Updated:  2i June, 2009

United States

Miscellaneous

Biographies/Obituaries:

Civil War

Claiming US Medals

History

The Institute of Heraldry

  • National Archives releases notable military service records The National Archives for the first time released the military personnel files of about 1.2 million former U.S. Navy and Marine Corps members who served between 1885 and 1939 - plus the files of another 150 "persons of exceptional prominence" who served in a variety of armed service branches during and outside that time period. More information about the Archives' records is available at its Web site: www.archives.gov. However, there is no e-mail system yet in place for viewing or requesting copies of records. Persons interested in viewing records must do so in person at the research room of the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis and should make an appointment by calling (314) 801-0850. Copies, which cost 50 cents a page, can also be obtained by writing the Records Center at 9700 Page Ave., St. Louis, Mo., 63132-5100. myrtlebeachonline.com 9 Jun 05

Organizations

  • Society Decorations

    Contains a large number of American hereditary society medals. 

    hereditary.us 
  • Washington-Lafayette Cincinnati Medal
    • Made for Washington, Given to Lafayette, a Medal Sells for $5.3 Million A gold medal that was created for George Washington and presented to the Marquis de Lafayette was auctioned at Sotheby’s in Manhattan for a record $5.3 million, and will remain in France after residing there for 183 years. The enameled patriotic badge was bought by the Fondation Josée et René de Chambrun at the Château La Grange, Lafayette’s historic home 60 miles east of Paris. The medal will be available to the public by appointment at Chateau La Grange “as soon as Sotheby’s gets it there,” he said, adding that “the Fondation would be happy to make the medal available on temporary loan to Mount Vernon, so the American public can see it as well.” nytimes.com 12 Dec 07
    • Lafayette's descendants to auction treasured gold medal For nearly two centuries, the descendants of American Revolutionary War hero Marquis de Lafayette have guarded closely a gold medal given to him by the family of George Washington. Now, they have decided that the family's future is more valuable than its past. The 1 1/2-inch (3.8-centimeter) medal of an eagle surrounded by a wreath will be put up for auction next week and is expected to fetch $4 million to $10 million (€2.75 million to €6.87 million). "(The medal) just really brings you close to the historical moment, because it symbolizes the relationship between these two extraordinary figures, without whom the American nation might not have come into existence," said Louise Mirrer, president of the New-York Historical Society. Washington's adopted daughter gave Lafayette the medal when he returned to America in 1824 — a quarter-century after Washington's death, and nearly a half-century after Lafayette volunteered to leave his native land and serve the American war cause at age 19. For much of the past two centuries, the relic known as the Washington-Lafayette Cincinnati Medal has stayed inside the family home in Paris. The piece has been shown to the public just five times in its 224-year history — most recently in France in 1976, and just once in America, in Chicago in 1893. It is currently on exhibit at Sotheby's in New York and will be the only item on the block at an auction Dec. 11. In advance of the sale, Lafayette's great-great-great grandson, Arnaud Meunier du Houssoy, came to the United States with the medal and toured several places of significance for Lafayette and Washington. On the tour's final stop, a handler carried the medal in a carefully guarded briefcase as du Houssoy visited Boston's Bunker Hill memorial, where Lafayette in 1825 helped lay the cornerstone for a monument commemorating the battle. Du Houssoy also visited Washington's Virginia home at Mount Vernon, and Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the two men first met. iht.com 7 Dec 07 

  • American Legion of Honor

  • Aztec Club of 1847
    •  (Lots of information on the Mexican War – Battles, Naval Expeditions, etc.)

  • The Benjamin Franklin Medal

    Franklin Institute - List of Recipients

    List of 2004 Recipients

     

  • NSDAR annouces DAR Medal of Honor recipient The National Society of Daughters of the American Revolutions announced that Brig. Gen. Susan Helms will be the recipient of the DAR Medal of Honor. Helms, commander of the 45th Space Wing and director of the Eastern Range at Patrick Air Force Base, will receive the Medal of Honor, the most prestigious award of the Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, on July 12 at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D. C. DAR President General Linda Calvin will present the medal. Helms was nominated by the Abigail Wright Chamberlain Chapter of Melbourne and the Space Coast Regents’ Council because they “are certain that she is the model of person this medal was created to honor.”  According to DAR criteria, “the Medal of Honor is presented to a U.S. citizen by birth who has shown the extraordinary qualities of leadership, trustworthiness, patriotism and service. The recipient must have made unusual and lasting contribution to our American heritage by giving of self to community, country and fellow man.” floridatoday.com 25 Feb 08

  • Grand Army of the Republic (Research articles and links)

  • Military medal winners march into obscurity From left, Fred Ferguson, Gerry Huffman and Buck Weaver show the medals that allowed them to be members of the Arizona Legion of Valor. The group disbanded on April 30. Due to illness and age, we can’t continue," said retired Army Maj. Harold Weaver, a Distinguished Service Cross recipient and Scottsdale resident who served in the Korean War and World War II. "There are no replacements for us to carry on the organization." 
    The 12-year-old Arizona chapter was the first of 13 chapters nationwide to disband — but it’s probably a matter of time before the others follow, said national legion commander retired Col. Richard Buchanan, a Placerville, Calif., resident. The problem is that World War II veterans are fast disappearing, and — despite a number of armed conflicts — fewer medals have been awarded in recent years. eastvalleytribune.com 10 May 05

     
    •

Units

Late Vietnam veteran honored  (Texas Legislature’s Medal of Honor) (Roy P. Benavidez)