Original Items: Only One Lot of 5 Available. The tradition of awarding medals to America’s military men and women dates to the American Revolution. On Aug. 7, 1782, Gen. George Washington established the first authorized US military decoration—the Badge of Military Merit. It was a piece of cloth in the shape of a heart. The nation used it to recognize unusual gallantry or extraordinary fidelity.

During the Revolutionary War, the Badge of Military Merit was awarded to only three soldiers, in recognition of their singular meritorious actions. The wearers were allowed to pass guards and sentinels without challenge.

No more awards of this type were made until 1932, when the practice was revived by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, then Army Chief of Staff, who proposed a new medal to mark the bicentennial of the birth of George Washington.

Washington’s profile adorned the heart that formed the body of the medal. It became known as the Purple Heart.

The Medals In This Lot:
- U.S. World War One Victory Medal: The World War I Victory Medal (known prior to establishment of the World War II Victory Medal in 1945 simply as the Victory Medal) was a United States service medal designed by Mr. J. E. Fraser of New York City under the direction of the Commission of Fine Arts.

The front of the bronze medal features a winged Victory holding a shield and sword on the front. The back of the bronze medal features "The Great War For Civilization" in all capital letters curved along the top of the medal. Curved along the bottom of the back of the medal are six stars, three on either side of the center column of seven staffs wrapped in a cord. The top of the staff has a round ball on top and is winged on the side. The staff is on top of a shield that says "U" on the left side of the staff and "S" on the right side of the staff. On the left side of the staff it lists one World War I Allied country per line: France, Italy, Serbia, Japan, Montenegro, Russia, and Greece. On the right side of the staff the Allied country names read: Great Britain, Belgium, Brazil, Portugal, Rumania (spelled with a U instead of an O as it is spelled now), and China.

The battle clasps, inscribed with a battle's name, were worn on the medal to denote participation in major ground conflicts.

The claps on this medal are as follows:
- Aisne-Marne (July 18, 1918 to August 6, 1918)
- St. Mihiel (September 12, 1918 to September 16, 1918)
- Meuse-Argonne (September 26, 1918 to November 11, 1918)
- Defensive Sector: For general defense service, not involving a specific battle, the "Defensive Sector" Battle Clasp was authorized. The clasp was also awarded for any battle which was not already recognized by its own battle clasp.

- Croix de guerre 1914–1918: The Croix de guerre 1914–1918 is a French military decoration, the first version of the Croix de Guerre. It was created to recognize French and allied soldiers who were cited for valorous service during World War I, similar to the British mentioned in dispatches but with multiple degrees equivalent to other nations' decorations for courage.

Every Croix de guerre awarded carries at least one citation for gallantry or courage to a member of any rank of the French military or of an allied army. Ribbon devices indicate the importance or degree of the soldier's role during the action cited. The lowest degree is represented by a bronze star and the highest degree is represented by a bronze palm. The cross is only awarded once and subsequent actions worthy of citations will be limited to additional ribbon devices on the originally received insignia. The number of ribbon devices on a Croix de guerre is not limited, some awards, especially to ace fighter pilots, had extremely long ribbons with dozens of stars and palms.

The cross was designed by the sculptor Paul-Albert Bartholomé. It is 37 mm wide, Florentine bronze cross pattée, with two crossed swords pointing up between the arms. The obverse center medallion bears the relief image of the French Republic in the form of the bust of a young woman wearing a Phrygian cap surrounded by the circular relief inscription RÉPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE (FRENCH REPUBLIC). Not knowing how long the war would last, the reverse center medallion bears the dates 1914–1915, 1914–1916, 1914–1917 and finally 1914–1918.

The cross is suspended by a ring through a suspension loop cast atop the upper cross arm. It hangs from a 37 mm wide green silk moiré ribbon with seven narrow 1,5 mm wide vertical red stripes evenly spaced and two 1 mm red edge stripes.

- The Battle of Verdun Medal: Created in late 1916 and even before the end of the battle, the Medal of Verdun was made for soldiers who, for several months under intense pressure from infantry attacks and heavy artillery pounding, held their ground during the WW1 Battle of Verdun.

Around 70% of all the French soldiers that were engaged in World War I participated in the battle of Verdun. Six or seven different designs were put forward for the medal but none were approved by the French Government and all remained unofficial awards that could not be worn on military uniform.

Originally intended to be “awarded to those who served on the Verdun front between 21 February 1916 and 2 November 1916, the medal was, in fact, awarded to those who served anywhere on the Argonne and St Mihiel sectors between 31 July 1914 and 11 November 1918.

The medal shows a red ribbon with a French flag supporting a bronze badge. The obverse shows the head of the Republic (a symbol of the IIIrd French Republic) and the famous sentence pronounced by Robert Nivelle: “Ils ne passeront pas”, translated as: they will not break through.

The medal is fitted with a loose ring suspender and a piece of 37 mm red ribbon that has blue-white-red edges.

- Numbered New York World War 1 Service Medal (15689): The World War I Service Medal issued by New York State in the United States is a World War I service medal designed by Captain Charles Joseph Dieges after being selected from over 100 submitted designs. His firm, Dieges & Clust, also manufactured the medals. Over 500,000 New Yorkers served in World War I and were eligible for this medal.

Over 500,000 New Yorkers served in the war, of whom 13,956 lost their lives, and 25 of whom received the nation's highest honor, the Medal of Honor. New York regiments included the 69th Infantry Regiment, known as the "Fighting 69th," and the 369th Infantry Regiment, the first African-American regiment to serve in combat in the war.

Most World War I Army service records were destroyed in a 1973 National Personnel Records Center fire. However, information for New York State was preserved because New York's Adjutant General gathered the information shortly after the war.

Dieges's design was accepted by a committee consisting of New York State Governor Alfred Emanuel Smith, New York State Adjutant General Charles W. Berry, and William A. Saxton of the War Records Bureau. The decision was published in the State of New York Annual Report of The Adjutant General For the year 1919 under Brigadier General Charles W. Berry, The Adjutant General:

World War. Chapter 122 of the Laws of 1919 appoints a board consisting of the Governor, Adjutant-General and Chief of the Bureau of War Records to design and purchase bronze medals to honor and to adopt a suitable service ribbon as a mark of distinction and honor for all citizens of this State who entered the service of the United States in the War with the German Empire and its allies. The law provides that the bronze medals shall be presented by the State to the persons mentioned above or to the family of such of them as shall have died after entering such service.

Over 100 designs were submitted for this medal, the bard adopting one submitted by Captain Charles J. Dieges, 27th Division, U. S. A. of the firm Dieges & Clust, New York city. The face of the medal presents the figure of the typical American soldier. In the background is a figure representing Liberty and Humanity draped in an American flag. In the distance are shown battleships, destroyers and transports, representing the Navy. The words "World War" balance the design. The reverse of the medal shows the official seal of the State in the upper center, relieved by a wreath of laurel and oak. Superimposed on this wreath are the names of the countries in which American soldiers fought. The reverse also bears the inscription, "For service, 1917-1919. Presented by the State of New York." The colors of the ribbon will be blue, white, blue (center), white and blue, in the order named.

Bids for making this medal will be advertised for a short time. At least 500,000 persons are entitled to this medal.

- Named Rochester, New York Local Medal (E. Brachold): While issuing medals to members of the armed services by local entities was quite popular following WWI, by the time of the Second World War, the practice of issuing local medals had diminished, probably due to the cost of the medals and the large number of those who served. While reliable references estimate that nearly 1,500 different local medals were issued for service during WWI period, only about 140 different medals were issued for service in WWII.

This local medal was “Presented By The Citizens of Rochester, N.Y. To Their Loyal Fighting Sons”

All medals are in lovely, complete condition with some tarnishing present and faining/staining to the ribbons.

Comes more than ready for further research and display.