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Lets see some US NAVY Good Conduct Medals !!


KASTAUFFER
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Hello all - I was just contacted by this fellow who has a USN Good Conduct Medal named to a sailor on the Submarine S-33 in 1930. He says he also has the guy's personnel records showing he was on the Squalis when it sank in 1939.  I'm not actively collecting right now and my knowledge of correct vs incorrectly engraved US Medals is hovering around 0%. If people want to contact him I can message you his email and phone number.

 

 

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Are the chirping crickets to be interpreted as a thumbs-down on the engraving for this medal?

I see no issues with this medal


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  • 3 weeks later...

Arsenic Presa, USS Pittsburgh, 19 Apr 1913

Messman/Mess Attendant 1st cl.

born: San Francisco de Malabon, Cavite, Phillipines 14 Dec 1888

Presa was born near the site of the Battle of Manila Bay, and the US Naval base at Cavite, P.I.

He enlisted in the US Navy 20 Apr 1909.

He qualified for the Mexican Service medal, and made the qualifying period for the WW1 Victory medal by 2 weeks.

ETS: 19 Apr 1917. His campaign medals came with the GCM

he later worked as an Ironworker, and as a Janitor at the San Diego US Marine Recruit Depot.  He died in 1960

at San Diego, and is buried at Fort Rosecrans National cemetery.

USS Pittsburgh (ACR-4) was renamed in 1913 from USS Pennsylvania.  An Armored Cruiser launched in 1903, she patrolled Mexican waters in 1913 and 1914.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Stephen Alexander Petrovich was born in Masontown, Pennsylvania on November 5, 1912. He joined the Navy on April 1, 1931. Over the next decade, he saw service on various ships. In September 1941, he was assigned to the USS Pelias a submarine tender that had been commissioned just a few days earlier. After shakedown on the East Coast, it left for the Pacific the following month. The Pelias made a short stop in San Diego before heading to Hawaii. Stephen and his crew mates arrived at Pearl Harbor on November 5 and over the following month the ship did sub overhauls at the Submarine Base. 
On Dec. 7th, she was berthed during the attack and members of her crew manned the guns. One enemy torpedo plane was downed into the water, and a second was damaged as they made their runs along the main channel little more than 100 yards from her port side. After the attack, they resumed repair duties then left for San Francisco in late May 1942. After arriving in San Francisco, ship was resupplied with spare parts, provisions, and ammunition. In mid June, the Pelias left for Departing for Melbourne, Australia arriving on July 16th. About a week later reaching Albany, where she was assigned to duty under Rear Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, ComSubSoWesPac. They refitted the 10 submarines of Submarine Squadron 6 at Albany before shifting her base to Fremantle in Western Australia on 27th of October. Stephen was then transferred off the Pelias in early October. He served aboard the USS GAR and USS Arethusa over the next two years. 
I’m not entirely sure how long he stayed in the Navy at this time, but now he served until at least 1950. Stephen passed away in 1994 in San Diego California.

 

With this one being dated 1941 there is about a decade from his enlistment. Maybe he wasn’t such a nice guy in the beginning or maybe there is a second medal? Unfortunately without the archives that will remain a secret. 
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Charles Good was born in Dayton, Ohio on May 16, 1891. He enlisted in the Navy in 1909 and served are various ships until 1927. In August 1927, he was transferred to the Naval reserves. His career continued in the reserves until June 1941, at which point he re-joined the Navy. During the war, he recruited for the WAVES. Charles was officially retired by the end of 1945. He passed away December 23, 1964. 

 

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  • 1 month later...
On 5/29/2021 at 11:38 PM, USMCR79 said:

I don't have scans but here is the info:

 

USS Duncan CSC35175 September 1, 1917

 

Navy Yard Norfolk CSC35175 August 4, 1919

 

USS Rochester CSC35175 May 5, 1921

 

Receiving Barracks Hampton Roads CSC35175 May 5, 1925

 

Thanks for the assist

 

Bill

I was able to ID this group to MM1/c Samuel W. Barber from North Carolina - Now I need to find his 1913 Good Conduct Medal Planchet!!

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aerialbridge
On 12/30/2021 at 11:03 AM, USMCR79 said:

I was able to ID this group to MM1/c Samuel W. Barber from North Carolina - Now I need to find his 1913 Good Conduct Medal Planchet!!

 Good work IDing it just with the CSC #, would be interested to hear how you did it.

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7 hours ago, aerialbridge said:

 Good work IDing it just with the CSC #, would be interested to hear how you did it.

Too complicated to tell - it took a lot of digging 

 

Bill

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aerialbridge
1 hour ago, USMCR79 said:

Too complicated to tell - it took a lot of digging 

 

Bill

 

You must have dug half way to China.  BZ for hitting pay dirt.  I like researchers, particularly tenacious ones.

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Salvage Sailor

Post War - Korean War era GCM, not early, not historic, but priceless to me as it is my fathers

 

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USS MISSISSIPPI (AG-128) ex-BB-41 where he served aboard with Ensign James Earl 'Jimmy' Carter, his Division Officer

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23 JUL 1947 - 14 JUN 1948—Duty aboard USS Mississippi (E-AG128). Billets Held: Training and Education Officer Qualifications: OOD underway and in port, CIC watch Officer Remarks: During this tour of duty, Carter was a candidate for a Rhodes Scholarship.

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NKA Naval Communications Unit No. Three (NCU-3) 'Radio Marina', Asmara, Eritrea on occupation duty

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  • 1 year later...

I thought it was time someone posted another one here. This GCM medal and the Spanish War Veteran’s medal are to Basil Norris Proctor. Born in 1877 in the District of Columbia and raised in the Anacostia (near Washington Navy Yard) section His father was born in England, and served in the U.S. Civil War as a Hospital Steward. He later worked for the War Department. His mother was American. I was able to trace most of Basil’s career because he went Warrant around 1916. Originally he was a Carpenter’s Mate. He was serving in USS USS Lancaster on June 28th, 1899, at sea. The next date I have is 1907-1910 when he was serving in USS Glacier, a Stores ship that was part of the “Great White Fleet”

1914-1916  USS Jupiter - Collier. -this period of service should entitle him to the Mexican Service medal.

1916 promoted to Warrant Officer

1916-17 USS California - Battleship

1918-1920 USS Jupiter - Fueler  he would have been entitled to WW1 Victory medal with either Armed Guard, or Transport clasps depending on which ship he had qualifiying dates.
1922 US Naval Training Station Hampton Roads, VA

1923-25  USS California
1924 (April 20) promoted to Chief Warrant Officer (Carpenter)

1926 Washington Navy Yard

1927-29 USS Trenton - Light Cruiser - entitled to 2nd Nicaragua medal during this period

1930-31 Brooklyn Navy Yard

1931 USS Dobbin - Destroyer Tender

1933 Chief Carpenter-Office Inspector of Machinery, General Electric Co., Schenectady, N.Y.

1935-37 Chief Carpenter Boston Navy Yard (retired July 1, 1937 ) to Springfield, Vermont

1942-45 recalled for Temporary Duty - Boston Navy Yard

Died 13 Oct 1961 aged 84 at Vienna, VA buried in Arlington.

 

 p.s. the seller split the Good Conduct and a bunch of mainly photos that belonged to Proctor, and the Spanish War Veteran medal.  I was able to pick up both medals. Who knows where the rest wound up.

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  • 4 weeks later...
aerialbridge

I was watching that one, too, but stopped bidding pretty early.  The medal sold out of Loomis, CA and went for $1971, a good year but lousy sales taxes on this would have been 160 bucks.   Nice to see such interest in early Navy GCMs.  The seller's information that this was a Confederate States sailor on the US Princeton, comes from "Register of Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Civil War".    Maybe that was from Fold3?  I was trying to locate him on ancestry and found a Charles F.  Potter born in Maine around 1936 with Civil War Service and into the 1880s,  machinist mate I believe.    What was unusual on this one for me is I don't recall seeing too many (or any) with Honorable Discharge engraved instead of a date for when the enlistment expired.  It's certainly right as rain, but I'd guess from the 1880s or 1890s.  Might have died in Alameda at 74 in 1909 but nothing that jumped out on FindaGrave. 

 

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3 minutes ago, aerialbridge said:

I was watching that one, too, but stopped bidding pretty early.   Went for $1971, a good year.   Nice to see such interest in early Navy GCMs.  I was trying to locate him, found a Charles F.  Potter born in Maine around 1936 with Civil War Service and into the 1880s,  machinist mate I believe.   Might have died in Alameda at 74 in 1909 but nothing that jumped out on FindaGrave. 

 

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Yeah, he would have had a nickel cross originally. Then applied to get the new version when it came out.

Which the seller would’ve did a seven day auction like most people. The extra couple of days would have gave me time to put together some more money. 

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aerialbridge

I've never understood why a seller wouldn't always do the maximum auction duration on ebay.   If there's some strategy that makes running a 5 day auction maximize bids over a 10 day auction, I'd be interested to hear it. 

 

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  • 1 month later...
Basic Rifleman

While not as old, ornate or valuable as others on this thread, I wanted to share this one, and ask what might be a silly question to those more knowledgeable about Navy GCM's. Was the date on the medal the award date of when it was earned, or when it was presented? In researching this medal, I could only find one "James Edward Lindley" on the 1938-1949 Navy Muster roles through Ancestry, and only one single draft card for the same name. I shows he served from 1942 through 1945 on several ships, but there's no record of him being in the Navy after 1945 (at least that I could find). So I'm curious if it's a possibility the date on this medal may coincide with a late/post war request for a GCM, or is that totally unheard of?

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Basic Rifleman said:

While not as old, ornate or valuable as others on this thread, I wanted to share this one, and ask what might be a silly question to those more knowledgeable about Navy GCM's. Was the date on the medal the award date of when it was earned, or when it was presented? In researching this medal, I could only find one "James Edward Lindley" on the 1938-1949 Navy Muster roles through Ancestry, and only one single draft card for the same name. I shows he served from 1942 through 1945 on several ships, but there's no record of him being in the Navy after 1945 (at least that I could find). So I'm curious if it's a possibility the date on this medal may coincide with a late/post war request for a GCM, or is that totally unheard of?

 

 

 

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It is interesting that it is 1949 dated, from what I’m seeing service 1942 through 1945 and then again 1946 through 1964. Born 1921 passed away, 1999. 
So may be a mistake on the year? As it would’ve been awarded after the war ended and they were doing a lot of catch-up. 

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Basic Rifleman

Thanks for the confirmation there was perhaps a “catch up” period in dating and or distributing these medals. That answered my question. I appreciate the additional service history on this sailor as well. With that factored in, I suppose it’s also possible he didn’t receive a GCM during his first enlistment, and perhaps 1949 was when it was earned after all!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Recent addition to the collection

honorable discharge

John W Taylor

USS Wachusett

Feb. 8, 1868

 

served from June 23, 1864 through Feb. 1868 that I know of. 
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aerialbridge

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

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