Twenty some years ago when I published my Wisconsin Military and Civil Medals book I had one fellow in particular tell me that badges had no place in a medals book. I told him that I considered retirement badges to be civilian awards and since it was my book my rules apply. Still I wish I had this group back then. I would have liked to ask him if he would break up such a group. Would he not mention the badges in this group if he listed the group in a military medals book.. Illustrated below is the group of a WWII Marine who became the sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin in the early 1980’s. The regular medals are nothing exciting but the Philippine liberation medal is somewhat unusual for a marine I’m told. The Sons of the American Revolution medals are also interesting as is the VFW medal none of which I can remember ever seeing before. The badges are spectacular. The large one is the sheriff’s personal named badge and the smaller badge is his retirement badge which has his dates of service, 1946-1983. This shows that after active duty with the Marines he signed on with the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department which leads me to a final observation; there is no Good Conduct Medal in his group! Maybe he would have received a Good Conduct Medal if he had reenlisted ? The group may not be complete so I have filed a request for information about his medals with military records archive in St. Louis. So let’s think positive. I’ll keep you posted.

I went to the Neville Museum in Green Bay last weekend to see a special exhibit titled Traitor State Wisconsin that a friend called to my attention knowing that I was a military medals collector. First off I really like the Neville and have been there several times before. They have some good collections and always try to have interesting temporary or traveling exhibits. This Traitor State Wisconsin exhibit focuses on the Wisconsin based opposition to the American involvement in the First World War and the reaction to it. The exhibit did a good job illustrating the hysteria and paranoia that was running rampant at the time and not just in Wisconsin I might add. Also included is some general war history and souvenirs some of which to my collectors mind were only minimally attributed like the spiked German helmet from the Grand Duchy of Baden simply labeled as a German helmet “captured “ by a local soldier. Since the Germans quit using these leather helmets about a year before the American troops got there I am sure that the capture story would have been interesting. The only military service medal that I saw on display was a medal issued by the city of Milwaukee to it’s National Guardsmen for service on the Mexican Border and it was on the wrong broach with the correct broach just laying on the middle of the ribbon. It was simply labeled military medal for Mexican Border Service. There were no WWI medals in the display at all! Not the common victory medal or even one of the two types of Green Bay WWI medals which I know the museum has in their collection. Maybe next time the high paid experts will consult the some collectors.

Illustrated below is what the Milwaukee Mexican Border Service medal should really look like.

To commemorate the siege of Bastogne during the famous Battle of the Bulge some brass plaques were made by a foundry in Couvin, Belgium. The basic design features two giant military figure towering above a Bastogne city view. The figure on the right is a German soldier offering surrender terms to American General McAuliffe depicted as a typical American with his hands in his pockets. McAulliffe as we all know eventually replied “Nuts” to the puzzled Germans. That famous word “Nuts” is displayed between the two figures below the

 “Screaming Eagle” patch of the 101^st Airborne division. The parachutes in the

background are purely symbolic since the American troops got to Bastogne in trucks. The type I version illustrated below is what I call the unfinished version because that is what it looks like to me. The type II version has a much more finished look stippled fields and an engraved border. The type III version is much more refined and octagonal in shape.

Just who made these plaques remains a mystery. Reportedly they were made by casting the brass from the old shell casings left over from the battle. Some veterans claim that these plaques were awarded to them for their service in the battle. If so these plaques were presented by grateful village officials or civilians to any random GI’s that were available at the moment. I can say this because my

 father was with the 101^st throughout the entire battle and then continued on into

 Germany with the rest of his unit. He never saw any of these plaques until I gave him this one in the early 1970’s.

Considering the number of these plaques that I have seen over the years at shows and on the internet I know that they are not rare. They are also not an official award of any kind. They are neat pieces of history and if the high bids they are getting on the main internet auction sight continue brass could become the next precious metal!

Scan problem was solved with the help of Kevin Beyer of the U.S. Militaria Forum, Thanks Kevin

I recently bought this Wisconsin National Guard Long Service Medal on eBay (my favorite hunting ground for medals and badges.) What makes this medal noteworthy is that the normally blank backside is fully engraved as follows;

“Lieutenant // Harry R. Lee // Sec. Reg. Inf. // W.N.G. // Feb. 17^th // 1890” in

 six lines. The seller listed the medal as an 1890 Named Wisconsin National Guard Medal and it is easy to understand why. It is named, it is WNG and it is dated 1890. It also has an added bonus in that it lists the man’s unit and rank making this medal very researchable. So do you think this medal was or even could have been issued in 1890?

If you check my book on Wisconsin Military and Civil Medals you would find that this medal could not have been issued before 1903 and that this medal was awarded for 15 years service. Therefore if we take the 1890 date and add 15 years we come up with a 1905 date. It just so happens that I have the Wisconsin Adjutant General’s reports for that year and it confirms that 1st Leut. Lee did get this medal in 1905. In closing I should also mention that I have seen this use of the enlistment or starting dates on other dated long service medals both military and civil.

So there you have it, another little bit of inside knowledge that you won’t get in college.

eBay Boycott

Are you one of the people boycotting eBay this week? If so now would be a good time to take the items that you would have put on eBay and list them on one of several great hobby related forums that let members post items for sale or trade. In our area of collecting please check out U.S. Militaria Forums, Wehrmacht Awards and the OMSA site. Some memberships to these are actually free!!