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USN U.S.S. Bowie 'Trench Art' WWII canteen set.

 

found this WWII canteen set at the local swap meet and found a pleasant surprise!

 

the canteen was etched on the front:

 

SS BOWIE RLG

 

the back was also etched:

 

LEYTE

 

MARSHALLS ISL

 

I did a search for the USS BOWIE and found that it was a WWII Attack Transport Ship, built in California, and was in the same places as etched on the canteen.

 

http://www.ibiblio.o...APA/apa137.html

 

belt made by:

 

KASCO 1942

 

canteen carrier made by:

 

JA SHOE 1942

 

canteen mfg. by

 

SMCO 1944

 

cup mfg. by

 

US AGMCO 1945

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  • 1 year later...
Croix de Guerre

I'm still not sure if this is the proper place for this item but I thought maybe some of you might enjoy seeing this and reading the story. A few years ago I was at a local militaria show when a friend of mine mentioned that he had found a piece that he thought I might be interested in. It was a trench art canteen, that had a man's name and other writing scrathed into it. I recognized that the markings were to a driver in the American Ambulance Field Service. The front of the canteen had his name, what looked to be two sections he was with and various other French writing. The back of the canteen really puzzled me, it was obviously a travel diary listing the places he had been, but besides the french place names there was a whole list of the oddly Greek sounding names. After speaking to the dealer it was obvious that he had no idea what the American Field Service was nor did he know anything about this Ramon Guthrie fellow. Well, of course I had to have it so after haggling a bit (you always have to haggle), money was exchanged and the canteen went home with me.

 

As soon as I got home I checked the roster in Volume III of the History of the AFS and sure enough there was my man. Ramon Hollister Guthrie, Sections 9 and 3. This lead to several months of research, phone calls, letter writing and a three ring binder on Ramon as follows:

 

 

Ramon Hollister Guthrie was born in New York City on January 1, 1896; the son of Harry and Ella May Hollister Guthrie. Sometime in 1898-1899 the marriage of his parents failed and he along with his mother and baby sister Eleanor moved to Hartford, Connecticut. He attended public school in Hartford and by the time he was nineteen he was working at the Winchester Arms factory in New Haven. In 1916 he enlisted in the Connecticut National Guard, serving with the 10th Connecticut Field Artillery Regiment. That same year his mother committed suicide. Soon after Ramon resigned from the National Guard and enlisted in the French Army as a volunteer ambulance driver with the American Ambulance Field Service.

 

Arriving in France in mid-1916, he was at first assigned to Section 9 which was then serving with the French armies fighting in the Vosges Mountain region of Alsace-Lorraine. In 1917 he volunteered to join Section 3 which had been attached to the French Army of the Orient then engaged in fighting in the Balkans. Section 3 sailed for Salonica in October and by November Guthrie found himself dodging shells while driving over the wild and rugged roads in the mountains of Albania and northern Greece.

 

By the fall of 1917, the United States had entered the war against Germany and began to assume control of all the volunteer American ambulance sections. Ramon’s section was ordered back to Paris were it was disbanded. Guthrie then enlisted in the Army Air Corps on November 6, 1917. After completing his training by June 14, 1918 and accepting a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant, Ramon served as an observer with the 11th Aero Squadron Day Bombardment Group. He was decorated with the Silver Star for bravery on September 18, 1918 for exceptional gallantry during the Battle of Conflans and credited with the destruction of four enemy planes.

 

After the war Guthrie stayed in France and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Paris. In 1922 he received his doctorate from the University of Toulouse. On April 8, 1922 he married Marguerite Maurey. By 1924 he and Marguerite had moved to the U.S. and Ramon began teaching at the University of Arizona. By 1930 Guthrie was appointed assistant professor of French at Dartmouth College. A prolific writer, Guthrie wrote hundreds of articles, reviews and poems. In 1938 Ramon received an honorary Master of Arts degree and appointed Professor, Dartmouth College.

 

During World War Two he served in the Office of Strategic Services {The O.S.S.; the predecessor of the C.I.A.} from 1944 to 1945. (more on this later)

 

His greatest recognition came in 1970 after the publication of his poem, “Maximum Security Ward” which he wrote while hospitalized for cancer treatment. He received the Marjorie Peabody Waite Award of the National Academy of Arts and Letters in 1971.

 

Ramon Hollister Guthrie died in Hanover, New Hampshire on November 22, 1973.

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Croix de Guerre

Here are the inscriptions on the canteen, some are pretty faint and difficult to make out.

 

 

 

“Snake Bite Only, N.C.T.U.”

 

“Ramon H. Guthrie SSU 9. 3”

 

“Drink deep or taste not the Thepav Spring”

 

“Serpents a lover par jour ou par le couede dents”

 

 

“Ta sante ma petite chou fleur

Ma divine mignon

Ma aimee pomme deterre!”

 

 

TOUL

ROYAUMEIX

BAR-LE-DUC

RUPT-DEVANTS ST. MILHEL

VILLOTTE

LIGNY-EN BARROWS

VAUCOLEUR

COUSSY

PARIS

MARSEILLE

TOULLON

BISERTE

 

And then the names from the Salonika front;

 

MALTE

MILO

SALONIQUE

MONASTIR

FLORINA

KATERINA

LARISSA

VOLO

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Croix de Guerre

Here is a photo of Ramon when he was an observer with the 11th Aero Squadron

 

Another view

 

11th Aero Squadron, "X" marks Ramon

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Croix de Guerre

SUMMARY OF SECTION 9

AMERICAN FIELD SERVICE

PERTAINING TO RAMON GUTHRIE

 

 

Section Nine came into existence on August 14, 1916 and left Versailles for the Vosges Mountains. It worked over practically the same ground as Section Three had worked over before it, serving in the valley of the Thur, in the region of the Ballon de Guebwiller, Hartsmannsweilerkopf, and around Mollau and Mittlach.

 

SUMMARY OF SECTION THREE

AMERICAN FIELD SERVICE

PERTAINING TO RAMON GUTHRIE

 

In the beginning of autumn 1916, it was decided, owing to the request of the French Government for a section such as had been able to work in the mountains of Alsace, to send Section Three to the Balkans with the French Army of the Orient. Consequently, it was ordered to Marseilles, sailing for Salonica October 20, and arriving at this city the 28th. In November the Section was assigned to the Monastir sector. Several times cars were detached and sent over into the wild, mountainous country of Albania to serve French troops there, and on one occasion the whole Section was sent to Greece with the French force ordered there to maintain Greece's neutrality. The Section remained in the Balkans until October, 1917, when the United States Army took over the Field Service work. The United States, not being at war at the time with Austria, Bulgaria, or Turkey, the War Department was unwilling to take over the Field Service work in this region. The personnel of the Section were obliged to return to France.

 

 

SUMMARY OF THE

11TH AERO SQUADREN

UNITED STATES ARMY AIR CORP.

 

The 11th Aero Squadron was a Day Bombardment Squadron assigned to duty in the First Day Bombardment Group, First Army, on 5 September 1918. The squadron insignia was that of the cartoon character "Mr. Jiggs" carrying a bomb under his arm. The 11th was engaged in operations at St. Mihiel and the 1st and 2nd Meuse-Argonne offensives. It made 32 bombing raids, engaged in 17 combat sorties and was credited with 13 victories. It ceased operations on 11 December 1918. The squadron suffered 20 casualties consisting of 10 killed, 1 wounded, 8 prisoners and 1 missing.

 

Insignia

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Croix de Guerre
Very nice find and thank you for posting this, I found it quite interesting.......and all from a canteen! Thanks again.

Your very welcome. This is what I love to do, take an ID'd piece and follow the leads to get at the story. I'm doing the same thing right now with an ID'd hat worn by a volunteer with the Norton Harjes Ambulance Service. I'll put it up when I get more info.

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Wow C de G, that is some awesome research work you have done there.

The Canteen is fantastic. thumbsup.gif

I'd love to hear about Guthrie's WW2 OSS service

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  • 4 months later...

3rd Infantry Division 'Trench Art' Mess Kit.

 

A local antique dealer gave me a call yesterday and told me tha the had a WWI messkit with the guys name carved in it for me.

 

I got over there and found this really nice messkit with the vet's name, unit, engagemnts and some art carved into it. If anyone has any infor on a "E. Freeman" 4th Infantry, 3rd Division, please let me know!

post-203-1228011851.jpg

 

post-203-1228011861.jpg

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Wow C de G, that is some awesome research work you have done there.

The Canteen is fantastic. thumbsup.gif

I'd love to hear about Guthrie's WW2 OSS service

 

 

Well, it's a cold rainy day here in God's Country and what's more Momma and the Baby are asleep so I've had a little time to look over some old forgotten papers. Mr. X asked a long time ago about Ramon Guthrie's OSS service. I don't know much about it to be honest, although judging by the paperwork I was able to get, he was in North Africa and France. Most of what I got from the archives has to do with accounting issues and payroll taxes, (I guess even spies have to pay their taxes!) But, I would imagine some of this paper work may be interesting so I scanned some that I thought were kinda cool.

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Croix de Guerre
Well, it's a cold rainy day here in God's Country and what's more Momma and the Baby are asleep so I've had a little time to look over some old forgotten papers. Mr. X asked a long time ago about Ramon Guthrie's OSS service. I don't know much about it to be honest, although judging by the paperwork I was able to get, he was in North Africa and France. Most of what I got from the archives has to do with accounting issues and payroll taxes, (I guess even spies have to pay their taxes!) But, I would imagine some of this paper work may be interesting so I scanned some that I thought were kinda cool.
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Croix de Guerre
Well, it's a cold rainy day here in God's Country and what's more Momma and the Baby are asleep so I've had a little time to look over some old forgotten papers. Mr. X asked a long time ago about Ramon Guthrie's OSS service. I don't know much about it to be honest, although judging by the paperwork I was able to get, he was in North Africa and France. Most of what I got from the archives has to do with accounting issues and payroll taxes, (I guess even spies have to pay their taxes!) But, I would imagine some of this paper work may be interesting so I scanned some that I thought were kinda cool.
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Croix de Guerre
Well, it's a cold rainy day here in God's Country and what's more Momma and the Baby are asleep so I've had a little time to look over some old forgotten papers. Mr. X asked a long time ago about Ramon Guthrie's OSS service. I don't know much about it to be honest, although judging by the paperwork I was able to get, he was in North Africa and France. Most of what I got from the archives has to do with accounting issues and payroll taxes, (I guess even spies have to pay their taxes!) But, I would imagine some of this paper work may be interesting so I scanned some that I thought were kinda cool.
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Croix de Guerre

More about Guthrie and his service:

 

http://ead.dartmouth.../html/ml45.html

 

The OSS

 

http://history.sandi...eline/oss3.html

 

The 11th Aero Squadron

 

http://afhra.maxwell...ages/0011bs.asp

 

The Salonika Front in World War One

 

http://www.britannic...edition-1915-17

 

Tom,

 

I rarely get over into this section of the forum, but I am very glad that I saw this posting. Thanks for a very well thought out presentation. I am dumbfounded at the amount of information that you were able to find from inscriptions on a canteen. Good detective work... http://www.usmilitar...tyle_emoticons/default/thumbsup.gif

 

 

Thanks for the kind words Steve, I really had a great time researching Mr. Guthrie. I bet he would've been an interesting guy to speak with! Maybe he would've shared a sip of "snake bite medicine" with me from this flask?!

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Croix de Guerre

I don't know is this will help.

 

Frank E Freedman 6 Jul 1895 Caucasian (White) New York Buffalo, Erie, NY

 

 

David E Freedman 12 Oct 1890 White London;England Brooklyn, Kings, NY

 

 

Bernard E Freedman 25 Jul 1877 White Brooklyn, Kings, NY

 

 

Samuel E Freedman Mar 1888 White Russia Manhattan, New York, NY

 

 

Jacob E Freedman 8 Mar 1884 White Not Stated, Tioga, NY

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  • 10 months later...

WWII Engineer 'Trench Art' Canteen & Cup.

 

I picked up this canteen at an antique mall a couple of years ago. No luck doing phonebook research. But I liked it because it looks like the work of a regular guy, done over a long period of time. Not fancy, but real.

 

If you've ever used those lip-burning rolled aluminum cup edges, you'll know why he sheared the one off on this cup. This raw edge disappates heat a little quicker.

 

The cover was lined with what appears to blanket wook, on top of the original lining.

 

According to NARA serial number lookup:

 

ASN 33104088 was Louis E. Osborne, from Allegheny, Pa.

 

Enlisted at Ft. Meade, Md. on 10-24-41, which is also inscribed on the back of the canteen.

 

670th Engineers Topographic Co. covered a lot of ground in the Pacific War; shown on his canteen are: Pittsburgh, 29 Engr. Portland O., Ft. Lewis, Ft. Belvoir, Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Green Island, New Hebrides, Philippines, along with a 2 palm trees (one unfinished), a hut, and some other markings.

 

I kind of like this personalized stuff; seabags, messgear, and the like.

 

Best regards,

Paul

 

post-6057-1256613312.jpg

 

post-6057-1256613365.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

WWII Engineer 'Trench Art' Mess Kit.

 

 

Hi guys,

 

This is a mess kit I've had for a few years. It looks original from every indication and I have no reason to doubt its originality. The mess kit itself is an A.G.M. Co 1942. My question is what do you all think of the markings? What unit did the soldier who made the markings belong to? I haven't had any luck finding anything.

 

 

cheers,

 

Kyle

 

trenchartmesskit1.jpg

trenchartmesskit2.jpg

trenchartmesskit3.jpg

trenchartmesskit4.jpg

trenchartmesskit5.jpg

trenchartmesskit6.jpg

trenchartmesskit7.jpg

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This is one of the unit histories for the unit you are looking for. It did in fact serve in the Pacfic, and was in Japan during the occupation. The link below is to the Army Command and General Staff College, and they have several regimental histories. check under the Engineer Regimental Histories.

 

 

http://comarms.ipac.dynixasp.com/ipac20/ip...e=~!comarms

 

 

 

Engineering in the Pacific theater with the 1629th Engineer Construction Battalion.

by United States. Army. Corps of Engineers. Construction Battalion, 1629th., Meinke, Robert D.

 

Leigh...

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