Remembering the "Maine" ?

[Guest Rick Research]

The Traveling Museum passed through today in order for the Magic Epson to scan many strange and unusual items, before the wandering caravan moved on along down the Highway Of Life again.

Among these items scanned on the hottest day of 2009(so far) was this salvaged bronze from the U.S.S. Maine watch fob(?) medallion, mounted on the ribbon of a U.S. WW1 Victory Medal (on what looks like a ? WW2 era pinback brooch):

Has anyone seen this souvenir before? How close was it to the 1898 disaster? (It refers to the "charm" being sold by the post-WW1 organization Veterans of Foreign Wars--the V.F.W.) And what would a general idea of the "value" of such an item be, these days?