Chris Boonzaier Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 A really nice group to a Cpl in the 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He actually WAS awarded the Croix de Guerre as an individual, but I think the CDG is not the one originally given to him as he received it at divisional level (so sould have a silver tar on it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 naming... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian R Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 naming... Nice group, Chris. Do you, by any chance, know his middle name or the state he was from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rick Research Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Is that the OTHER Purple Heart that the Devil Monkey Fingers was tempting you to replace? DO NOT. No matter how tatty, untouched is better than the abomination of re-ribboning which characterizes ONLY British medals collecting. DON'T DO IT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 DON'T DO IT. Now that I have it in my hand it is not as bad as it seemed in Photos so I will leave it. Notice the unusual Array of Bars for a 2nd division Victory... can anyone guess why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 Usually... 1. Aisne 2. Aisne - Marne 3. St. Mihiel 4. Meuse - Argonne 5. Defensive Sector Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 Nice group, Chris. Do you, by any chance, know his middle name or the state he was from? Hi, unfortunately not. Apparently the 9th Inf Regt was made up of regular army guys and as such it is not possible to guess where the men came from. best Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rick Research Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Don't have to guess with state records-- but need to know which state. He was NOT from Connecticut. 1 down, 47 to go. (There were only 48 then, not the 57 we have now. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rick Research Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 NOT from Maine. NOT from Vermont. 3 down, 45 to go. I'm out. The other 3 Southern Canada states require live look ups on site. :whistle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rick Research Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 You are in luck-- sort of. Seems William Folsom was not a particularly common name. From the U.S. Social Security Death Index, asked for all such born between 1880 and 1900 as useful limits only 15 come up and of those really only 7 are likely: Now, this is not foolproof. It has been the lamentably STUPID practice, since Day 1 under Cousin Franklin to NOT list middle names. As millions of dead Americans pile up, this is more and more something that some ninny in Washington should have flipped a switch to allow for. There are also numerous ways a male working after 1937 could not be listed, but for this generation, most would be, and the usual reason for listing is their demise being the "trigger" for start of widow's benefits. Seek ye in Georgia, Alabama, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Texas. Probably not Massachusetts as few career enlisted ranks before the Great War. Don't know about Ohio-- they were a recruiting power house during the Civil War. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian R Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 I tried searching the WWI Registration Cards on Ancestry.com hoping for somewhat of a match. The only one I have found with a J as a middle name is William Jefferson Folsom of Florida but originally from Georgia. He appears to have been a farmer and was born January 12, 1891. He doesn't appear to be one of the guys Rick listed. The chances that this is the guy are relatively slim but its a start Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rick Research Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Does seem to point to Georgia as Land Of The Folsoms, though. I believe regulars already IN the army wouldn't be shown on draftees' cards? Meanwhile, who was Folsom Prison named after? :speechless1: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian R Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 I believe regulars already IN the army wouldn't be shown on draftees' cards? Yes, correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Is that the OTHER Purple Heart that the Devil Monkey Fingers was tempting you to replace? DO NOT. No matter how tatty, untouched is better than the abomination of re-ribboning which characterizes ONLY British medals collecting. DON'T DO IT. It really is a shame when those new nylon ribbons are used, original tatty ones are better in my opinion too. Which one is the Silver Star, the small one on the VM? What's the gold coloured Star for and what's it called? Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 It really is a shame when those new nylon ribbons are used, original tatty ones are better in my opinion too. Which one is the Silver Star, the small one on the VM? What's the gold coloured Star for and what's it called? Tony The gold star is a "silver star" although the silver bit is the tiny star in the middle. On the award card it says... "QMG directed to issue silver star /c/o Hon. Hoke Smith, Grant Building, Atlanta GA 6-20-27 see AG 201 GDG 6-20-27" From google I see Hoke Smith is some kind of lawyer/politician.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rick Research Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 You didn't TELL us you had an award card!!!! That provides you with everything you need to find out from the Georgia Adjutant General's Office (or equivalent) WHICH Folsom that went to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted October 27, 2009 Author Share Posted October 27, 2009 You didn't TELL us you had an award card!!!! Totally forgot it was in the box, in fact I almost tossed it with the packing papers of the parcel.... :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted August 5, 2010 Author Share Posted August 5, 2010 Putting the group in its historical perspective..... http://www.kaiserscross.com/257543/284222.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck In Oregon Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 (There were only 48 then, not the 57 we have now. ) * * * * * Funny. Tacky, but funny. Missed it the first time around. Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul C Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 Chris, Great story and writes up no your website. I love how POed the Bat. CO gets when writting the the NY Times. The army had a policy to not mention division names when releasing action information. The Marines did not have the same policy and were just described as Marines. This is oner of the reason that the Marines did not fight in Europe during WWII. As General Marshall did not want them there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted August 23, 2014 Author Share Posted August 23, 2014 My guy was wounded in the attack on the Hamlet of Vaux (Not the Verdun Vaux).... an article can be found here... http://kaiserscross.com/257543/284222.html This week I took his medals to the Village he never reached... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Boonzaier Posted August 23, 2014 Author Share Posted August 23, 2014 The Farmstead of Thiolet where he arrived with his message as a runner, before collapsing from his wounds.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul R Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 Wow. Chris, as far as WW1 US groups go, they do not get any better. It is great that you were able to bring the medal back to where the deed occurred. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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