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WW1 Navy Corpsman to Rear Admiral Group


Belleauwood
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ONE OF MY FAVORITE ITEMS IN THE ENTIRE GROUP.

I've seen a lot of paper, but never a meal card home. - How neet is this?

 

 

More later if any interest.

 

Hope you are enjoying it.

 

DJ

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Dennis',

What an amazing story, can't wait to hear more. Quick question, why did he jump ship to the Navy? Did he have medical training and it was suggested that he would better serve the cause with the Navy? He must have turned a lot of heads his whole career with that fourragere and that rack. I wonder how many Navy men wore the fourragere during WWII. He must have run into Clifton Cates and all the other Marine salts throughout his career. Dennis once again thank you for sharing, hope you have a good Christmas.

 

Enrique

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Enrique,

 

I have a pile of letters to finish colating to get them ready for printing. I have not seen one that explains his decision yet, but I believe there may have been a couple of factors. Several of his friends from his home town joined the Marine Corps, and he followed suite. I think it was his intention to be a medic all along, and realized that the Navy provided the Marines with thier corpsman. If you notice, he was discharged from the Corps and enlisted the same day in the Navy as a hospital apprentice. It is also worth note that his father was a physician as well as his grandfather. All of his children would later become physicians as well.

 

DJ

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Stinger Gunner USMC
Enrique,

 

I have a pile of letters to finish colating to get them ready for printing. I have not seen one that explains his decision yet, but I believe there may have been a couple of factors. Several of his friends from his home town joined the Marine Corps, and he followed suite. I think it was his intention to be a medic all along, and realized that the Navy provided the Marines with thier corpsman. If you notice, he was discharged from the Corps and enlisted the same day in the Navy as a hospital apprentice. It is also worth note that his father was a physician as well as his grandfather. All of his children would later become physicians as well.

 

DJ

 

Ive seen this a couple times. It has something to do with insuring that you become attached to the FMF. The Corps will release you to the Navy to become a corpsman or a chaplain but they make an agreement with the Navy that the serviceman can return to the FMF.

 

We had a guy in bootcamp who had this Theological degree but the Navy couldn't guarentee him attachment to the FMF as a Chaplain so he joined the Marines then on the day we graduated bootcamp he was discharged from the Corps and sworn in as a Naval Officer. We had another guy in my unit that had been a marine for several years and decided mid enlistment that he would be better suited as a corpsman. The corps released him mid enlistment and after completing his schooling he was returned to my unit as a Navy corpsman.

 

If I had to guess, I would bet that this guy did something similar to ensure he would be able to serve along side Marines.

 

Dennis, this is an absolutly amazing grouping! Marines can't say enough about our corpsman and this a a fantastic grouping to a true hero!

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I apologize for the random insertions on this post, but I'm putting them up as I come across my material. There is very little published about the Navy Corpsman that were attached to the Marines during the first World War. The best book that I have found on the subjest is G.C. Strott's (USN Ret.) book, "Navy Medics with the Marines 1917-19". Some of the following are either paraphrased or are directly from Stott's compilation.

 

I have been trying to find a Navy Corpsman's group that was attached to the Marines for several years now. An Id'ed uniform group surfaced in my good friend's (Jeff Schrader) catalogue at AGM a little while back and I was fortunate to snag it with the hope that I could dig deeper and find a thread of information to build on. A few dead ends and several telephone calls later, I located one of the sons. After the death of his parents, the estate was liquidated by an estate service and all items, including the stately home was sold. The uniforms were found in the laundry room in a large laundry bag. -----------Long story shorter--- the uniforms were sold to AGM, boxed, stored, then lost for several years according to Jeff. They were found and placed in the AGM catalogue and are now in my collection. - The family did not know that there were any uniforms in the house when the contents were liquidated according to the son. He was surprised to learn that I had his father's uniforms and asked how I obtained them. I repeated the preceeding story to him and asked if he had any items that he would be willing to part with to add to the group. Other that some photos, he was not aware of any documents, orders or military items from his fathers service. The medals were with another family member and not in his possession but he did have a photo that he could send me.

 

Several weeks later I received a call form the son with news that he had found 3 boxes in his garage that contained "some military stuff" of his father's. He started sending me one or two items that I expressed a desire to have over a one year period.--- A photo here, an EGA there, and ribbon bar and so on. And then two boxes arrive with all the rest of the stuff, including about 150 letters home from 1917 thru 1919.

 

Here are some of the bullet points concerning Navy Corpsman - Some are from Strott's book with my research on Nathanial Hall Lufkin. All this information will be properly formatted and provided to the family.

 

 

Naval Corpsmen of the U.S. Marine Corps in WW1

 

There were a total of 331 officers and enlisted men in the Naval Medical Department that served with the Marines in actual combat in France during World War One. These men were the recipients of 684 decorations and awards, or 207 percent.

 

The hospital corpsman of the Fourth Brigade, U.S. Marine Corps, A.E.F., averaged 135 men. These men suffered 157 casualties from 7 June 1918 to 11 November 1918, a period of five and a fraction months.

 

The monthly casualties averaged 30.6 men. The annual casualty rate would have been 272 percent per average number of hospital corpsman attached to the Marines.

 

Pharmacists Mate, 3rd Class, Nathaniel H. Lufkin, was one of these men.

 

He was awarded the Navy Cross, Silver Star (2), & the Croix de Guerre

France, 1918

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pharmacists Mate 3rd Class, Nathaniel Hall Lufkin, USMC, A.E.F.

 

 

Awards & Decorations While Attached to the US Marines

France, 1918

 

Navy Cross –

 

“For exceptionally meritorious and distinguished service while attached to the

6th Regiment of the Marines. Without regard for his own safety, Lufkin

worked untiringly in rendering first aid to the wounded, and under extremely

heavy shell fire, exposing himself to fire on the battlefield to carry wounded

men on stretchers to a place of safety.”

 

Silver Star, United States Army – (3)

 

“For gallantry in action during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, October

6-9, 1918, in giving aid to the wounded under heavy enemy fire.”

 

Citation Order #3 – June 3, 1919, General Headquarters A.E.F.

 

“Without regard for personal safety worked untiringly rendering first aid to

the wounded under extremely heavy shell fire on the battlefield, to carry

wounded men on stretchers to a place of safety.”

 

General Order #88, 1918, Second Division, A.E.F.

 

“For gallantry in action against the enemy in the Champagne Sector.”

 

General Order #64, 1919, Second Division, A.E.F.

 

Croix de Guerre (Bronze Star) –

 

“ During the period of attacks at Blanc Mont (France), he displayed great

courage in going to the aid of the wounded under violent enemy barrage.”

 

Order # 13586-D

 

 

 

 

Other Decorations While Serving with the U.S. Marines

 

France & Germany 1918-1919

 

 

 

Army Occupation of Germany Medal

 

 

World War I Victory Medal *

 

* “ One Silver Star in lieu of 5 Battle Clasps and one Silver Star

for citation by the Commanding General, Second Division,

American Expeditionary Forces for Gallantry.”

 

 

 

 

 

Nathaniel Hall Lufkin, Hospital Apprentice, 1st Class, United States Navy

 

Chronology

 

 

 

Entered into service (USMC) May 1, 1917 at Mare Island, California, Serial No. 303733

Attached to Company “D”, Marine Barracks at Mare Island to July 16, 1917

 

Marine Barracks, Quantico, Va. July 23, 1917 to October 8, 1917

Attached to 79th Company, 2nd Battalion, 6th Regiment, USMC at Quantico

 

Discharged from Marine Corps, October 8, 1917 in order to enlist in the Hospital Corps, US Navy.

 

Hospital Corps, USN – 10th Regiment, Mobile Artillery, USMC, November 1917 at Quantico, Va. To April, 1918

 

Attached to 3rd Replacement Battalion, USMC, April 21, 1918 at Quantico, Va. & France

Attached to 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, June 18, 1918 in France

Attached to 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, July 18, 1918 in France

 

From Hospital Apprentice 2nd Class to Hospital Apprentice 1st Class, January, 1918

From Hospital Apprentice 1st Class to Pharmacists Mate 3rd Class, June 1918

From Pharmacists Mate 3rd Class to Pharmacists Mate 2nd Class, October, 1918

From Pharmacists Mate 2nd Class to Hospital Apprentice 1st Class, July, 1919

 

Embarked for France on USS Henderson from Philadelphia, April 22, 1918

Arrived Brest, France May 6, 1918

 

Additional Training, Chatillon-sur-Cher, France May 12, 1918 to June 14, 1918

 

Entered action June 18, 1918, Belleauwood - (Bois de Belleau), - France

Other engagements: - Soissons, - St. Mihiel, - Blanc Mont, - Meuse Argonne

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fourragere Authorization in the United States Navy

 

Marine Corps Orders, No.5 (Series 1920)

 

The units referred to were cited in the French Orders of the Army for their brilliant courage, remarkable ardor, tenacity, valiant advance, and their resolute and energetic activities, as follows:

 

The Fourth Brigade:

 

June 2-13 – Boureches and Bois de Belleau

 

Fifth and Sixth Regiments:

 

June 2-13, 1918 – Bouresches and Bois de Belleau

July 18-19, 1918 - Aisne- Marne (Soissons)

October 1918 – Meuse-Argonne (Champagne)

 

Sixth Machine Gun Battalion:

 

June 2-13, 1918 – Bouresches and Bios de Belleau

July 18-19 – Aisne-Marne (Soissons)

 

The Fouragere: “Navy” U.S.M.C. Card Roster

 

An authorization card will be furnished to all officers and enlisted men and all others concerned who are entitled to wear the Fouragere by reason of their participation in the engagements for which said Fouragere was awarded. In the event of transfer from any of the organizations referred to above, or in case of discharge, the holder of this card will retain the same as his authority to wear the Fouragere. As will be noted in the order of authorization, individuals who were present and in the organizations mentioned when cited twice for the Fouragere, are entitled to wear the “cord” at all times (or its miniature), regardless of which other nondecorated organization they might, subsequently, be attached. In this respect the Fouragere in an individual decoration. As nearly as can be determined, this episode marks the first award of the Fouragere to personnel of the naval arm of any nation, including that of France.

 

Pharmacist’s Mate, Third Class Nathaniel H. Lufkin was awarded card No. 7135

 

 

His WW2 experience in the Navy as a physician is just as interesting .

 

More Later

 

Incidently, N. Lufkin is pictured in Strott's book on page 77, 4th from lt., seated

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  • 10 months later...

It's been awhile since I posted anything on the forum, so today seems the appropriate day. Not to repeat too much what's already been said on this group, I'll fast forward to a couple of months ago. - I have been working with this group for several years now and have been in contact with the family for as long as I have had this group. Most of the 100's of artifacts in this group have come from one of Nat's sons. The new artifacts have come from the Grandson of one Nat's other children. It seems that there was some articles that was discovered by the Grandson upon his father's death. His father lived in Hawaii. These were the remainder of his ribbon bars and insignia, ID cards, insignia; all the small things that were removed from the uniforms at some point in the past. All items pictured were the latest gifts from the family.

 

 

These will knock your socks off - Enjoy - DJ

 

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