November 7-8, 2018 Edged Weapons, Armor, & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/7/2018
Historically important ID'd World War I U.S. Army Battle of Belleau Wood valor grouping. This group is from a small private historical museum and has never been on the military collector market before. All items in lot are named to Pvt. Louis H. Harkenrider. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) the Nation's second highest award for actions during the Chateau-Thierry Campaign with the Ambulance Service, 5th Regiment (Marines)(Attached), 4th Marine Brigade, 2d Division, American Expeditionary Forces on June 6th, 1918. His citation reads as follows: "The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Louis H. Harkenrider, Private, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action in the vicinity of
Chateau-Thierry on June 6, 1918. With a corporal, Private Harkenrider went out into an open field under heavy shell and machine-gun fire and succeeded in bandaging and carrying back to our lines a wounded comrade. General Orders No. No. 101, W.D., 1918 Home Town: Griffith, IN". Lot consists of the following: Harkenrider's U.S. Army OD olive green service wool tunic with bronze medical collar discs denoting the 15th Ambulance Co., and a multi-piece, wool, 2nd Division Sanitary Train shoulder patch and French Fouragerre looped under the paulette. White canvas arm band with stenciled red cross on the left arm. Army garrison cap with bronze screw-back P1914 enlisted USMC EGA device and bronze "15" pin backed numbers. Aluminum identity disks stamped "PVT LOUIS H. HARKENRIDER 15TH AMB. CO. 5554" on original cord. Medals include the Army Distinguished Service Cross (edge No. 200), Croix-de-Guerre medal with gold star, Chateau Thierry Medal, U.S. Army Occupation of Germany Medal, Battle of Verdun Medal, World War I Victory Medal with AISNE, AISNE-MARNE, ST. MIHIEL, MEUSE-ARGONNE, DEFENSIVE SECTOR bars, 1925 American Legion 7th Annual Convention badge and a sterling rifle expert badge. A "trench art" 75mm brass artillery shell with a hand stippled and engraved 2nd Division Sanitary Train emblem. Also included is the original American Expeditionary Forces DSC paper citation presented with the medal. This group is exceptionally rare as it from an Army soldier that spent his career overseas in the Great War attached to the U.S. Marines during one of the most famous battles in the Corp's history. The Medal of Honor cannot be bought, sold, or traded on the U.S. market, so the Navy Cross and DSC are the highest valor awards one can hope to acquire. This would have been one of the first DSC's awarded for bravery to American troops by General Pershing himself. Cursory research shows that DSC No. 200 traces to Harkenrider. CONDITION: All items rate excellent and were acquired direct from the Harkenrider family decades ago.