Lets see some US NAVY Good Conduct Medals !!

[Sweazy21]

10 minutes ago, aerialbridge said:

Nice replacement medal for the original nickel cross.  By the known engraving hand looks to be about 1900.  Is that paint on it?

Some sort of residue, my guess is that it’s been through a fire. 

[aerialbridge]

I had a set of BB&B early campaign medals that had been through a fire.  Cant seem to find any of the pix I took of them.  The metal had actually somewhat melted around the fonts.  This looks like paint to me.

[Sweazy21]

13 minutes ago, aerialbridge said:

I had a set of BB&B early campaign medals that had been through a fire.  Cant seem to find any of the pix I took of them.  The metal had actually somewhat melted around the fonts.  This looks like paint to me.

I guess it would depend on the severity of the fire. A few medal that were recovered from my friends property after his house burnt down looked like this. That’s why I figured fire. 

[blademan]

Here is my USN GCM.  Interesting the ship he was on was a surrendered WWI German ship put into service for our navy. 

[BeansEnHay]

This is one I purchased as a disc only and later added a suspender and ribbon that fit, but I suspect date from the 20s or 30s.

 

George Grover Gillett was born in the somewhat infamous town of Silver City, New Mexico in 1888. I don’t have his CSC # but based on his birth date,  he could have joined the Navy as early as 1905 or so.  He was living in Los Angeles by the time he was 12 so probably joined up there.

 

He received his GCM while serving in USS Monterey in December 1912.  Monterey was  a monitor first commissioned in 1893 for harbor defense. When war broke out in 1898 she was sent to reinforce the Phillipines, and from then traded time between the P.I. and China. During the time  Gillett received his medal, Monterey was exactly in the middle of a 2 year commission in China, including Shanghai, and points south.

 

I don’t know when Gillett got out, but by 1917 he was working for the So.Cal. Telephone and Telegraph and living west of downtown L.A., near todays 110 freeway. His military career was not over. That year, at the beginning of U.S. entry to WW1, a company  of the 411th Telegraph BN was formed entirely of employees of the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co. Gillett was made a Corporal, and the went off to train with Co.”D” at the Presidio of Monterey. In late Jan 1918 they embarked at Ft.Mason, San Francisco for Brest,  France, via Panama and New York. In France they served alongside the 1st Division among others, building switching and Telegraph stations, and putting up a Telegraph lines. They returned home in April 1919 having served in Chateau Thierry, St Mihiel, and Meuse Argonne campaigns. They lost 5 men, 1 to a German shell, and the rest to the Flu and diphtheria. Gillett left the service a Sergeant. He lived out his life in L.A. and passed in 1974.

 

 

 

From the looks of Monterey’s low profile, it is clear she was not made for open ocean sailing.😀

 

[aerialbridge]

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/143014413/george-grover-gillett

[erichjr]

New medal purchase. 

[erichjr]

Closeup.

[erichjr]

Looks like the USS Rigel was at pearl and received light bomb damage.

[aerialbridge]

final rate chief storekeeper, per his death cert he served in both WWI and II.

 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/238065116/ralph-henry-ely

[atb]

On 7/1/2023 at 1:57 PM, BeansEnHay said:

This is one I purchased as a disc only and later added a suspender and ribbon that fit, but I suspect date from the 20s or 30s.

 

George Grover Gillett was born in the somewhat infamous town of Silver City, New Mexico in 1888. I don’t have his CSC # but based on his birth date,  he could have joined the Navy as early as 1905 or so.  He was living in Los Angeles by the time he was 12 so probably joined up there.

 

He received his GCM while serving in USS Monterey in December 1912.  Monterey was  a monitor first commissioned in 1893 for harbor defense. When war broke out in 1898 she was sent to reinforce the Phillipines, and from then traded time between the P.I. and China. During the time  Gillett received his medal, Monterey was exactly in the middle of a 2 year commission in China, including Shanghai, and points south.

 

I don’t know when Gillett got out, but by 1917 he was working for the So.Cal. Telephone and Telegraph and living west of downtown L.A., near todays 110 freeway. His military career was not over. That year, at the beginning of U.S. entry to WW1, a company  of the 411th Telegraph BN was formed entirely of employees of the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co. Gillett was made a Corporal, and the went off to train with Co.”D” at the Presidio of Monterey. In late Jan 1918 they embarked at Ft.Mason, San Francisco for Brest,  France, via Panama and New York. In France they served alongside the 1st Division among others, building switching and Telegraph stations, and putting up a Telegraph lines. They returned home in April 1919 having served in Chateau Thierry, St Mihiel, and Meuse Argonne campaigns. They lost 5 men, 1 to a German shell, and the rest to the Flu and diphtheria. Gillett left the service a Sergeant. He lived out his life in L.A. and passed in 1974.

 

 

 

From the looks of Monterey’s low profile, it is clear she was not made for open ocean sailing.😀

 

I think it's a class of ship called a Monitor. They did go to sea to participate in Span-Am War naval actions.

[jmar]

Hello everyone!

 

I hope you are all doing well, healthy and happy.

 

Here is a new arrival, a Type III with a CSC and Discharge. I have some research but am presently collating it. I'm always amazed at the talent of the hand engraving artists that produced such beautiful things.

 

Thank you for stopping by!

 

Best wishes,

 

Joe

 

 

[LuftStalg1]

3 hours ago, jmar said:

Hello everyone!

 

I hope you are all doing well, healthy and happy.

 

Here is a new arrival, a Type III with a CSC and Discharge. I have some research but am presently collating it. I'm always amazed at the talent of the hand engraving artists that produced such beautiful things.

 

Thank you for stopping by!

 

Best wishes,

 

Joe

That's a real work of art, congrats Joe!

Mark

[aerialbridge]

Joe,  nice to see you post again and glad to see you're still collecting!    That's a magnificent GCM, and the oldest one I've seen with its CSC, leather case, and his discharge.    A real treasure. 

[jmar]

15 hours ago, LuftStalg1 said:

That's a real work of art, congrats Joe!

Mark

Thank you Mark! I appreciate you stopping by and commenting. It is great to be back, I hope to be adding more to the Forum as I'm only about 7 weeks from retiring! Best wishes, Joe

14 hours ago, aerialbridge said:

Joe,  nice to see you post again and glad to see you're still collecting!    That's a magnificent GCM, and the oldest one I've seen with its CSC, leather case, and his discharge.    A real treasure. 

Hi AB!

 

I hope you've been doing well. I am honored to be assisting in liquidating our past member, and my dear friend, Brian Cannon's collection. I've picked out a few items for myself (and will nearly have to float a loan!) and will be posting some for sale in the foreseeable future on the Forum. All funds will go to his son, so be on the lookout next year! It'll take me that long to go through and collate everything.

 

Best wishes to you!

 

Joe

[aerialbridge]

Joe, I didn't know Brian, but sorry to hear that he passed away.   His family is fortunate that you're there to assist them in liquidating his collection, something everyone of us will face one day, unless we have heir(s)  that  "want it all" for keeps, not sale,    I was surprised that between ancestry and FaG,  I couldn't find out anything about your sailor Howard, beyond what you know from his CSC.  One item suggested he went by an alias and died in Canada around 1914, but I'm not sure that was the same guy.  Nothing concrete like a census jibing with his Belgium birth.   Maybe he went back there after the Navy?   Best wishes to you in the coming Holiday season!

[jmar]

Hello AB,

 

Thank you for your kind words on Brian, he was a good friend and a lot of fun, hours would fly by like minutes when I was with him, I wish I could have had just a few more minutes.

 

Here's what I have on Howard from Brian's research, thank you for your interest!

 

Best wishes!

 

Joe

 

 

[aerialbridge]

Hey Joe,   Yup, saw that material on ancestry.   But no record of him after his last enlistment rendezvous.   Makes me think he had an alias or went back to Belgium after his last enlistment.   William Howard does not sound like a Gallic name.    Too bad there's no 1890 census.    Somebody took good care of that CSC leather carrier for 130 years.   I've got a leather case CSC to go with a USS Iowa Sampson, from the family but not in as good shape as yours.

[jmar]

AB, I bet you're right, after he was discharged he probably went back to Belgium, and his name could well have been "anglicized". My last name went through the same process, we actually have 4 variations of it in my immediate family!

 

Best to you!

 

Joe

[BeansEnHay]

Jacob F. Weidner was born in Lititz, PA (Lancaster County) in 1884. Around the time of the First World War he was rated as a Chief Turret Mechanic. His Naval career spanned 45 years through the end of WW 2. After service he lived in a hotel in Manhattan at W.79th and Amsterdam Ave. He passed away in 1965, aged 81.

 

[jmar]

22 hours ago, BeansEnHay said:

Jacob F. Weidner was born in Lititz, PA (Lancaster County) in 1884. Around the time of the First World War he was rated as a Chief Turret Mechanic. His Naval career spanned 45 years through the end of WW 2. After service he lived in a hotel in Manhattan at W.79th and Amsterdam Ave. He passed away in 1965, aged 81.

 

I just love those early multi-bar USN GCMs. Thank you for posting this beauty and it's history, fantastic!

 

Best wishes,

 

Joe

[katieony]

On 11/8/2023 at 5:52 PM, jmar said:

Hello everyone!

 

I hope you are all doing well, healthy and happy.

 

Here is a new arrival, a Type III with a CSC and Discharge. I have some research but am presently collating it. I'm always amazed at the talent of the hand engraving artists that produced such beautiful things.

 

Thank you for stopping by!

 

Best wishes,

 

Joe

 

 

Joe,

 

What a great medal...congrats.  The engraving is indeed a work of art!

 

Mike

[Navymm98]

Chief Fire Controlman Joseph Walter Witkowski. Witkowski received his GCM in 1938 while on board the USS Salt Lake City and was later killed in action as a result of a kamikaze attack on the USS Hazelwood at Okinawa on 29 April 1945. He was buried at sea and is memorialized on the "Courts of the Missing" at the Honolulu Memorial in Hawaii.

 

Witkowski first joined the Connecticut National Guard in May of 1933 until December of 1934, when he was honorably discharged to join the United States Navy. He reenlisted twice until his death in combat off the coast of Okinawa, while serving on the USS Hazelwood (DD-531).

 

He saw shore duty at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, CA; NRS New Haven, CT; NTS NOB Norfolk, VA; and RS NYD Washington, DC. Besides service on the USS Hazelwood, he also saw sea duty on the USS Salt Lake City; USS Parker (DD-604); USS Tuscaloosa; and the USS Vega. He participated in the assault at Port Lyautey, French Morocco in November of 1942; the attack on Wake Island in October of 1943; the attack on the Gilbert Islands in November of 1943; and the attack on Tarawa in November of 1943. On November 14, 1943 he was commended by Commander Hunter Wood which reads: "Expecially commended for successful completion of the emergency rewiring of No. 2 gun mount which ordinarily would be undertaken only by a Navy Yard. Continued to work without regard for personal discomfort until job was finished. Extended himself over and above the normal call of duty." He was awarded the Purple Heart medal (Posthumously), the Navy Good Conduct medal, the American Theater Campaign medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign medal, and the World War II Victory medal.

 

"Hazelwood, all guns blazing, maneuvered to avoid two of the Zeros. A third screamed out of the clouds from astern. Although hit by Hazelwood’s fire, the enemy plane careened past the superstructure. It hit #2 stack on the port side, smashed into the bridge, and exploded. Flaming gasoline spilled over the decks and bulkheads as the mast toppled and the forward guns were put out of action. Ten officers and 67 men were killed, including the Commanding Officer, Cmdr. V. P. Douw, and 36 were missing. Hazelwood’s engineering officer, Lt. (j.g.) C. M. Locke, took command and directed her crew in fighting the damage and aiding wounded"

*Biography credits to the previous owner*

**If anyone knows any leads to find his Purple Heart let me know!!***

[jmar]

Holiday greetings to all!

 

I hope this post finds you and yours well. I'm now only days away from closing out my 50 year career, 33 1/2 of them in my own business. Mixed emotions on retirement, bittersweet, it'll be quite a change from living to beat the "deadline". I'm proud to say I was never late.

 

That being said this is the second of my three big purchases from Brian's estate as mentioned earlier, the early Type 3 being my first and posted here.

 

Here is a fine Type 2 USN GC with CSC 4321 and Seaman Gunner certificate. I'm still collating the research that had been done.

 

Thank you for stopping by, please remember in the spring of 2024 many fine pieces will be listed here first from Brian's estate, all funds will go directly to his son.

 

Best wishes to everyone, it's great to be back,

 

Joe

 

 

 

[Wharfmaster]

On 12/17/2023 at 2:47 PM, jmar said:

Holiday greetings to all!

 

I hope this post finds you and yours well. I'm now only days away from closing out my 50 year career, 33 1/2 of them in my own business. Mixed emotions on retirement, bittersweet, it'll be quite a change from living to beat the "deadline". I'm proud to say I was never late.

 

That being said this is the second of my three big purchases from Brian's estate as mentioned earlier, the early Type 3 being my first and posted here.

 

Here is a fine Type 2 USN GC with CSC 4321 and Seaman Gunner certificate. I'm still collating the research that had been done.

 

Thank you for stopping by, please remember in the spring of 2024 many fine pieces will be listed here first from Brian's estate, all funds will go directly to his son.

 

Best wishes to everyone, it's great to be back,

 

Joe

 

 

 

 

Oh My Joe, this is as good as it gets !

 

Thanks for posting and best regards,

 

W