I was cleaning up the desktop today and thought I would post this photo of a dou45 vet grouping I have.
I love this set- all items from the duffel bag of Sgt. Jesse Stamper, 94th Division. He entered into the Army in Ohio (89th Division) and fought hard through Europe. When he passed away, his family sold all of the items as noone was left that cared about them. Frankly, the majority were headed for the trash, save for the bayonet and rifle. The knuckles were in the Ike Jacket, and I'm pretty sure the family didn't know they were in there? I can't recall 100% on that, but know they were in the jacket.
Luckily, a very good friend of mine found them (at the time I did not know him, but another good friend did and turned me on to the set- thanks Chasdev). So many times the extra stuff that goes with a piece tells just as much of a story, such as the brass knuckles in this case. It was common to carry them during WW1, and these are possibly from that period- could have been from his father. A lot of WW2 vets were sons of WW1 vets, on both sides.
The rifle is ser. 98d dou45.
I love this set- all items from the duffel bag of Sgt. Jesse Stamper, 94th Division. He entered into the Army in Ohio (89th Division) and fought hard through Europe. When he passed away, his family sold all of the items as noone was left that cared about them. Frankly, the majority were headed for the trash, save for the bayonet and rifle. The knuckles were in the Ike Jacket, and I'm pretty sure the family didn't know they were in there? I can't recall 100% on that, but know they were in the jacket.
Luckily, a very good friend of mine found them (at the time I did not know him, but another good friend did and turned me on to the set- thanks Chasdev). So many times the extra stuff that goes with a piece tells just as much of a story, such as the brass knuckles in this case. It was common to carry them during WW1, and these are possibly from that period- could have been from his father. A lot of WW2 vets were sons of WW1 vets, on both sides.
The rifle is ser. 98d dou45.