USMC CHINA RELIEF EXPEDITION GROUP-IMPERIAL ORDER OF THE DRAGON

[bobgee]

After viewing the wonderful China Boxer medals recently posted, I dug out one of my favorites for 'show & tell.' Pvt Ernest E. V. a. n. o. u. s. eniisted in the Marine Corps for 5 years on 25 Sept 1899. His birthday was stated as 11 June 1879 and attested to by his parents, making him 20 years & 3 months old. We'll get back to this a little later.

 

He enlisted at Annapolis, Maryland and was retained there until his transfer to Cavite, P.I. on 22 July 1900. He served with Co. 'A', 3d Bn, 2d Regiment from 21 July 1900 until 17 May 1901 and served with this unit during the China Relief Expedition at Tientsin from 22 August 1900 to 10 October 1900 when he returned to the P.I. serving with Co. 'B'. He returned to the U.S. in March 1903, assigned again to Marine Barracks, USNA, Annapolis. In December he was transferred to Panama. In March 1904 he was transferred to Marine Barracks, Navy Yard, Brooklyn, NY and was honorably discharged on 25 September 1904 upon the expiration of his enlistment.

 

What is really neat about this group is that it contains numerous photos which are very scarce for this period, There are 2 cabinet photos of him in blues taken in Baltimore; a great photo of him & a buddy, shown below, taken in Manila in 1900 or 1901, both dates are noted on it. He is standing on the right. They are in field uniform, armed & accoutered, as a buddy of mine stated. There are 13 original images from the P.I. from 1900 to 1903 of various military scenes. On the reverse of the Manila photo he wrote a short biography in pencil : "1. Messenger-12 years old-3years; 2.U.S. Marine-5 years; 3. Railroad passenger conductor-3 years; 4. Guard U.S. Naval Academy 33 years. 5. Vetern (sic) of Foreign Wars."

 

His China medal is numbered '251'; his Philippine medal is numbered '681' which he receipted for on 1 October 1909. His Expeditionary medal is numbered M.No. 6076 and is presumably for service in Panama in 1903/4. He was a member of the Imperial Order of the Dragon and his badge is numbered '269' and checks to him on the IOD list.

 

Now back to his date of birth. On Ancestry we found his September 1918 Draft registration card which shows a DOB of 5 June 1883! When he enlisted he stated & his parents verified, that he was born 11 June 1879. Was he actually only 16 years old when he started his adventure? It looks that way.

Enjoy! Semper Fi! Bob

 

[Dirk]

Bob one of my favorites! That photo is what makes it for me! Thank you for sharing!

[Brig]

 

 

What is really neat about this group is that it contains numerous photos which are very scarce for this period, There are 2 cabinet photos of him in blues taken in Baltimore

 

Whiskey...tango...foxtrot...

 

Stop teasing us and show us more of these photos! You're holding out on us Bob, and I need a feel-good moment after the past couple of days

[katieony]

Another fabulous group...thanks for posting!

 

Mike

[kanemono]

Great group. My favorite medals and this group is extra special with the Order of the Dragon and photographs. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Dick

[devildog34]

I've seen this one in person and it is spectacular. Great to see this one up here Bob, a true piece of Marine Corps history. Outstanding.

Semper Fi

[bobgee]

Thanks for the coments, Gents.

As requested here are some more pics. These two of him in Blues taken in Baltimore, likely in 1899, have a great collector's story. I obtained the group at an OMSA convention in California in August 1999 from an East Coast collector.

The photo on the left accompanied the group. It is well worn and shows its age, broken at the lower third. Nevertheless I was thrilled to have a period photo of my Marine. My traveling companion and room mate for the convention, also a Marine collector from Texas, with a fantastic USMC photo collection, looked at the pic and shouted, "I've got that image." I thought he was losing it and he kept persisting that he had the same photo in his collection, purchased on eBay from a collector in California. I was doubtful but upon return to Texas he produced a mint original of the same photo, shown on the right. We made a deal and I acquired it. Where it had remained for a 100 years is unknown.

 

[bobgee]

As mentioned there were other photos with the group. Most are shots of scenes in the P.I., likely stock souvenir photos but nonetheless vintage. They are all in aged condition. The two below have a USMC interest. The first shows the gate at the Naval Base, Cavite. The next a shot of Marines on the veranda of a barracks. Enjoy-Semper Fi! Bob

 

 

[bobgee]

Here's another pic of interest to historians & medal collectors. It's a shot of the old Manila gate which is depicted on the obverse of the USMC/USN Philippine Campaign medal.

 

[bobgee]

Here's the receipt for his China & Philippine Campaign medals dtd 1 Oct 1909

 

 

[Brig]

Great photos, Bob, thanks for adding them

 

And that is a great story...funny how these things seem to reunite over time

[BigJohn#3RD]

Bob,

Excellent historical group. I have to agree that the photos along with the medals really make this an outstanding group.

Thanks for posting!

John

[0811gysgt]

Wow Bob, they really don’t get much better than a group like that. Thank You for posting it!

[scottplen]

Wow outstanding group !

[aerialbridge]

Beautiful group. And congrats on finding a mint cabinet card of your Marine to upgrade from the one that you had. What are the odds of that?

[bobgee]

Thanks for the comments. Here's a shot of the reverse of his Imperial Order of the Dragon badge #269.