Jump to content

82nd AB POW Purple Heart Grouping


emaier3
 Share

Recommended Posts

All,

 

This is a new pickup. All of these items were being sold by the family. He was a member of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. He was captured on 25 January 1944 near Anzio. He was in Stalag Luft 3 according to the National Archives Records. Included were his named Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals, as well as his New York Cross, campaign medals, CIB and Jump Wings with three stars. All of the items were glued into a shadow box. Its a little outside of what I collect but still very interesting. He died on 3 Spet. 1993 and is buried in Calverton National Cemetery in New York.

 

-Ed

post-124-1329689264.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ed

Great Group to a three jump combat veteran; Is his New York Cross named or numbered or both. LMK when you want to give the group a new home :rolleyes:

Regards,

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

nice group[ I had asked the seller for better pictures of the engraving but they wanted to get the sale done so at least it went to a good home.

Brandyn

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks all.

 

The seller removed them from the shadow box. I'm hoping some more items will turn up.

 

The New York Service Cross is serial numbered. Is there a list that relates the number to whom it was issued?

 

Take care,

Ed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Some mysteries to solve w/ this one! First, I like the group...it looks "right" to me. There are some oddities though. I feel that the engraving is almost certainly private. No real issue, although it is very difficult to ascertain when it was done. The three jump badge stars are wrong for a trooper that served exclusively in the 504th PIR and was captured at Anzio...he would have only made two of the regiments three combat jumps. I think he probably WAS made a POW at Anzio, given the NARA documentation and the history of Co D. In Phil Nordyke's exhaustive history of the 504th, he states that O/A 25 Jan 44, Company D was separated from it's battalion, and most of the men were captured. Back to the stars....could he have made combat jumps in N africa w/ the 509th PIB before serving w/ the 504th? Upon his release from captivity, did he simply wear the stars that his regiment rated? Should one of the stars really be an arrowhead? He probably DID conduct the amphibious landing w/ his regiment at Anzio...does the star represent this? Tough to say. The ETO medal also technically has more campaign stars that he would have rated.....but...did POWs accrue campaign credit while in captivity? I really don't know the answer to that. Also, the 1st AAA was established after he was captured, and disbanded before he was released. Again, he may have technically served in this formation while a POW, hence the presence of the patch (which appears to have been worn on a uniform). Another interesting aspect is his incarceration at Stalag III. I believe this camp was primarily for officer air crewmen. Did his status as a paratrooper drive this assignment?

 

"Shadowbox" groups are always a tough call, because they are often put together by relatives who don't get everything right. It would great to get hold of his record.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some mysteries to solve w/ this one! First, I like the group...it looks "right" to me. There are some oddities though. I feel that the engraving is almost certainly private. No real issue, although it is very difficult to ascertain when it was done. The three jump badge stars are wrong for a trooper that served exclusively in the 504th PIR and was captured at Anzio...he would have only made two of the regiments three combat jumps. I think he probably WAS made a POW at Anzio, given the NARA documentation and the history of Co D. In Phil Nordyke's exhaustive history of the 504th, he states that O/A 25 Jan 44, Company D was separated from it's battalion, and most of the men were captured. Back to the stars....could he have made combat jumps in N africa w/ the 509th PIB before serving w/ the 504th? Upon his release from captivity, did he simply wear the stars that his regiment rated? Should one of the stars really be an arrowhead? He probably DID conduct the amphibious landing w/ his regiment at Anzio...does the star represent this? Tough to say. The ETO medal also technically has more campaign stars that he would have rated.....but...did POWs accrue campaign credit while in captivity? I really don't know the answer to that. Also, the 1st AAA was established after he was captured, and disbanded before he was released. Again, he may have technically served in this formation while a POW, hence the presence of the patch (which appears to have been worn on a uniform). Another interesting aspect is his incarceration at Stalag III. I believe this camp was primarily for officer air crewmen. Did his status as a paratrooper drive this assignment?

 

"Shadowbox" groups are always a tough call, because they are often put together by relatives who don't get everything right. It would great to get hold of his record.

 

I'm a little confussed by your comments. First you say you like the group, then you imply that its bad because it was in a "shadowbox." None of these these change the fact that the items in this group are correct and proper. There are many, many reason which could account for the third jump star, ranging from an incorrect document at NARA (like that never happens) to the possibility that not every person served everyday with the same unit. This is especially true at the beginning fo the war and would seem even more true with the 504th as each Battalion was often assigned different missions. Just remember in Band of Brothers, that Dixon jumped with the 17th Airborne during Operation Varsity but was still a member of the 101st. His jump wings should have an extra star than other members of the 101st. Does that make his grouping "wrong" or "odd?" Of course not. Many, many things happen in wartime and when you get down to personal histories, they rarely conform to the exact letter of the greater grouping. Its why we do research.

 

I originally thought the engraving on the Purple Heart was privatly done. Since he was WIA it really doesn't matter as the engraving is a nice quality, period engraving. This was not done recently. I have now seen engraving on an offically engraved Purple Heart currently on sale in the Forum that appears to be identical to the Safrath PH. That Purple Heart was also to a WIA and has documentation showing that it was engraved in 1946. Its very probably that Pvt. Sharaf's Purple Heart was not engraved until late 1945 or 1946as he was a POW and wounded, and was engraved by the same "hand."

 

As for families putting together improper shadow boxes, they sometimes do. But they rarely get the stars and arrowheads correctly as they usually do not know what they are. And they rarely have everything from the right period. Safrath did not die until 1993 and all of the pieces here were ceretainly from well before that time. The Jump Wings stars were not added recently by some crazed family member with a geneology bug. They have a nice patina and are WWII period. We have all seen groupings before from "family," this is not one of them.

 

The fact of the matter is that this group is an extrememly nice WWII period set of medals to a paratrooper in the 504th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division who took part in some of the first US Airborne operations in history. The backs of the ribbons and patches have some glue on them from being mounted on felt. That does not alter their originality or historical value. I'm very happy to see that none of the other well known collectors have had anything bad to say about the group. I do not mean to come across harshly as I think all questions are valid. I just want to address the comments in a fair manner as when others here "oddities" they think "fake."

 

Thanks,

Ed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I didn't mean to imply that the group is bad...quite the contrary. Sorry if you took it that way. It is an interesting group that warrants some discussion IMO. I really do like it a lot. I'm simply saying that some of the components don't seem to align w/ the documented history of this man's unit, and the documentation in NARA regarding when he was captured. There were relatively few combat jumps made by the airborne divisions in the ETO, and all are well documented. If he was captured at Anzio, his only opportunity for a third jump was BEFORE Sicily w/ the 509th PIB. To the best of my knowledge, these are simply facts...and his record would likely explain the mystery.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is a list by medal number, not by name

 

Bill

 

Last Name Safrath

First Name Richard W

Conflict World War, 1939-1945

Record Created 6/1/2006

Date 1978 Source 2006.0160 DMNA Medal Card Collection

Number 21407

Batch 2

 

Looks like he received CSC 21407 in 1978

 

Group looks OK to me - BS & PH engraving looks like official Korean War Era Pantagraph engraving

 

Bill

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I didn't mean to imply that the group is bad...quite the contrary. Sorry if you took it that way. It is an interesting group that warrants some discussion IMO. I really do like it a lot. I'm simply saying that some of the components don't seem to align w/ the documented history of this man's unit, and the documentation in NARA regarding when he was captured. There were relatively few combat jumps made by the airborne divisions in the ETO, and all are well documented. If he was captured at Anzio, his only opportunity for a third jump was BEFORE Sicily w/ the 509th PIB. To the best of my knowledge, these are simply facts...and his record would likely explain the mystery.

 

Thats no problem. I welcome discussions on the history of any soldier. Its the main reason many of us collect these medals. I just wanted to make sure that there are many reasons why a group does not conform to "expected" ideas of a unit. As I said before, when people see the word "oddities" they can often think "fake" and that is not the case here. This is an incredible research opportunity. The only reason I am parting with it is that it falls outside what I collect.

 

Thanks again,

Ed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

its a good group IMO ! There is always something outside the norm !! Maybe he transfered in from a diffrent unit maybe he felt he was entitled to 3 stars ? who knows? Bottom line

if i collected eto POWs i would not pass this fine group up!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you don't mind, I am going to take this on & do some research at the 82d Airborne Division Museum Archives on this trooper & see what comes up.

 

AATW!

 

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you don't mind, I am going to take this on & do some research at the 82d Airborne Division Museum Archives on this trooper & see what comes up.

AATW!Chris

NOW, this is refreshing!!

Thank you Chris! :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I am the new caretaker of this fine set and thought I would post some better pics of the engraving. IMO the PH is period, officially hand engraved. Looking thru my files, I can actually find a number of PHs in this "hand". The BS looks officially machine engraved to me. It could be a CIB conversion-era issue...not really sure, but I think the engraving is official. Everything in the group has a wonderful, even patina. I've been able to dig up Safrath's naturalization forms (he became a US citizen when he joined the Army), and NARA has his separation documents, which are on the way to me. They should clear up the BS date, and perhaps his combat jump authorizations. I've been able to find a plausible justification for the third star. Safrath would have been present for the aborted combat jump in to Rome by the 504th. The drop was cancelled when the aircraft were enroute to their DZs...perhaps they got credit for this, or he felt entitled?

post-110-1341397658.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Last Name Safrath

First Name Richard W

Conflict World War, 1939-1945

Record Created 6/1/2006

Date 1978 Source 2006.0160 DMNA Medal Card Collection

Number 21407

Batch 2

 

Looks like he received CSC 21407 in 1978

 

Group looks OK to me - BS & PH engraving looks like official Korean War Era Pantagraph engraving

 

Bill

 

Just curious - given the above info, what is the number on the NY CSC with this group?

 

Jim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Someone mentioned it in the sales ad, but it has been removed. The medal in the group is 21409.....but the rolls list two recipients of 21407, safrath and another man. The presumption was that the rolls contained and error.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Someone mentioned it in the sales ad, but it has been removed. The medal in the group is 21409.....but the rolls list two recipients of 21407, safrath and another man. The presumption was that the rolls contained and error.

 

OK thanks.

 

When I saw this group first posted I had the same thoughts as Kadet regarding inclusion of 3 star para badge and 1st Allied Airborne patch. While the BSM and PH are "ok", those other items seemed odd. And that is said with casting no doubts on emair3's integrity or knowledge (or anyone else who commented).

 

The name "Safrath" rang a bell and I did some checking of my stuff. The following is shared in the interest shedding light on the provenance of Richard W. Safrath's artifacts and ascertaining what else maybe out there.

 

In December 2001 the below BSM certificate was posted on Ebay (item # 1057172342) and I was able to buy it.

 

It was in a frame (which I no longer have, or may not have rec'ed) with those ribbons pinned to the certificate. You can see that the certificate is dated 12 October 1950. I'd guess the PH was issued at the same time, so that should give great evidence on the era of issue and engraving on both the BSM and PH. And that the BSM award was for meritorious achievement.

 

The seller was "emmye" who is still active. At that time, I asked if she had any other items related to Safrath, she didn't respond. This morning, I looked at her feedback and found the feedback I left in early Jan 2002. I tried to determine (from reading other feedbacks) if she had sold anything that looked related. A 12/28/01 feedback has the notation "Thanks, Nice NY medal" (or something like that) - I wonder if that was the NY CSC?

 

I don't know if it is possible to check ebay item numbers from that long ago, but if so that may shed further light.

 

Again, this isn't intended to cast doubts on anyone here or to belittle that group. However, while (in my view) the BSM and PH are officially engraved, it is also apparant that at least some of Safrath's artifacts have been "circulating" since at least Fall 2001.

 

Anyhow, that is what I know about it.

 

Kadet, please to PM me and we can discuss further.

 

Regards, Jim B

 

post-9714-1341588145.jpg

 

I'll post a photo of certificate without ribbons separately, it seems that i have used all my space here (?).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...