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Commanding Officer Medal Groups


Wharfmaster
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Be it land, sea or air, do you have a medal group to a unit/ship Commanding Officer in your collection? Large or small unit. If so, do show it off.

 

 

Best regards to all.

 

 

 

 

The Wharfmaster

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Peace and War. US Merchant Marine.

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The engraved PH to LTC William C. Wright. Wright was commander of 3rd Battalion, 132nd Infantry Regiment, Americal Division and was KIA 17 Dec 1942 on Guadalcanal (yes...the Army fought there too).

 

This is the only KIA PH to a senior officer that I've ever owned...you just don't see them very often. The Guadalcanal link is interesting as well. I've sent away for his IDPF and record. Although there is another man by this name in the KIA database, this medal has a fairly compelling lineage to the state of Illinois. Wright hailed from Illinois, and his unit was actually part of the Illinois National Guard before the war.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_..._the_Sea_Horse

 

 

 

"The exposed hills making up the Mount Austen complex were arbitrarily numbered by the Americans for reference purposes (see map at right). On 17 December, Nelson's 3rd Battalion—commanded by Lieutenant Colonel William C. Wright—advanced south of Hill 35 and began to climb toward Mount Austen's summit near Hills 20 and 21. In order to achieve its timetable set by the division commander, the battalion was forced to leave behind many of its support weapons, such as heavy mortars and machine guns, and to take only limited quantities of ammunition and supplies, all of which had to be hand-carried along hacked-out paths through thick jungle. At 09:30 on 18 December, as Wright's lead elements approached, Japanese defenders pinned-down the Americans with machine-gun and rifle fire. Exhausted and dehydrated by their trek through the thick jungle, Wright's troops—unable to deploy quickly out of column formation—made no headway against the Japanese defenses. The next morning, after an artillery barrage and air strike from the CAF, Wright went forward with several artillery observers to investigate the terrain in front of his forces. Using concealed fire lanes, a Japanese machine-gun team killed Wright with a burst of fire at 09:30. Wright's second in command, Major Louis Franco, was unable to get forward and take command until late in the day, preventing the battalion from continuing the attack. At the same time, Japanese riflemen infiltrated the American positions and effectively harassed the command posts of both the 3rd and 1st Battalions as well as the column of heavily loaded American supply and engineer parties on the hacked-out jungle trail linking the battalions with the Lunga perimeter. Both U.S. battalions dug in for the night while artillery bombarded the Japanese positions."

post-110-1349213721.jpg

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The engraved PH to LTC William C. Wright. Wright was commander of 3rd Battalion, 132nd Infantry Regiment, Americal Division and was KIA 17 Dec 1942 on Guadalcanal (yes...the Army fought there too).

 

This is the only KIA PH to a senior officer that I've ever owned...you just don't see them very often. The Guadalcanal link is interesting as well. I've sent away for his IDPF and record. Although there is another man by this name in the KIA database, this medal has a fairly compelling lineage to the state of Illinois. Wright hailed from Illinois, and his unit was actually part of the Illinois National Guard before the war.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_..._the_Sea_Horse

"The exposed hills making up the Mount Austen complex were arbitrarily numbered by the Americans for reference purposes (see map at right). On 17 December, Nelson's 3rd Battalion—commanded by Lieutenant Colonel William C. Wright—advanced south of Hill 35 and began to climb toward Mount Austen's summit near Hills 20 and 21. In order to achieve its timetable set by the division commander, the battalion was forced to leave behind many of its support weapons, such as heavy mortars and machine guns, and to take only limited quantities of ammunition and supplies, all of which had to be hand-carried along hacked-out paths through thick jungle. At 09:30 on 18 December, as Wright's lead elements approached, Japanese defenders pinned-down the Americans with machine-gun and rifle fire. Exhausted and dehydrated by their trek through the thick jungle, Wright's troops—unable to deploy quickly out of column formation—made no headway against the Japanese defenses. The next morning, after an artillery barrage and air strike from the CAF, Wright went forward with several artillery observers to investigate the terrain in front of his forces. Using concealed fire lanes, a Japanese machine-gun team killed Wright with a burst of fire at 09:30. Wright's second in command, Major Louis Franco, was unable to get forward and take command until late in the day, preventing the battalion from continuing the attack. At the same time, Japanese riflemen infiltrated the American positions and effectively harassed the command posts of both the 3rd and 1st Battalions as well as the column of heavily loaded American supply and engineer parties on the hacked-out jungle trail linking the battalions with the Lunga perimeter. Both U.S. battalions dug in for the night while artillery bombarded the Japanese positions."

 

Very historic Purple Heart. Thanks for Posting!

 

The Wharfmaster

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Lt. General Eugene J D' Ambrosio's medals.

 

He was the deputy Commanding General of U.S. Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command, a general in the Army Materiel Command, and served as the G-4 for the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam.

 

http://www.goordnance.army.mil/hof/1980/1981/dambrosio.html

 

16307131.jpg

 

Nice Grouping, Thanks!

 

W

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Here is the uniform (named) and medals of Rear-Admiral Hubbard Frederick Goodwin served (1918-1953). Executive Officer on the USS New Orleans CA-32 (9 Campaigns and Bronze Star with V). He also commanded (first and last commander) of the USS Granville APA-171.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is a great topic for a thread. I was surprise how many medals and groups to “C.O.”s I found while going through my collection. I’ll start with the following:

 

Vice Admiral Alva D. Bernhard – He was C.O. of the USS Lexington in 1939 and held various commands during WWII. His Legion of Merit was awarded for service as commander of Kwajalein Atoll and Marshall Island sub area in 1944. The shooting medal is the only one that’s named to him.

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This is a partial group to Rear Admiral Samuel W. Bryant. (Missing are his WWI Navy Cross, West Indies Campaign, WWI Victory and three foreign orders.) Bryant was C.O. of the USS Detroit in 1926 and received 2nd Nicaraguan Campaign Medal M.No. 39 for this service.

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A Navy Commendation Medal awarded posthumously to Rear Admiral Richard L. Fowler for commanding the 7th Fleet Patrol Force in Vietnam. Admiral Fowler was also awarded the Navy Cross, a DFC and Air Medal for WWII; current location of these medals is unknown. This is a somewhat unusual award, as Commendation Medals weren’t normally given to officers of flag rank.

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Group to Rear Admrial Alexander A. MacIntyre. The 2nd Nic in the group is verified by number as issued to MacIntyre, which provides the attribution for the group. MacIntyre was awarded the Commendation Ribbon (not shown) for commanding a blimp squadron during WWII, the Air Medal was for commanding a blimp during the first landing of a blimp on an aircraft carrier. The Bronze Star was for command of an attack transport that was torpedoed during the invasion of Okinawa and the gold star for commanding a minesweeper during minesweeping operations in Japanese waters.

post-10651-0-80525600-1350849538_thumb.jpg

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Final item for now...

Group to Vice Admiral Leigh Noyes. Noyes was awarded the Order of St. Stanislaus by the White Russian government in 1920 for aiding in the evacuation of refugees from Constantinople while commanding the USS Biddle. He commanded the USS Lexington in 1937 during the search for Amelia Earhart and had his flag on the USS Wasp when it was sunk at Guadalcanal. The WWI Navy Cross was for staff work. His other awards are the Legion of Merit and Purple Heart.

post-10651-0-73224100-1350849702_thumb.jpg

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WWII General Charles Thrasher's Medals and Archives: Instrumental on D-Day

A much-decorated Army officer, Illinois-native Charles O. Thrasher began

his career when he was commissioned a second lieutenant during WWI. By

the time he retired in 1946, he had attained the rank of brigadier

general and had received a vast array of medals and orders from the Army

and several grateful nations. After being discharged in 1919, he

received a commission in the Quartermaster Corps the following year.

Following service in Washington, D.C, he transferred to Hawaii and then

to San Francisco where he was Chief of the war plans and training

division. In 1940, Thrasher took command of the Seattle Port of

Embarkation and Seattle Quartermaster Depot, a post he held until May

1942. That month, Thrasher became Base section commander (and later full

commander) of the Loire Section, Communications Zone, ETO, where he

remained until June 1945. It was while he was at Loire when he was

promoted to Brigadier General in February 1944, the rank he still held

when he retired in August 1946. Among his many medals, he received the

Distinguished Service Medal for his role in mounting the Normandy

invasion operation from England and the Legion of Merit for aid in

carrying out the African Invasion. For his work in moving the 82nd

Airborne Division into Belgium and the 101st Division into Bastogne, he

received the Bronze Star. In January 1944, General Eisenhower cabled

General George C. Marshall, "Thrasher commands our largest Southern Base

Section with over 120,000 officers and men in completing the

construction, supply and evacuation program for mounting OVERLORD. The

organization [he] has built up since and including the mounting of TORCH

is of greatest future importance." This group of material includes 22 of

Brigadier General Thrasher's medals, insignia, and archives of material

chronicling his military career.

 

His U.S.-issued medals include: Army

Distinguished Service Medal, number 3279 mounted on slot brooch and

housed in presentation case with ribbon bar and lapel button; cased

Legion of Merit medal, no. 4652 mounted on full-wrap brooch and housed

in presentation case with ribbon bar and lapel button; un-engraved Bronze

Star with two clusters in presentation case with ribbon bar and lapel

button; American Campaign with ribbon bar in box; American Defense in

box; ETO with three stars and ribbon bar in box; Army Occupation of

Germany with ribbon bar and lapel button in box; WWII Army of Occupation

with Germany clasp and ribbon bar in box; WWI Victory Medal with

Meuse-Argonne and Defensive Sector bars and WWII Victory in box. French

medals include: Chevalier's Legion of Honor in Paris-marked case with

detached cover; Agricultural Merit Order for officer in gold gild and

housed in Paris-marked case; 1939 Croix de Guerre with one star in

original box; a second 1939 Croix de Guerre with one star and one palm

in original box; and an uncased French Resistance Medal with rosette.

Belgian medals include: Order of Leopold II, Commander in original

Brussels-marked presentation case and WWII Croix de Guerre with palm in

original box. Luxembourg medals include: Order of the Oak Crown,

Commander in original presentation case and scarce Croix de Guerre with

palm in original box. Other very significant orders include: the Most

Excellent Order of The British Empire (Military) in original London

presentation case with award document; Commander grade of the Tunisian

Nichan Iftikhar in original presentation case (silk lining tattered)

with accompanying award document; and the knight's class of the Order of

Polonia Restituta in original presentation case. Also included are two

pin back General rank's stars and one clutch back version; a single

Colonel's rank insignia, his Army Staff Identification badge with

correct WWII-style clutches and his cut-edge European Theater of

Operations. A nearly 5cm (~2") thick three-ring binder of research

includes biographical material, citations, letters of congratulations

upon Thrasher's promotion to brigadier general and award of the Legion

of Merit (one from signed by Major General Maxwell D. Taylor, 101st

Airborne), and at least 14 large format photos from his military career.

We are proud to offer such a complete medal group from a warrior who was

instrumental in successfully supplying the Normandy Invasion.

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JS, Glad to be back on the Forum.

General Thrasher's group is overwhelming! It's an entire collection by itself.

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JS, Glad to be back on the Forum.

General Thrasher's group is overwhelming! It's an entire collection by itself.

 

I keep threatening to post it all, individually on the forum one day. There are several inches of letters and records that go along with it.

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