Need more help with a war related photo for the family research...

[BGCarrera32]

Continuing on from my other thread here: Need a World War 1 and war medal history buff to look at this please...

I now have this photo which needs some scrutiny:



Background: I'm trying to solicit opinions and possible identities of the medals that these guys have pinned to their jackets.

From similar images I have (size, paper, resolution, etc) my original photo of these fellas dates to the mid to late 1930's. I was watching Ken Burn's documentary of the Civil War and 1938 was the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. In '38 FDR gave a speech shown in the documentary to a bunch of Civil War vets, many of whom look like the age and posture of the gentlemen on the right in my photo. Could be that these guys had their photo taken together on the 75th anniversary, or they just won all these medals at the county fair. No idea. The coats clearly do not look like war uniforms to me, but the 5 pointed star on the gentlemen in the center looks like it could be a variant of a service medal from the Civil War era, and the detail of the ones on the gentlemen on the far right look too intricate to be something other than service medals.

All the family I have is from the North (Union) if that helps any. But no record of who in the family (if anyone) served and where.







Also, can anyone identify the car?

[fred cook]

These gentlemen must certainly be Civil War vets. They have "the look" and appear to be around 80 or so years old. The large medals could be GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) medals. The GAR was a fraternal organization that helped put on and coordinate reunions between the northern and southern vets. Considering that the first and (for a while) only medal awarded to these guys was the Congressional Medal of Honor, the smaller medals were likely from their reunions. The car doesn't look like a Ford Model A, but is about the same size and therefore probably a Chevy or Studebaker, etc.

[ossiblue]

I would say the gentleman in the center and the one on the right are both in a uniform (or partial uniform) of some type. Notice the brass buttons on the coats and the buttons on the vests. These don't appear to be civilian styles by the use of brass and the shape of the buttons. Further, the cut of the vests and coats are identical on both gentlemen. Still, they don't look like battle garments to me.

I would also agree they are Civil War participants of some kind and the medals are probably awards from local outfits or fraternal/reunion organizations, which was very common at the time. If someone could somehow decipher the words on the ribbon, that would be a good start.

I love this.

[creaturecat]

Reminds me of when I was stripped of the family war medals - WW1 and 2.
When my dad died.
They (dad's bro and sis) decided, since i was adopted, i should not receive them.
I complied. Mailed the 6 medals to them. Not even a thank you.
They went to a young cousin, who has "family" blood.
He can choke on them, for all I care.

[aap1966]

If you're adopted, you ARE family.
End of discussion.

[A930Rocket]

+1 Very short sighted on their part.

Originally Posted by aap1966

If you're adopted, you ARE family.
End of discussion.

[BGCarrera32]

Thanks guys. I continued on through several episodes of Ken Burn's Civil War documentary, and the comment was made that the Confederate Army did not award medals. Because they were all considered heroes. So if true, and if any of them turn out to be indentifiable as some sort of congressional medal (doubtful I realize), the guys in my photo would be definitely be Union.

[grendiers]

'Nanny state'? Excuse me, I lived in Minnesota most of my adult life. Minnesota is listed in the top ten of most everything we as Americans, want. Move to AZ, TX, any southern state listed as Republican if you want to de-list your self as part of any 'Nanny state'. Guess what, you're quest to self-fulfill your anti this and that will be fulfilled. You're an embarrassment to the heroes you seek!