Named WWII / Korean War D-Day Paratrooper Airborne Medal and Insignia Group
$1,850.00
The medals and insignia of Frederick N. Wagner of Pennsylvania, who served in World War II as a paratrooper and who was injured making the jump into Normandy on D-Day. A reference was found to Wagner online in the November 10, 1944 edition of the “Harrisburg Telegraph” newspaper. That article was headlined “SSGT. JOHN H. WAGNER [and] PVT. FREDERICK N. WAGNER CITY BROTHERS OVERSEAS WITH ARMY”. The article described the two Wagner brothers as both being in service overseas, and it stated, in part, “Pvt. Frederick N. Wagner, 19, wears the Purple Heart, awarded for a spine injury he received on D – Day while landing in France with the Paratroopers. Hospitalized now in Naples, Italy, he was in a hospital in Southern France from August 15 to August 31. He was inducted in May, 1943, and took his early training at Camp Mackall, Fort Benning, and other east coast camps before embarking in May for overseas. He was graduated from New Cumberland High School.” The group consists of the following medals and insignia: Bronze Star Medal, slot brooch, officially script engraved “Frederick N. Wagner”; Purple Heart, slot brooch, officially hand engraved on two lines “Frederick N. / Wagner”; Army Good Conduct Medal with bar for multiple subsequent awards, slot brooch, unnamed; Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, suspended on a slot brooch that was utilized as a crimp brooch, unnamed as awarded; WWII European Campaign Medal with arrowhead invasion device and two campaign stars, crimp brooch suspension; WWII American Campaign Medal, crimp brooch suspension; WWII Victory Medal; WWII Occupation Medal with “Germany” bar, crimp brooch suspension; Berlin Airlift Medal, crimp brooch suspension; Korea War Campaign Medal with two campaign stars, crimp brooch suspension; National Defense Medal with oak leaf cluster, with the ribbon sewn over the pin mount backing plate of a crimp brooch suspension; and the United Nations Medal for Korea, crimp brooch suspension. The insignia in the group consists of the Combat Infantry Badge with star for combat service in both World War II and the Korean War, clutch back, bearing the shield mark and name of N.S. Meyer as well as the Meyer government contractor mark of “9M”, dating the badge to the period of 1960-1965; German made U.S. Army Airborne paratrooper wings with a star for Wagner’s D-Day combat jump, clutch back, bearing the distinctive “A” mark of the German firm of Assmann as well as the number 265; U.S. Army Master Parachutist badge, clutch back, marked “Sterling”; U.S. Army Expert Marksmanship badge, clutch back, marked “1/20 S.F. L.I.G.I.”, indicating manufacture by Lordship Industries, with bar for “Pistol”, marked “1/20 Silver Filled” and “Krew GI”, and the bar for “Rifle” marked “!/20 S.F.” and “GI”, between which is what appears to be the diamond shaped manufacturer mark of Silverman Brothers; and the Korean Presidential Unit Citation, clutch back. The insignia are without clutch fasteners. Overall the items in the group are in very good to excellent condition, with some of the ribbons showing minor age soiling. A large group to a D-Day paratrooper that is worthy of further research.