Original Item: Only One Available. This is an attractive original World War I U.S. Army uniform jacket and matching breeches worn by an enlisted medical soldier serving with the 37th Division, American Expeditionary Forces.

The jacket retains the distinctive 37th “Buckeye Division” shoulder insignia together with U.S.N.G. and Medical Department collar discs, identifying the wearer as an Ohio National Guard soldier assigned to a medical organization or detachment.

The 37th Division was one of the most distinctly regional formations in the American Expeditionary Forces. Organized primarily from the Ohio National Guard, it adopted the circular red, white, and blue bullseye from the Ohio state flag as its shoulder insignia and became widely known as the “Buckeye Division.” Ohio was among the relatively small number of states whose National Guard contributed the foundation of an entire division during WWI.

Initially organized before the war as the 16th Division, the formation was redesignated the 37th Division after entering federal service in 1917. It trained at Camp Sheridan, Alabama, before deploying overseas during the summer of 1918.

Once in Europe, the division entered combat during the final months of the war and received campaign credit for Ypres-Lys, Meuse-Argonne, and service in the Lorraine sector. These operations placed Ohio soldiers in both the American and Allied offensives that helped force Germany toward the Armistice of November 11, 1918.

Medical personnel were indispensable to every stage of those operations. They established and operated aid stations, collected wounded men from exposed positions, provided emergency treatment, transported casualties by litter and ambulance, and moved patients through field hospitals toward larger evacuation facilities farther behind the lines.

Depending upon his exact assignment, the owner of this uniform may have served with a medical detachment attached to one of the division’s infantry or artillery units, an ambulance company, or a field hospital organization within the division’s sanitary train.

The medical soldier’s duties frequently placed him close to the front. Aidmen and litter bearers moved through shellfire and machine-gun fire to reach wounded soldiers, often working at night or across terrain churned by artillery. Ambulance personnel then carried casualties over damaged roads to dressing stations and field hospitals.

The left shoulder retains the recognizable 37th Division patch. Its bullseye design provides an immediate visual connection to the division’s Ohio origins and is one of the most distinctive American divisional insignia patterns of WWI.

The collar retains a U.S.N.G. disc, indicating United States National Guard service, together with the appropriate Medical Department disc.

The soldier’s rank was Private.

No name or service number has been located inside the uniform, so his individual identity and exact medical unit remain unknown.

The lack of overseas service chevrons does not prove that the soldier remained in the United States. Such insignia were not always applied, may have been removed, or the uniform may have been assembled or retained before the chevrons were added.

The interior of the jacket shows honest period wear consistent with military use.

The matching breeches display similar age and service wear and complete the appearance of an enlisted American soldier during the final year of WWI.

The jacket and breeches remain highly suitable for mannequin display, particularly when combined with period medical equipment, a campaign hat, overseas cap, leggings, or an M1917 helmet.

The division’s medical organizations included the 112th Sanitary Train, an Ohio National Guard formation that served as part of the 37th Division during WWI before being demobilized in April 1919.

Although this uniform cannot presently be connected to a specific company within the sanitary train, its combination of Buckeye Division, National Guard, and Medical Department insignia places it within the story of the men responsible for treating and evacuating casualties during the division’s combat service.

Original WWI medical uniforms are considerably less common than standard infantry examples. Many were worn heavily, altered after the war, or stripped of their insignia. The survival of this set with its division patch and both collar discs intact gives it strong historical and display value.

A compelling uniform representing an Ohio National Guard medical soldier who served with the 37th “Buckeye Division” during America’s final campaigns of the First World War.

Approximate Measurements
Collar to shoulder: 9"
Shoulder to sleeve: 23”
Shoulder to shoulder: 14"
Chest width: 17.5”
Waist: 16.5"
Hip: 19"
Front length: 29"

Pants:
Waist: 13"
Inseam: 24"