Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is a fantastic medal grouping which features a lovely Purple Heart medal set with ribbon/lapel devices and presentation case. Included with the set is a WWI Victory medal. All items are in wonderful condition and would display very well together.

The items once belonged to PFC Charles Stroup, ‘C’ Company, 144th Infantry Regiment, 72nd Infantry Battalion under the 36th Infantry Division. Texas-born Charles S. Stroup enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917 and served during World War I. Private First Class Stroup completed his enlistment in March 1919. He married later that year and the couple had two children in the 1920s. Stroup supported his family as a watchmaker. After his wife’s death in 1929, the young widower returned to his parents’ house in Greenville, Texas. By 1942, Stroup was employed by the Quartermaster Corps in San Antonio as a civilian patrolman at Fort Sam Houston. Stroup then embarked on a career as a superintendent of national cemeteries: from 1946 to 1962, he oversaw the properties at Port Hudson (LA), Alexandria (LA), and Fort Leavenworth (KS). Stroup died July 15, 1965, and is buried in Alexandria (LA) National Cemetery (Section E, Site 27).

The Items In This Group:
- Name Engraved Purple Heart Medal Set: This is a fantastic Purple Heart set. The set features the correct PURPLE HEART marked presentation case, (1) separate ribbon device, (1) Lapel Device and the medal itself. The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, which took the form of a heart made of purple cloth, the Purple Heart is the oldest military award still given to U.S. military members. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York.

- WWI Victory Medal With (2) Clasps: This is a lovely, worn condition US WWI Victory Medal which features a total of 2 Battle Clasps. 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 James Earle Fraser of New York City under the direction of the Commission of Fine Arts.

Award of a common allied service medal was recommended by an inter-allied committee in March 1919. Each allied nation would design a 'Victory Medal' for award to their military personnel, all issues having certain common features, including a winged figure of victory on the obverse and the same ribbon.

The Victory Medal was originally intended to be established by an act of Congress. The bill authorizing the medal never passed, however, thus leaving the military departments to establish it through general orders. The War Department published orders in April 1919, and the Navy in June of the same year.

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 medal itself is in good condition but does exhibit heavy tarnishing. The ribbon is faded, worn and stained but attributes to the beauty of the award. The top of the medal that the brooch is affixed to is a little hard and has the look and feel of having been repaired at some point.

The 2 Battle Clasps Featured Are:
- 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.

The World War I Victory Medal bears the clasps of the battles the U.S. Army participated in across the ribbon. Not all battles are shown on the bar clasps. Only the battles designated as battles that would have bars issued were shown on the medal. The famous Battle of Chateau Thierry to hold the Chateau and the bridge as a joint effort between the US Army and the US Marines against the German machine gunners did not get awarded clasps.

A lovely set of items ready for further research and display.