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Iwo Jima Marine Navy Cross and Purple Heart on ebay


oldradiostuff
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Raidercollector

Hopefully the way its framed the documents where not glued to the frame backing. Every one that I owned was glued. All so can not see the brooches on the medals. The Navy cross looks to be WW2. Can not tell on the PH. The doc,s are 100% real. Nice group.

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BAGGETT, BARNIE O.

Citation:

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Barnie O. Baggett (444135), Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps (Reserve), for extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty while serving as a Fire Group Leader of Company C, First Battalion, Twenty-Seventh Marines, FIFTH Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 28 February 1945. When intense machine-gun, rifle and mortar fire pinned down his platoon, corporal Baggett volunteered to lead tanks forward of the front lines to direct their fire. Although painfully wounded in the shoulder by enemy sniper fire, he continued to direct the tank fire on hostile defensive positions and, when he was again wounded, refused evacuation until the Japanese position in the area was destroyed. His initiative, courage and unselfish devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

SPOT AWARD, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific: Serial 44965-45

Home Town: Tampa, Florida

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Raidercollector

To me the Medals where added after seeing the back of the Navy cross., Documents are good. Who ever is bidding on these will get a surprise. I bet the PH will be a surprise to when you see the back.

 

Nick

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oldradiostuff

What would be the surprise? The NC looks like a full wrap brooch, which should be correct for WWII, shouldn't it? The PH looks like a Type III, which again would be right for 1945. The letter to the PH looks like it was awarded to him in the hospital, so I wouldn't expect it to be engraved. What isn't right?

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Raidercollector

The NC is a split brooch. What should be a 3 piece construction made in the 30's and early ww2. Why would he be awarded a early NC. ?

 

Nick

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oldradiostuff

I disagree that it's a split brooch. The seller has a fairly close in photo of the NC from the front, and you can clearly see the brooch bar going across the back.

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Nick, you have the wrong auction.

 

I find it interesting that the seller highlights the Purple Heart but not the Navy Cross in the title and description.

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One question, answered in the positive.

 

This was professionally mounted. I'd be surprised if the paper is also not permanently affixed. They wouldn't mount the medals like this, and then use Elmer's to glue the paper to the matboard or backing. Most likely archival artist tape that peels off without damaging the paper.

 

 

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This really is an unbelievably, historic USMC group. How many NC, PH Marine groups are out there from Iwo? And how many to guys that fought and survived in "Manila John" Basilone's outfit, -- Company C, First Battalion, Twenty-Seventh Marines, FIFTH Marine Division?

 

Awesome and "once in a lifetime" is much over-used these days, but this one really is. Makes me think twice about it, and I'm a Navy collector.

 

Epitaph written on an ammo carton, Fifth Marine Division cemetery, Iwo Jima-

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oldradiostuff

I've been in contact with the seller. She opened the frame and the medals are not engraved, and the papers are attached by small pieces of tape to the back of the mat board frame, so they should be fine. She has also sent this information to me:

Hi. I contacted the Marines wife and stopped by her house and she told me she has photos, some kind of 1971 5th marine division reunion binder with all kinds of paperwork inside and she also has a jar he had with gravel from iwo jima and a bullet casing he saved inside the jar. She will look for letters from him from that era.

 

I advised her to see what she could retrieve, and to keep it all together and sell it as a single group with the medals. I told her ebay would likely be pulling the auction at some point.

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Good job in contacting the seller and telling her to keep it all together. This one will be going to a good collector home--hopefully a forum member who will research it and post it here (before it goes in the vault), even if the rotten, good- for- nothing, Purple Heart ebay auction-killer, flying monkeys get the auction pulled.

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aerialbridge

Anybody notice that Barney Baggett drove a '55 Chevy? It's too bad we have no idea about the extensiveness of the paper and photos that goes with this group, which is just a footnote and an afterthought, but a huge one thanks to oldradio suggesting it to the lady. And thanks to him, Barney Baggett's group didn't get backdoor lowballed early on.

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After a complete hijacking by the membership, I have cleaned this post up. About 2 pages had to be edited.

 

This topic is about a medal group, not eBay practices or how unfair they are. If members wish to discuss the auction, it can be discussed in the OT topic.

 

It has become a growing trend of topics about eBay items being derailed into discussions and gripe-sessions about eBay, and takes away from rare and historical discussions such as this one. We have countless topics in the OT forum about eBay...feel free to contribute to them. Let's not derail good topics with dead horse beating.

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