Item Description
Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is a very nice Purple Heart Medal engraved on the reverse to Alan B. Wilson, Company C, 109th Infantry Regiment, 28th Division. The medal itself retains its brooch and is in fair shape overall.
The medal comes with 19 pages of printed research including a photograph of Wilson which will make for a great display. Wilson enlisted on April 17th, 1917 in the Pennsylvania National Guard, and was assigned to Co. C, 109th Infantry, 28th Division. He went overseas on May 3rd, 1918, and saw combat in the 5th German Offensive, the Ourcq-Vesle sector, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, and the Thiacourt sector. He was wounded by gas on October 4th, 1918, and was taken to a hospital and treated before returning to the lines. He returned stateside on May 3rd, 1919.
The medal appears to be a WWII-era issue, which makes sense as many WWI soldiers waited until WWII to apply for their Purple Hearts. The brooch has some string loose than attaches it to the ribbon, but otherwise the medal is in great shape. The research included is very extensive and shows a great deal of information about Wilson and his service, including a great photo of him in his uniform. A fantastic WWI Purple Heart to one of the most sought-after divisions, ready for further research and display.
The 28th Division
The division moved to Camp Hancock, Georgia, in April 1917, the same month of the American entry into World War I, and was there when the entire division was federalized on 5 August 1917. From May to 11 October 1917, the division was reorganized into the two-brigade, four-regiment scheme, also known as a square division, and thus became the 28th Division.
Overseas service
By May 1918, after several months of training, the division had arrived in Europe, and began training with the British. On 14 July, ahead of an expected German offensive, the division was moving forward, with most of it committed to the second line of defense south of the Marne River and east of Château-Thierry.[16] As the division took up defensive positions, the Germans commenced their attack, which became the Battle of Chateau-Thierry, with a fierce artillery bombardment. When the German assault collided with the main force of the 28th, the fighting became bitter hand-to-hand combat. The 28th repelled the German forces and decisively defeated their enemy. However, four isolated companies of the 109th and 110th Infantry stationed on the first defensive line suffered heavy losses. After the battle, General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force, visited the battlefield and declared that the 28th soldiers were "Men of Iron" and named the 28th ID as his "Iron Division." The 28th developed a red keystone-shaped shoulder patch, officially adopted on 27 October 1918.
During World War I, the division was involved in the Meuse-Argonne, Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne including the Battle of Fismes and Fismette, Oise-Aisne, and Ypres-Lys (FA) operations. During the war, it took a total of 14,139 casualties (2,165 killed and 11,974 wounded). Two individuals received the Medal of Honor: Sergeant James I. Mestrovitch, Company C, 111th Infantry; and Major Joseph H. Thompson, Headquarters, 110th Infantry. Edwin Martin wrote about the history of the division during World War I which can be found in his book The Twenty-Eighth Division: Pennsylvania's Guard in the World War.
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