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WWII KIA Purple Heart with uncommon engraving style?


RDUNE
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This is the only questionable machine engraved Purple Heart I have.

 

From what I can find, only one man with this name (from North Carolina) registered for the Draft and enlisted in the Army during WW2. His middle initial was A and it

is not found on the PH.

 

Can't find a WW1 vet. or an officer with this name.

 

My guess is that this Purple Heart was returned to the Government for engraving and the vet. simply didn't put his middle initial on the engraving order.

 

 

Wharf

 

 

 

 

post-525-0-66098300-1451511683.jpg

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This is the only questionable machine engraved Purple Heart I have.

 

From what I can find, only one man with this name (from North Carolina) registered for the Draft and enlisted in the Army during WW2. His middle initial was A and it

is not found on the PH.

 

Can't find a WW1 vet. or an officer with this name.

 

My guess is that this Purple Heart was returned to the Government for engraving and the vet. simply didn't put his middle initial on the engraving order.

 

 

Wharf

 

 

 

 

This one reminds me of the style used by a known "embellisher" from Florida if memory serves me correctly. I can't remember the details but it just rang a bell. Hopefully someone else can chime in on this one. No pun intended!

Rob

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Hmmm...Wharf...that's the first time I've seen that engraving!

Right Dave.

 

Note letters are very close together. May be a big clue.

 

Also, no WW2 KIAs with this name.

 

 

W

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  • 2 years later...

I think there is more than meets the eye to machine engraving, especially the large type. I have compiled many example photos of large machine engraving from various periods, and there are a variety of font sizes and styles that differ slightly. Small machine engraving is very consistent. I think these three line examples are original, and seem to date from the post DDay period. The more generally accepted large machine engraved medals tend to date from spring 1945. Its interesting to compare casualty rates to the appearance of machine engraving. My theory is that rising casualty rates outpaced the ability to hand engrave all medals, hence machine engraving. Its even possible that some of the machine engraved medals were done by a sub contractor of some kind.

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  • 2 years later...

While trying to find other examples of middle initials engraved on their own lines, I noticed that my photos are now absent from this post. Probably because at the time I posted them I was young and reckless and used photobucket...

Anyway, I'm adding images of the medal in question back to the post. The link in the first post that goes to a news article about finding a Purple Heart with the same style of engraving still appears to work, even though the image does not show up in the post.

 

John Payne 1.jpg

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I have a personal theory (not in my book) that there are two distinct sizes of large machine engraving. I would love to get my hands on examples and measure them with a micrometer to see if my theory is correct. Payne's appears to be correct, but I've seen three others that have engraving that almost matches the size of the MERIT on the reverse of the medal; larger than the standard 3/32" large machine engraved size. Interestingly, the three were from the Normandy campaign and were issued about the same time. 

Anyway, a random thought that really has very little to do with this thread, aside from the fact that after I started noticing these, I think that Bove (photographed in the thread earlier) may be one with slightly (and I'm talking very slightly, but not machine error slightly) larger than normal.

Dave

 

 

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So it looks like the Lloyd Swan Purple Heart that Frank Smith posted on page 2 is exactly what I was talking about...and noted that it was slightly larger. I'm seeing these for casualties from June/July 1944. 

The three-line PHs appear to be from the same time period. Not larger font size though. Interesting coincidence. 

I love figuring out new things...even when this information has been floating around out here on the internets for the last five years..... ugh!

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14 hours ago, Dave said:

 I would love to get my hands on examples and measure them with a micrometer to see if my theory is correct.

Dave,

I'd be happy to send you the Payne medal to measure any time ?

-Ryan

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Just to stir things up a bit and further the discussion, here is another one I recently picked up with the middle initial on its own line. This engraving is much smaller than the Payne medal. I have found almost nothing on Rady so far and I'm assuming he served in Korea or Vietnam. I bought it with no story attached, just as-is. Emedals.com has a Korean War group listed that has a Purple Heart with the same type of engraving: https://www.emedals.com/a-korean-war-purple-heart-group-to-sergeant-john-l-hunt

David Rady 1.jpg

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  • 2 years later...

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