WWi Victory Medal

[Daniel Cole]

Once upon a time I found a listing of battle clasps and the associated divisions. Can someone provide me with something like that? I can't find it again. I'm in a heated debate wiuth a US Govt historian over the battle clasps to the Rainbow Division. I have a Rainbow Division Victory medal and he is trying to tell me that it should have more clasps. I don't think so. I personally believe that while the Army may have updated which clasps go to which divisions, that doesn't mean a WWI period piece should be so equipped.

It'd be appreciated. Here's my medal.

Dan

Edited June 19, 2007 by Daniel Cole

[Andwwils]

I know that the only Division as a whole that received more than 5 clasps was the 3rd ID. I'm not sure how many the 42nd had, or which ones.

[Ed_Haynes]

These are all detailed in Alexander Laslo's (sp?) fine book (get the 2nd ed) on the WWI victory medals. Not easy to find, but well worth the effort.

[Kev in Deva]

Hallo Gents

I have the particular book, which Ed mentions above:

The Interallied Victory Medals of World War 1 (2nd Revised Edition by Akexander J. Laslo.

And some of the following might be of interest to you.

During 1920, the War Department published a pamphlet entitled "Battle Participation of Organisations of the American Expeditionary Forces in France, Belgium and Italy 1917-1918," that listed most Army Units of the AEF and the engagements in which they participated (29).

Subsequently, various General Orders amended the participation credited to certain units. The War Department listing was originally intended to establish entitlement to battle streamers for unit colours; but inasmuch as the engagements and battle clasps are synonymous, the listing, as amended by later General Orders, can be used to determine authorized battle clasps by unit.

Given the size of the AEF, a complete and current as possible engagement-battle clasp listing for AEF Army units would be quite extensive. (30)

For this reason, the unit-battle clasp listing or matrix prepared by researchers and appearing in a number of private publications, such as the Battle Clasp Matrix, in the First Edition of this work, have concentrated on the most prominent units of the AEF, namely the combat divisions.

It should be noted that since general distribution of the U.S. Victory Medal began during the mid-1920 and because General Orders amending participation were not issued until 1922, the 1920 War Department listing most accurately reflects the unit-clasp combination a collector can expect to find in the market.

Collectors should also be aware that not all subordinate units necessarily participated in the engagements of its larger formation, and that individuals who were replacements or casualties probably earned fewer clasps than authorised for their unit as a whole.

(29). A complete 1920 organisational listing AEF Army Units is reported to be contained in (the) Final Report of General John J. Pershing, Commander-in-Chief, American Expeditionary Force, Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office. (House Document 626, 2nd Session, 66th Congress.)

(30). The best compilation seen by the author to date is WW1 Campaign and Service Credits, Arlington, Virginia, Planchet Press 1990. (Planchet Press Publication 21A).

Kevin in Deva

Edited June 19, 2007 by Kev in Deva

[Daniel Cole]

Thank you gentlemen, Exactly what I needed. The historian and I may both be correct in our own area.

Dan

Edited June 19, 2007 by Daniel Cole

[Ulsterman]

I have this book. Everything Col. Al. Gleim did is well worth having.

The 42nd Div. was entitled to the following clasps(Circular 46 War Dept. June 30, 1924):

Defensive Sector

Champagne-Meuse

Aisne-Marne

St. Mihiel

Meuse Argonne

I note the 26th Division also had these clasps.

Edited June 19, 2007 by Ulsterman

[Guest Rick Research]

The original printed version of this I have came from OMSA, I think, back in the 1970s, and is now falling apart so I've retyped it and had to make it a jpeg to get the columns to come out correctly here as an image rather than a chart:

US WW1 Victory Medal Bars, entitlement by Division =

[Daniel Cole]

Ausgezeichnet! Exactly what I needed! I only hope I too can help out in the future in return.

Thanks, very much appreciated.

Dan

[Bill Brouillard Jr.]

26th Division had this clasp combination also

 

Bill