original shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croix de Guerre Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share #56 Posted January 24, 2010 Here is a photo of Fred wearing this same gas mask in 1918. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belleauwood Posted January 24, 2010 Share #57 Posted January 24, 2010 Tom, What a great group! There is some incredibly RARE stuff here. Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croix de Guerre Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share #58 Posted January 24, 2010 Tom, What a great group! There is some incredibly RARE stuff here. Dennis Thanks man, coming from you that is high praise indeed. An example of various TMU insignia used by AFS transport units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugme Posted January 25, 2010 Share #59 Posted January 25, 2010 WOW WOW WOW - absolutely extraordinary!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Let me add another: WOW and another one of these: :thumbsup: Tom, this is just way too great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luft Posted January 27, 2010 Share #60 Posted January 27, 2010 Hi Thierry, Yes, that is a French canteen that was issued to this manwhen he was a volunteer with the American Field Service. These men paid there own passage to France, bought their own uniforms but were issued helmets, gas masks and canteens by the French military. If you search under "American Field Service" on this forum, you will see several other examples from my collection that I have posted in the past. Tom Thanks for informations! Very interesting subject No very know, even in France..... Collective memory had forgotten this americans volunteers.... So sad thierry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croix de Guerre Posted January 29, 2010 Author Share #61 Posted January 29, 2010 Thanks for informations! Very interesting subject No very know, even in France..... Collective memory had forgotten this americans volunteers.... So sad thierry That is very true thierry :crying: , here in my part of the United States more people know about our Civil War than they know about World War One; much less the Americans who volunteered to fight for France in the years before we officially joined the war. Fred's trunk has all sorts of cool little surprises like this; A trench lighter made out of a walnut! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugme Posted January 29, 2010 Share #62 Posted January 29, 2010 Love the Walnut Lighter! Just when I think I've seen everything, something like this pops up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belleauwood Posted January 30, 2010 Share #63 Posted January 30, 2010 Do you think you could possibly find a lttle something more under the heading "Esoterica" ? Neet stuff DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croix de Guerre Posted January 30, 2010 Author Share #64 Posted January 30, 2010 Do you think you could possibly find a lttle something more under the heading "Esoterica" ? Neet stuff DJ Don't even begin that with me! You are the master of "esoteric" artifacts. I'm surprised you haven't turned up the Kaiser's monocle in one of your groups! I have found one of the better explanantions about excactly what the Reserve Mallet was and I thought I'd share that here. THE T.M.U. UNITS OF THE AMERICAN FIELD SERVICE The French Automobile Service (Motor Transport Corps) was a transportation supply formation of the French Army. This organization was divided into ten Reserves. (The Reserve Mallet being Number Three.) This system was designed to allow for allotting a certain amount of transports to be available for the normal needs of the army but all other transportation was grouped into organizations known as Reserves, which could be used whenever and wherever there was heavy fighting which consequently required a need for increased transportation. Thus the Reserves were a sort of auxiliary combat unit, moved from front to front as the occasion required. A Reserve was organized as follows; a central headquarters whose function was purely administrative. Below the Headquarters there were three Groupements, each of which were in turn were divided into three groupes and each groupe was divided into four sections. The Reserve was known by the name of its commander as were the groupements and groupes. The total personnel of a Reserve were about 2500 men, with 700 trucks and support vehicles. When the American Field Service volunteers began to serve as camion (truck) drivers, they took over Number Nine or Groupement Perisse. This consisted of three Groupes; Groupe Genin, Groupe Erhardt and Groupe Meyer. Groupe Genin T.M.U. 526 Section “A” was formed of men from Cornell University. Section “B” was mostly Andover College men. Section “C” was mostly composed of volunteers from Dartmouth College. Section “D” was made of a miscellaneous men from various schools. Groupe Erhardt T.M.U. 133 Section “E” was formed mainly from volunteers from California Section “F” was mostly Princeton men Groupe Meyer T.M.U. 184 Section “G” was mostly men from Dartmouth. Section “H” was Tufts College Section “I” was from Marietta College Section “M” was made up from a unit from Buffalo, NY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croix de Guerre Posted January 30, 2010 Author Share #65 Posted January 30, 2010 Geez Tom, that's a great grouping. Thanks for passing along his story too! We had a question from another member about the box the CdG came in. Are there any markings on the box your is in? Hey Eric, Here are some pics of the box his Croix de Guerre came in. I hadn't forgotten about you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croix de Guerre Posted January 30, 2010 Author Share #66 Posted January 30, 2010 Hey Eric, Here are some pics of the box his Croix de Guerre came in. I hadn't forgotten about you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted January 30, 2010 Share #67 Posted January 30, 2010 Tom, thanks for posting these photos! I can't remember seeing the CdG box associated with any group before. So many of these were just thrown away. Once again, this is just an incredible grouping! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croix de Guerre Posted January 30, 2010 Author Share #68 Posted January 30, 2010 Tom, thanks for posting these photos! I can't remember seeing the CdG box associated with any group before. So many of these were just thrown away. Once again, this is just an incredible grouping! Thanks again! :thumbsup: SONNET OF A WAR-SICK MAN O Lark, had I but powerful wings to fly Where’er I would, up, through the boundless space! Until, as thine, my body in the sky Were like a shapeless speck of dust to trace. Below, the rivers, - each a silver wire; Each rippling lake a shimmering sapphire; The waving fields but tongues of verdant fire. I would not leave the earth for very long - Without my friends my heart would grow too cold. I would not try to twirl thy soothing song; Such enterprise were impudence untold. But from the battle’s roar I would away; From swirl of war, from Chaos seeking prey; - O Lark, lend me thy wings but for a day! FREDERICK W. KURTH, T.M.U.537 Reserve Mallet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croix de Guerre Posted February 1, 2010 Author Share #69 Posted February 1, 2010 An original water color of Fred painted by his friend C. LeRoy Baldridge during the winter of 1918 at Soissons, France. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_Leroy_Baldridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limestone Posted February 1, 2010 Share #70 Posted February 1, 2010 Hello, my turn to congratulate you. Your WWI groupings are just awesome. I don't know any WWI French collectors with such collections and stories behind! Thanks for sharing your groupings with us :thumbsup: They are simply amazing pieces of our common History. All the best, Yannick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croix de Guerre Posted February 1, 2010 Author Share #71 Posted February 1, 2010 Hello, my turn to congratulate you. Your WWI groupings are just awesome. I don't know any WWI French collectors with such collections and stories behind! Thanks for sharing your groupings with us :thumbsup: They are simply amazing pieces of our common History. All the best, Yannick Thanks Yannick! This is for you! :salute: Allons, enfants de la patrie, Le jour de gloire est arrive! Contre nous de la tyranine L'etendard sanglant est leve L'etendard sanglant est leve Etendez-vous dans nos campagnes Mugir ces feroces soldats? IIs viennent jusque dans nos bras Egorger vos fils, vos campagnes Aux armes, citoyens! Formez vos bataillons! Marchon, marchons...! Qu'un sang inysur A brenve nos sillons! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limestone Posted February 1, 2010 Share #72 Posted February 1, 2010 :salute: :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croix de Guerre Posted February 3, 2010 Author Share #73 Posted February 3, 2010 ......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croix de Guerre Posted February 10, 2010 Author Share #74 Posted February 10, 2010 Wow! I don't normally comment on medals, but that Victory medal is out of this world. Vance Thanks Vance, I have to admit my jaw about hit the floor when I first saw it too! Thanks again and Thank You For Your Service! :salute: God Bless, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Devil Posted February 10, 2010 Share #75 Posted February 10, 2010 Absolutely amazing! I am glad this group is in good hands! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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