FBI donates confiscated Medal of Honor to museum.

[LuftStalg1]

FBI donates confiscated Medal of Honor to museum.

27 April 2003

 

 

Just came across this story and thought it worthy of posting. The brief life cycle of one of the FBI confiscated medals but “WOW” it was a WW1 Navy Medal of Honor “Tiffany Cross”! Its a cut and paste job, link at the bottom. :w00t: Dang, that had to hurt but it was pretty dumb!

 

 

 

By Michael Birnie, The Navy Museum Public Affairs

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy Museum has recently acquired, thanks to the FBI, the Medal of Honor awarded to Navy dentist Lt.j.g. Weedon E. Osborne.

 

The medal was awarded to Osborne posthumously for his valor during World War I, and is a rare example of the “Tiffany Cross” type.

 

The medal came into the hands of the FBI in 2002 after an attempt to sell it in South Carolina. Under an Act of Congress, it is illegal to sell any Medals of Honor within the territorial limits of the United States.

 

Tim Frank, the historian for the Medal of Honor Society, first made the museum aware of the medal. Recently, the FBI agreed to release it to be eventually displayed in the museum’s World War I exhibit.

 

Osborne received the medal for heroism in France, June 6, 1918, during the Battle of Belleau Wood. During the engagement, Osborne, a dental surgeon in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps attached to the 6th Marine Regiment, rescued Capt. Donald Duncan, who had been severely wounded by machine gun fire.

 

However, before reaching safety, both men were killed by shellfire.

 

For his valor, in addition to the Medal of Honor, he was also the recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross.

 

Prior to World War II, the Navy Medal of Honor could be awarded for both combat and non-combat actions. Osborne’s Medal of Honor is significant because it is a rare ‘Tiffany Cross’ edition first introduced by the Navy Department in 1919 to be the combat version of the medal. Awardees for non-combat actions still received the original (and current) medal design.

 

The name ‘Tiffany Cross’ comes from the medal being originally designed by the famous jewelers Tiffany & Company of New York. The cross was not a popular award and is the rarest of all Medals of Honor in existence.

 

Eventually, in 1942, the Navy returned to the original medal design for combat awards and abolished non-combat awards of the Medal of Honor.

 

The medal bears the blue silk ribbon of the Maltese cross below the bar bearing the word 'Valour.' The medal itself features the American eagle in the center surrounded by a six-sided border, over the top of which is printed ‘United States Navy’ and below ‘1917-1918.' The four arms of the cross bear Navy anchors. On reverse, the medal has the words “Awarded To Lt. (j.g.) Weedon E. Osborne, United States Navy."

 

“This is a significant addition to the museum collection, as Lt.j.g. Osborne was only one of four naval surgeons to receive this award. He was also one of only two naval dentists to receive the Medal of Honor,” said Navy Museum Curator Dr. Edward Furgol.

 

http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=7048

[johnnyrocket]

I'm wondering how this medal got out of the hands of the Osborne family in the first place? Was the medal stolen, and then offered for sale, or had the family sold it in an estate sale originally?

 

Johnny R.

[Justin B.]

That's a good story, I remember reading it a few years ago. I noticed recently that Wikipedia still describes the "Tiffany cross" as the non-combat version of the decoration, despite the fact that they have "1917-1918" right there on the obverse!

 

best regards,

Justin B.

[johnnyrocket]

I agree, this would make an interesting story of where this medal has been all these years and why it left the families possession.

 

Johnny R.

[LuftStalg1]

I agree that would be very interesting to know! Maybe stolen, maybe gifted, maybe purchased, I have seen it all. We may never hear that part of the story?

 

Mark

[LuftStalg1]

That's a good story, I remember reading it a few years ago. I noticed recently that Wikipedia still describes the "Tiffany cross" as the non-combat version of the decoration, despite the fact that they have "1917-1918" right there on the obverse!

 

best regards,

Justin B.

 

 

If I understand correctly, without getting to technical about it, this is what I have read. For a very brief time the Navy decided to split the MOH into the two categories, “Combat” and Non-Combat” and had the “Tiffany Cross” made to reflect the “Combat” variation. I figured this was backwards but that’s what I found. Apparently they did not follow their own guidelines. In my research to develop a listing of all known “Tiffany Cross” variations awarded they are mixed and muddled. Some people received it for “Combat” actions and some for “Non-Combat” actions. In the end they dumped the idea and went back to old reliable. To bad, I think it is much more attractive then the standard Navy MOH star.

 

Mark

[LuftStalg1]

Found pics of it.

 

Looks fake! Silkscreened stars? Cast medal judging by the pitting on the back and the edges?

[LuftStalg1]

Back side pic.

[johnnyrocket]

Looks like modern machined engraved?

 

Johnny R.

[KASTAUFFER]

It looks like a BAD fake to me. It looks cast and the engraving is MACHINE and all wrong. Looks like the FBI may have acquired a spurious medal that now is in the hands of the museum! Its not the first time I have seen a fake medal in a museum.

 

What is sad is the FBI had a forum member's totally legit unissued medals destroyed, and gave a fake to a museum.

 

Kurt

[johnnyrocket]

It looks like a BAD fake to me. It looks cast and the engraving is MACHINE and all wrong. Looks like the FBI may have acquired a spurious medal that now is in the hands of the museum! Its not the first time I have seen a fake medal in a museum.

 

What is sad is the FBI had Daves totally legit unissued medals destroyed, and gave a fake to a museum.

 

Kurt

 

I must have missed something here. That's the medal that was confiscated :thumbdown: :w00t: That medal is as phony as our adult leadership in DC. :ermm:

 

Johnny R.

[LuftStalg1]

It looks like a BAD fake to me. It looks cast and the engraving is MACHINE and all wrong. Looks like the FBI may have acquired a spurious medal that now is in the hands of the museum! Its not the first time I have seen a fake medal in a museum.

 

What is sad is the FBI had a forum member's totally legit unissued medals destroyed, and gave a fake to a museum.

 

Kurt

 

 

Sad….Sad…..Sad…..

 

But I would still love to have even a bad copy for display, better then a photo on foam board cut out or a painted balsa wood carving. :crybaby:

 

Destruction makes absolutely no since to me, that’s just irritating as all heck! :mad: They should have be put in lock up somewhere and issued if anything or donated to other legit museums. I know several that are still looking for a MOH to display!

[shrapneldude]

Unbelievable. Has anyone contacted the museum to let them know that their generous donation of a confiscated medal is a fake? This whole thing is pretty outrageous now, seeing that medal. There doesn't seem to be any standard enforcement of the laws, and those that are enforcing them don't seem to have much knowledge of the actual items they're banning in the first place.

 

*EDIT* -- The medal posted on the first post here looks like a "stock" photo of the Tiffany Cross I've seen elsewhere. Just want to make sure though that the named fake looking medal is the actual topic of the article, and not the medal pictured above.

[LuftStalg1]

That is correct. The first photo I posted was just one I had on file. Then after searching the net I found the photos of the named Fake linked to the museum web site.

[LuftStalg1]

Heres the link to the photos.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/navalhistory/4711063105/

 

 

 

Just confirmed it, the photos of the fake cross were posted after it was given to the museum by the FBI.

 

 

Osborne's Medal of Honor, a rare "Tiffany Cross" version, is held by the U.S. Navy Museum in Washington, D.C. The museum acquired the medal in 2003 from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which had confiscated it the year before after someone had attempted to sell the medal in South Carolina. It is illegal to sell a Medal of Honor within the United States.[1]

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weedon_Osborne

[emccomas]

Here is a picture of the Tiffany Cross awarded to Floyd Bennett. It is currently in the care of the National Air and Sapce Museum (but not on display).

 

[LuftStalg1]

Here is a picture of the Tiffany Cross awarded to Floyd Bennett. It is currently in the care of the National Air and Sapce Museum (but not on display).

 

 

 

NICE! Thank you for posting it. I would love to find a photo of every known cross awarded. :jeal0001: Kind of fill in the “unknown” that way and confirm some things.

[KASTAUFFER]

There are pics of the engraving on Bennett's medal and one other Tiffany Cross in this thread:

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...38618&st=40

[tom2001]

Unbelievable. Has anyone contacted the museum to let them know that their generous donation of a confiscated medal is a fake? This whole thing is pretty outrageous now, seeing that medal. There doesn't seem to be any standard enforcement of the laws, and those that are enforcing them don't seem to have much knowledge of the actual items they're banning in the first place.

 

Absolutely amazing. So the FBI busts someone with a fake Tiffany Cross, and doesn't know the difference between real and fake.... ok, I can see that. But a curator at the Naval History and Heritage Command doesn't know the difference??? Isn't it their job???

 

Still shaking my head....

[LuftStalg1]

There are pics of the engraving on Bennett's medal and one other Tiffany Cross in this thread:

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...38618&st=40

 

 

Thanks Kurt, had not found that one yet!

 

:thumbsup:

[Dave]

Absolutely amazing. So the FBI busts someone with a fake Tiffany Cross, and doesn't know the difference between real and fake.... ok, I can see that. But a curator at the Naval History and Heritage Command doesn't know the difference??? Isn't it their job???

 

Still shaking my head....

 

 

I believe what you have here is a group of people who are so blinded and so delusional by their own absolute hatred of anyone owning a Medal of Honor BUT THEM (and this includes the "hangers on", many of whom have never even served a SINGLE DAY in the military, who passionately follow every word of MOH recipients as if they were God Himself...) that as far as they are concerned, even the poorest copy shouldn't be allowed in the open, but should be confiscated and placed in a museum so as to "honor" it.

 

And so they are toasting themselves with a bottle of fine champagne for taking yet another Medal of Honor (fake, real, or...who cares...) from someone who wouldn't "honor" it as properly as they can.

[emccomas]

NICE! Thank you for posting it. I would love to find a photo of every known cross awarded. :jeal0001: Kind of fill in the “unknown” that way and confirm some things.

 

Picture is from the NASM website. Go to the NASM site, enter Floyd Bennett in the search box, and this is one of the pics that comes up.

[Allan H.]

I believe what you have here is a group of people who are so blinded and so delusional by their own absolute hatred of anyone owning a Medal of Honor BUT THEM (and this includes the "hangers on", many of whom have never even served a SINGLE DAY in the military, who passionately follow every word of MOH recipients as if they were God Himself...) that as far as they are concerned, even the poorest copy shouldn't be allowed in the open, but should be confiscated and placed in a museum so as to "honor" it.

 

And so they are toasting themselves with a bottle of fine champagne for taking yet another Medal of Honor (fake, real, or...who cares...) from someone who wouldn't "honor" it as properly as they can.

 

Dave,

Wow! I think you made some EXCELLENT points here. Too bad some of those "hangers on" will never see themselves in the words you've written. As I was reading your post about how they passionately hang on every word that comes out of a MOH recipient's mouth as if they were God himself made me think of the recently departed John Finn and his inability to form a sentence without enough profanity to make even the crustiest of sailors blush. I can just here it now- "Wow Mister Finn, your assessment of the L.A. Raiders' inability to stop their opponents on third down attempts is spot on and deserving of being permenantly chiseled in marble at the MOH Society Headquarters. One quick question though, is that word that you paired with "mother" a single word or should it be written as two?"

 

I also appreciate the way that so many of our museums (like the Smithsonian's Air and Sapce Museum) "honor" those MOH's in their holdings by wrapping them in acid free tissue paper and tucked into a cardboard storage box in the storage racks in the basement. That is much classier than putting it in a walnut diplay case and hanging it on the wall behind an MOH recipient's uniform. No wait, perhaps we should allow the FBI to confiscate those items too. "Yep, the brown stains in those navy drawers are undoubtedly Admiral Fluckey's!"

 

Sheesh.

Allan

[emccomas]

Dave,

Wow! I think you made some EXCELLENT points here. Too bad some of those "hangers on" will never see themselves in the words you've written. As I was reading your post about how they passionately hang on every word that comes out of a MOH recipient's mouth as if they were God himself made me think of the recently departed John Finn and his inability to form a sentence without enough profanity to make even the crustiest of sailors blush. I can just here it now- "Wow Mister Finn, your assessment of the L.A. Raiders' inability to stop their opponents on third down attempts is spot on and deserving of being permenantly chiseled in marble at the MOH Society Headquarters. One quick question though, is that word that you paired with "mother" a single word or should it be written as two?"

 

I also appreciate the way that so many of our museums (like the Smithsonian's Air and Sapce Museum) "honor" those MOH's in their holdings by wrapping them in acid free tissue paper and tucked into a cardboard storage box in the storage racks in the basement. That is much classier than putting it in a walnut diplay case and hanging it on the wall behind an MOH recipient's uniform. No wait, perhaps we should allow the FBI to confiscate those items too. "Yep, the brown stains in those navy drawers are undoubtedly Admiral Fluckey's!"

 

Sheesh.

Allan

 

I am certainly not defending the museums that put lots of their collections in storage, but I do understand it. If you think about the amount of stuff that the Smithsonian (of which the National Air and Space Museum is a part) gets donated to them, there isn't enough building space is all of Washinton DC to display it.

 

Many museums, including the Smithsonian, rotate many items from display to storage. Often items in storage will come out for display as part of a commerative event. Perhaps the Floyd Bennett MOH will be part of the 100 anniversary of the Admiral Byrd North Pole attempt in 2026.

 

Those of us who do donate items to museums should consider this when doing so. Larger museums have more stuff than they can properly store, much less display. Smaller, local museums would love to have some of this stuff.

 

Also, keep in mind that a unrestricted donation allows a museum to do whatever they wish with a donated item, including sell it to benefit the museum. Many people put things on permanent loan, but do not transfer ownership, to museums for this reason. If the museum decides they no longer wish to display or maintain possession of the item, it is supposed to be returned to the owners, or otherwise disposed of according to the owner's instructions.

 

In any event, even items in storage are usually available for researchers to examine.

[johnnyrocket]

Lets assume a person has a MoH and wants to donate it to a Museum, would that be legal? This whole SVA is very confusing?

 

Johnny R.