Original Group. One-of-a-Kind. This is a tremendous uniform & gas mask grouping which we have identified to Bugler Nicholas De Vita, Company E, 303rd Engineer Regiment, 78th Division. The grouping includes his uniform which bears a tremendous one-of-a-kind patch, a twist on the normal 78th Division patch, depicting an Engineer castle under a smaller lightning bolt. Also included is his Small Box Respirator, or Gas Mask, which is gorgeously decorated with an Engineer castle and a bridge.

Despite all Buglers being made into PFCs at some point during the war, they would still be Buglers, and the Bugler patch on the uniform is how we were able to identify the grouping as belonging to De Vita. Every company of an Engineer regiment would have had one Bugler, so we checked the transport lists of the Company going to France and coming back, and the only man to be labeled a Bugler on either trips was Nicholas De Vita, Serial Number 1,762,581. We are completely confident in our identification.

The grouping consists of De Vita’s WWI uniform jacket, which bears US 303 & Engineer Company E collar discs, a Bugler rate with a dash below it on the left sleeve, two overseas chevrons on the left cuff, a red honorable discharge chevron on the left sleeve, and a stunning 78th Division Engineer patch on the left shoulder. This is a truly unique patch, the only of its kind we have ever seen, and represents the Divisional Engineer unit of the 78th Division. Also included are his breeches, which are in fair condition minus some mothing around the crotch area.

The “Corrected English Type Box Respirator”, or gas mask, is painted on the front with 303 ENGr CO. E above a great Engineer Castle surrounded by barbed wire and sandbags. Below this is a depiction of a bridge, the kind the 303rd Engineers would have helped build & repair in France during and after the end of the war. The mask itself is in average stiff condition, and inside the bag are an Anti-Dimming Stick and surprisingly, a 1916-Dated unopened First Aid Bandage by Bauer & Black! What an interesting item to store in your gas mask bag.

Nicholas Anthony De Vita was born in Volturara Appula, Foggia, Italy on June 1st, 1896. He moved to the United States and settled in Albany, New York. He was inducted into the National Draft on April 5th, 1918, being assigned to a Depot Brigade before being assigned to Company E, 303rd Engineer Regiment, 78th Division. De Vita was made a Bugler on May 15th, 1918, and re-ranked to Private First Class on June 15th, 1918. As all Buglers were made into PFCs at some point during the war, they would still be Buglers, and the Bugler patch on the uniform is how we were able to identify the grouping as belonging to De Vita. Every company of an Engineer regiment would have had one Bugler, so we checked the transport lists of the Company going to France and coming back, and the only man to be labeled a Bugler on either trips was Nicholas De Vita, Serial Number 1,762,581. De Vita traveled overseas on May 26th, 1918, and saw heavy combat in the St. Mihiel Offensive, the Limey Sector, and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. De Vita returned to the United States on June 6th, 1919, being discharged on June 12th. De Vita returned to Europe several times after WWI with his wife, Edna, and we were able to find a photograph of him through his Passport Application. After the war, De Vita worked as a shoemaker in Albany, until he passed away on July 19th, 1973, at the age of 77.

This is a really beautiful American Expeditionary Forces grouping which we have meticulously researched and identified. There is definitely more research to be done on De Vita, making this a great project for its next caretaker. This is truly one of the greatest U.S. WWI Uniform groupings we’ve offered. You will never find another patch like this one. Comes ready for further research and display.

Approximate Measurements:-
Collar to shoulder: 9.5"
Shoulder to sleeve: 25”
Shoulder to shoulder: 14"
Chest width: 18.5”
Waist: 17.5"
Hip width: 23"
Front length: 30"

Pants:
Waist: 16.5"
Inseam: 23"

The 78th Division in WWI

The 78th Division of the United States Army was constituted on 5 August 1917 and activated on 23 August 1917, over four months after the American entry into World War I, at Camp Dix, New Jersey. It consisted of four infantry regiments: the 309th, 310th, 311th and 312th; and three artillery Regiments: the 307th, 308th and 309th.

The division was originally allocated to New York and northern Pennsylvania in the National Army recruiting plan. While the headquarters of the 78th Division was activated in August, with the first draftees arriving in September, it was not fully active until early 1918. After several more months of training, the 78th was transported to France in May and June 1918.

American and French soldiers at the front. The Americans (who during the war were given the nickname of doughboys) are Private John J. Burke, Corporal Victor E. Cowley and Private J. R. Keith, and are all from the 1st Battalion, 312th Infantry Regiment, 78th Division, while the French are from the 320th Regiment. The picture was taken in Boult-aux-Bois, Ardennes, France, sometime in 1918.

In France, during the summer and fall of 1918, it was the "point of the wedge" of the final offensive which knocked out Germany. The 78th was in three major campaigns during World War I – Meuse-Argonne, St. Mihiel, and Lorraine. The division was demobilized on 9 July 1919 at Camp Dix, New Jersey.