Captainofthe7th Posted December 26, 2012 Share #1 Posted December 26, 2012 My, has it been some time since I've posted here! It's also been quite awhile since I've acquired anything new, though I always lurk ebay. Well, I found this gem a few weeks ago and was able to make this purchase for Christmas. Santa helped a bit, too... Maj. Shankle graduated from West Point in 1950 - included in the group is a stack of delinquency reports, a West Point calendar, and a card for the baccalaureate service (a piece which I think is pretty cool), and his dog tags with his p38. Following this, he served in Korea as a forward observer with the 64th FAB and earned the Silver Star for his actions. Two newspaper clippings were included that outline the details, and I found an additional report online. "Sllver Star has been awarded to Lt [J.F.] Shankle of Memphis for action In Korea. The award was presented to the Memphis lieutenant last month by Ira P Swift, [25th] Infantry Division commander for his outstanding service against the enemy near Seoul, Korea. Lieutenant Shankle was serving with Battery B [64th] Field Artillery Battalion a part of the [25th] Infantry Division. The citation credited Lieutenant Shankle with distinguishing him self while serving as [an] artillery observer for a unit that suddenly encountered heavy resistance entrenched on commanding ground. He voluntarily joined the infantry commander at the front of the company to storm the position The lieutenant took the place of platoon leader and led the charge. A bursting grenade wounded Shankle, but he plunged on to take a machine gun emplacement and killed the crew. The wounded man then refused to be [relieved] until he had set up a defense post." A really interesting 'citation' there. I have yet to find the original citation, but with some digging I am hoping it will turn up. The helmet is absolutely killer! He applied a cloth Maj insignia on the shell and the custom camo cover. These are obviously post Korea service. Also included were camoflauge ascots. Any idea what the unusual camo pattern is from?? All of the insignia is beautiful - custom sewn ribbon bars (not sure why he has WWII victory, but whatever) and a pair of great bullion 25th ID patches. Where were these made? I am thinking that the darker red is Japanese made and the pinker patch is Korean made, as it is similar in construction, material, and color to a 24th ID I used to have that was ID'd as Korean. Well, I think about covers it unless I think of more. I hope you all enjoy looking at this grouping. I am honored and excited to own it! Sorry for the lesser quality on the photos...I left the nice camera at school and had to settle for the iphone on this one. And I hope everyone had a MERRY CHRISTMAS! Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KySoldier Posted December 26, 2012 Share #2 Posted December 26, 2012 Nice !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
History Man Posted December 26, 2012 Share #3 Posted December 26, 2012 Very nice group, the camo on the helmet looks to be from a camoflauge parachute. Philip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kadet Posted December 26, 2012 Share #4 Posted December 26, 2012 Nice set...he may have qualified for the WWII victory medal in his first year at West Point. I believe the guys attending service academies received these Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY Militaria Posted December 26, 2012 Share #5 Posted December 26, 2012 Great goup! Interesting that he used cloth Major's insignia on the actual helmet shell (or so it looks). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanmc1114 Posted December 26, 2012 Share #6 Posted December 26, 2012 Nice set...he may have qualified for the WWII victory medal in his first year at West Point. I believe the guys attending service academies received these That is correct. Cadets at West Point were considered to be on active duty. If he graduated in June 1950, he would have entered the academy in June 1946. The WWII Victory Medal was awarded for any active duty between December 7, 1941 and December 31, 1946, the date Harry Truman officially declared the end to hostilities. Ironically, the WWII Victory Medal has the dates "1941 - 1945" on its reverse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captainofthe7th Posted December 26, 2012 Author Share #7 Posted December 26, 2012 Ah, thank you guys for clarifying the victory medal eligibility. I hadn't even considered that he had to join in 1946 to graduate in 1950. DUH! And Justin, yes, the shell has a cloth insignia glued on as well. First I've seen like that! (My first officer's helmet, too!) Still curious about the origin of the unknown camo ascot and where the patches were made! Thanks for all the comments! Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY Militaria Posted December 26, 2012 Share #8 Posted December 26, 2012 I have an ascot identical to that with another officer's fatigue shirt I have, Vietnam era. Interesting piece, I wonder how many are still around? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefighter Posted December 27, 2012 Share #9 Posted December 27, 2012 Nice group.I like the two different ribbon racks.One for khaki's and one for green's.The 25th patches are beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captainofthe7th Posted December 27, 2012 Author Share #10 Posted December 27, 2012 I have an ascot identical to that with another officer's fatigue shirt I have, Vietnam era. Interesting piece, I wonder how many are still around? I have seen the pattern somewhere before as well, a few times. I'm guessing that most of these pieces date from 56 to 58 maybe? Since he was in the reserves he does not show up in the officer's register. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
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 accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now