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Homemade USMC Gold Star plaque

Featured Replies

#1

This was brought in by the son of the man who inherited it after his next door neighbor died. It's made out of scrap (?) aluminum, which shows where either bolts or rivets had been...I have to wonder if the man (the Marine's father) didn't work in one of the many war industries in Southwest Ohio. His son, Private First Class Frederick (Fred) A. Smith served in the Third Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, First Marine Division and was Killed In Action on 06 October 1944 on Peleliu, 6 weeks before his 20th birthday. He died of a chest wound and was buried there. His remains where repatriated and he was interred in a cemetery in Cincinnati on 16 October 1948.  There was a copy of "With the Old Breed" which inside the pages contain a news article by his parents, PFC Smith's Social Security card, etc. 

 

Certainly a unique reminder of the cost of war.

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  • Author
#2

..and the loose items...the guys who were ion the ETO are unidentified as yet....

 

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  • Author
#3

Obit and the applicable portion of the 3/11's muster roll for October 1944.

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#4

Very nice, Thanks for sharing.

#5

That is certainly a unique plaque...thank you for sharing it.

#6

Very unique KIA item and thanks for sharing.

 

 

Kurt

#7

Magnificent piece of history and folk-art memorial tribute!

#8

Wow, what a poignant piece of history. Thanks for sharing it and keeping his memory alive!

#9

That is incredible! but can someone tell me why anyone posts a SSN even from a long dead individual? And why do we not have a tutorial on the Privacy act of 1974?

  • Author
#10

Secure from General Quarters! Geez.....I simply forgot to NOT add that photo...if you look back over the 5000+ posts I've made, if there's an SSAN I redact it...or I don't post it. And I don't need a *&^% tutorial on the Privacy Act.  And yes, I'm p1$$ed off...you could've worded your post without the adversarial tone.

 

 

Mark sends

#11

I hid it.

Let's all just breathe.

Stuff happens.  We move on.

  • 9 months later...
#12

Amazing plaque. 3/11 was my unit so its awesome to see items like these.

#13

Awesome piece of history with thorough provenance. Thanks for sharing it!

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