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Mystery Span Am - WW1 Medal Grouping


Hessian
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Picked this up from the family via Craigslist a few weeks back.. finally arrived in the mail. Unfortunately all he family could tell me was that the veteran was in the band during WW1 (which the photos seem to support) and later in the Navy.

 

The USN Good Conduct and clasp are both marked for the USS Reina Mercedes. The Mercedes was a very interesting ship, being scuttled in Santiago harbor during the Spanish American War. Later it was refloated by the US and served, among other things, as a prison ship.

 

I'm not great at researching but I haven't been able to find out why he would have had the Span Am medal. It's numbered... is there any roster of these? I wonder if there is a correlation between the Span Am medal and the veterans service on the Mercedes.

 

Here are some pics of the group.

post-4618-0-66246800-1425683730.jpg

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Last one... the reverse of the GCM

 

Thanks for looking and any help that someone might be able to give in sorting this out...

 

 

post-4618-0-88674200-1425684069.jpg

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There is a Philippine Campaign ribbon on his ribbon bar too. That medal must be missing. He could have earned it during an Army enlistment.

 

Kurt

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Garth Thompson

I guess the medal you are asking about is the bronze cross which is a membership medal for the United Spanish War Veterans organization. The number is not traceable. This man's ribbon bar shows a USN Philippine Campaign medal ribbon, last one the right. This would entitle him to join the USWV. The USN Philippine must have been separated from the group.

Garth

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Thanks guys.. I did notice the missing medal and asked the family if they knew where it was. They said they would look for it.....

 

Some of the Army postcards are dated 1917 and made out to Alfred so I'm sure he was prior Army. Thanks for the info on the Philippine medal qualifying him for the Spanish War medal, I was not aware of that.

 

Is it uncommon for a sailor to have spent both enlistments on one ship? It would seem like it was really a shore duty since the ship was not powered,

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I found a 1901 enlistment for him and he served with the 11th Cav. He was from Canada, He was in the Army for at least 10-12 years.

 

caron1.JPG

 

caron2.JPG

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Thanks Kurt! Does it give a dob? I found a grave marker but I'm not sure it's the same guy. It gives the WW1 unit as 143rd BN?

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BINGO. Thanks Kurt.... Turns out he's buried at Arlington.. I'll have to make it over one day when the snow clears.

 

What is "MUC" that's listed at the top of the stone... Don't think I've ever seen that one....

 

 

post-4618-0-75971700-1425685620.jpg

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Makes sense now.. Ancestry also says he was part of the 10th Cav and is listed as a "Buffalo Soldier"?

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teufelhunde.ret

Not in this case. As Kurt says, Chief Musician. VERY interesting group. Congrats......Bob

Ditto, good luck in finding that medal!

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  • 4 weeks later...

1924 dated USN GCM so would think ship named not related for him to SAW. Grave markers do not always have ALL the service info on a person...i.e...my step-dad was USN WW2, USAF 1948 0n. I had them add the USN service on the stone which they did very nicely.

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