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WWII BUFFALO SOLDIER MEDAL GROUP 92nd DIVISION WIA ITALY


KASTAUFFER
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I recently acquired this group from an auction in Pennsylvania. You don't often see many groups turn up from the 92nd Division.

 

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Pvt. Pritchett was born in Philadelphia in 1923. He was drafted in May 1944 and was sent to Basic Training in Alabama. Once completed he was transferred to Italy and arrived there in January 1945 and was assigned as a Machine Gunner to the 366th Infantry, 92nd Division.

 

Here is some background on the 366th:

 

The 366th was activated 10 February 1941 at Fort Devens, Massachusetts and assigned to the Eastern Defense Command on 30 April 1942.

 

· Attached to the 1st Service Command on 1 May 1943 and to the XIII Corps on 1 September 1943.

· Moved to A. P. Hill Military Reservation, Virginia 14 October 1943 and to Camp Atterbury, Indiana 23 November 1943 under XX Corps.

· Assigned XXII Corps 21 January 1944 and staged at Camp Patrick Henry, Virginia 22 March 1944 until it departed Hampton Roads P/E (Point of Embarkation) 28 March 1944.

· Arrived North Africa 6 April 1944 and attached to 15th Air Force Service Command for airfield security duties from Sardinia to the Adriatic coast.

· Assigned to Fifth Army 4 November 1944 and arrived Livorno, Italy 21 November 1944 for attachment to the 92nd Infantry Division until 25 February 1945.

· Disbanded in Italy on 28 March 1945 and personnel transferred into the 224th and 226th Engineer General Service Regiments.

 

Colonel Howard Donovan Queen was the commanding officer (CO) at the time of embarkation in March 1944. Although the 366th Infantry had been at "combat readiness", after a prolonged period which was devoted only to guard duty, Queen felt that they needed at least three months for preparation to be "combat ready". Queen wrote a significant request for withdrawal from active command and included his guarded reservations in regard to his deeply held tenets. In spite of this it was decided in November 1944 to attach the 366th Infantry to the 92nd Division.

 

Prior to the attachment of the 366th Infantry, the 92nd Division saw action at the Battle of Monte Cassino, and were in the vanguard of the 5th Army's liberation of Rome as one of the first units to reach the city, two days before the Normandy Invasion. (As a gesture of thanks, they received a papal blessing at a special ceremony in Saint Peter's Square.)

 

Pvt, Pritchett was WIA on March 19th 1945, very close to the date the 366th was disbanded. He was awarded the Purple Heart # 230388. It has a painted insert. It would have been awarded to him in Italy. His Bronze Star is machine engraved in a 1950's style and would have been awarded based on his CIB. His campaign medals and Bronze Star were mailed in the blue shipping boxes from the PQMD in the 1950s.

 

He stayed in Europe until June 1946 and was discharged in July 1946.

 

Pvt. Pritchett died in the city of his birth in 2008.

 

 

 

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That's one great group.

 

I love the description of the light machine gunner and the misspelling of destroy.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 1 year later...

Great Group- Not sure the BSM is a CIB conversion though -why would it be listed on his discharge from 1946 if so? He might have just mailed it off to have it engraved later.

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Great Group- Not sure the BSM is a CIB conversion though -why would it be listed on his discharge from 1946 if so? He might have just mailed it off to have it engraved later.

If you look closely at his discharge you can see that it was updated after the original document was prepared. That is why there are initials after the notations. The font of the typing is also different than the original font.

 

Kurt

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Jumpin Jack

The wonderful thing about the Forum is members, such as yourself, keep the history of our Vets alive. Great grouping! Thanks for sharing. Jack

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BigJohn#3RD

Great Group- Not sure the BSM is a CIB conversion though -why would it be listed on his discharge from 1946 if so? He might have just mailed it off to have it engraved later.

Baron, if you look in section 25, back, of the Honorable Discharge paper, there is 29 October 1954 update of the discharge signed by the individual who officially updated the former soldier's awards so more than likely this is a CIB conversion. If the BSM had been issued in WW2, the G.O. would have been annotated along with the other changes. Seeing that the division CG Edward M Almond, a racist SOB, there would be a small chance Private Prichett would have received a BSM while serving in the 92nd ID

 

Anyone who thinks my remarks are incorrect please take the time to read "Lasting Valor: Story of the only living Back World War II veteran to earn America's highest distinction for valor, the Medal of Honor" by Vernon J. Baker with Ken Olsen.

 

 

K thanks for bringing this thread up again.

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Baron, if you look in section 25, back, of the Honorable Discharge paper, there is 29 October 1954 update of the discharge signed by the individual who officially updated the former soldier's awards so more than likely this is a CIB conversion. If the BSM had been issued in WW2, the G.O. would have been annotated along with the other changes. Seeing that the division CG Edward M Almond, a racist SOB, there would be a small chance Private Prichett would have received a BSM while serving in the 92nd ID

 

Anyone who thinks my remarks are incorrect please take the time to read "Lasting Valor: Story of the only living Back World War II veteran to earn America's highest distinction for valor, the Medal of Honor" by Vernon J. Baker with Ken Olsen.

 

 

K thanks for bringing this thread up again.

Thanks John

 

I had the opportunity to meet Vernon Baker and get a signed copy of his book when I lived in Idaho back in the 80's.

 

Kurt

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