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WWI France medal to the 88th Infantry Div.


jcmilitaria
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jcmilitaria

Hello,

I have this medal to the 88th Infatry Division that says France at the top, 1918 and 1919 to the sides of the soldier's upper body and Eighty Eight Infantry Division below that. Was this given to the 88th by France, or by the U.S.? Has anyone ever seen one of these before?

Thanks,

Jim

 

Also, this may just be a coincidence, but the inner part of the medal is shaped like the 88th patch.

post-9310-1277486616.jpg

post-9310-1277486663.jpg

post-9310-1277486787.jpg

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These are post-WWI. Created by the 88th Division Association for its members to acknowledge their service. and sold at their reunions. A number of the division associations had their own medals, which were often seen in photos of vets wearing their city and state medals.

 

This medal appears on the cover of one of the 88th Division histories and, because the cover is blue, folks often assume the ribbon is blue, but the proper ribbon is plain black.

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jcmilitaria

Thanks Jeff, are these still made currently? This doesn't appear recent, how long have they been in production?

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I haven't studied this one in detail, but there are no obvious die variations among those I've seen, so I suspect that the original manufacturer made enough to satisfy original demand, probably a couple of thousand pieces. I doubt there was a second striking and certainly no recent copies I've seen.

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There was no such thing as the 88th INFANTRY Division until 1 Aug 1942. Until there were Armored Divs (and plans for Airborne Divs), the only Div designated by branch was the 1st Cavalry Div.

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There was no such thing as the 88th INFANTRY Division until 1 Aug 1942. Until there were Armored Divs (and plans for Airborne Divs), the only Div designated by branch was the 1st Cavalry Div.

 

True enough, but here's the front cover of the 1919 division history with the medal illustrated.

post-293-1277514232.jpg

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There are a few variations of this service medal.

The one you have illustrated is the most common.

Another variant has a narrow edge on the back, and is plain.

Another variant has a wreath embossed on the back.

Another variant is silver plated.

There are a number of different ribbons used on these medals as well...anything from the WW1 service medal ribbon to Black, Blue, Red/white/blue, to a very fancy embroidered design with the US flag.

There are also reunion medal for,m the De Moines reunion in 1921.

I have most of these variations in my collection.

Cheers

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  • 12 years later...

Sorry to come late to this discussion but I just saw this thread while reading another post on the 88th Division medal where it was referenced.  

 

Here is a little additional information about this medal.  The 88th Division produced this medal in France and awarded it to its members.  Originally it was awarded as a prize for the division's post-hostilities athletic competition and to recognize men of the division who had been awarded division citations for bravery during the war.  The athletic competition is what caused some medals to be produced in gold and silver in addtion to the normally seen bronze version, Olympic  style.  I believe, based on its relative scarcity, that the version of the medal with the embossed wreath on the reverse is the version given for the atheltic competition and to men who received division citations for bravery.  I think, therefore, that the version with the plain back is the version used for general award to the rest of the division.  It was also sent to the families of the men who were killed in action or died while serving with the division in France.

 

That said, I think there is a distinct possibility that the medals seen with the black ribbons could be those sent to the families of the men who died in France.  However, I have found no evidence substantiating that so now it is just speculation on my part.  There is also a possibilty that the version with the embossed reverse could be the one sent to the families of the men who died in France.  I say that because the medal I have with the embossed reverse has a black ribbon that appears original to the medal.

 

This information is taken from the 88th Division's history (post #6 pictured above) on pages 96-97.  At the risk of making this post too long, I'm quoting the entire passage below and attaching a scan of those 2 pages from the division history.  Finally I'm attaching a photo of the reverse of the embossed version from my collection for reference.

 

Hope this is useful.

Dennis

 

"The last big event of the Gondrecourt period occurred on the 26th of April, 1919. when the enlisted men of the Division gave a big Military Tournament and Field Meet, near Gondrecourt. A program was arranged to pick the best of the Division in all military, athletic and special events, and after the best Kitchen Police, the best military burlesque show, the best Jazz Band, the best billet, the best amusement hut, and the best in scores of other events had been picked, ii was discovered that the 351st Infantry had won first place, the 349th Infantry second place, and the 350th Infantry third place. After the program had been completed, General Weigel was given a "Clover Leaf Medal" and a citation by the enlisted men of the 88th Division, as a recognition by the men of the Division of his interest in them and his untiring efforts in their behalf.


Having mentioned the "Clover Leaf Medal," it becomes fitting in this place to describe its origin. It had been decided that some suitable recognition of excellence in the various contests held by the Division be given. Major E. F. Wood made a rough sketch and with the aid of A. Bazor, a famous sculptor of Paris, the "Clover Leaf Medal," in gold, silver and bronze, resulted. Winners of First Place were to be given the Gold Medal, winners of Second Place the silver, and winners of Third Place the bronze medals. Medals were awarded to winners in the ring events of the Horse Show, in all the events of the Motor Show, and the Enlisted Men's Show; to the winners in the Post School competitions, and to all officers and men in the Division proper given Division citations for bravery. On May 2d, it was decided that a bronze "Clover Leaf Medal" be given to every soldier having been a member of the 88th Division while the Division served in the A. E. F. In the case of men who had died, a posthumous medal was to be sent to his representative." 


 

88th Div Medal Reverse 2.jpg

88th Division History Extract Pg 96-97.pdf

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  • 1 month later...

Here is a postscript to the information in my post above (#(9) on this medal.

 

I recently acquired an 88th Division Memoradum to one of the winners of the division competition described in the division history.  The memorandum was found in a small commercial box with one of the 88th Division medals.  The medal has the embossed back and a black ribbon. 

 

The memoradum tells the awardee, Pvt Arthur S. Rajtora, that the division did not have time to get the competition medals engraved and provided him the incription to use if he decided to have the medal engraved himself.  The medal looks exactly like the one I posted in #9 except that it has traces of the gold wash that indicates a 1st Place award.

 

I think the memo and medal give strong evidence that the embossed medals were the origninal ones produced and awarded for the division competition and to soldiers who received divsion citations for bravery.

 

Pvt Arthur Rajtora was born in 1895 or 1896 (both dates appear in the records) in Chicago.  He entered the service from Riverside, Iowa and died in 1958 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  He served in F Company, 349th Infantry throughout the regiment's time in France.

 

Pictures of the memoradum and medal follow.

 

Dennis

 

88th Div Medal Provenance.jpg

88th Div Medal Obverse.jpg

88th Div Medal Reverse.jpg

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