Ah ok very neat thank you so much!!It looks like a WWII German Gebirgsjaeger (Mountain Troops) rucksack, or at least based on one.
Ah ok very neat thank you so much!!It looks like a WWII German Gebirgsjaeger (Mountain Troops) rucksack, or at least based on one.
You have the full set: the presentation box, the medal, the ribbon bar and the lapel pin. Some of these had serial numbers, but I guess you have already checked for that. The serial number would be on the rear of the medal itself. That's probably where the initials are. If the recipient had been killed, often the government would engrave the recipient's name on the rear of the medal and send it to the family.Purple Heart Medal awarded to someone with the initials W.A.T. Would like to research it further.
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You have the full set: the presentation box, the medal, the ribbon bar and the lapel pin. Some of these had serial numbers, but I guess you have already checked for that. The serial number would be on the rear of the medal itself. That's probably where the initials are. If the recipient had been killed, often the government would engrave the recipient's name on the rear of the medal and send it to the family.
If you have any success, please let us know.
There is a Purple Heart Foundation. They might be able to help.
https://purpleheartfoundation.org
There is also a Purple Heart Hall of Fame. Not all recipients are listed, however.
https://www.thepurpleheart.com
There is also an organization that is dedicated to returning lost Purple Hearts to their owners or the owner's family. Haven't run across that one yet.
EDIT NOTE: I found it and searched the data base. Your guy isn't on there, but there are other services they offer in attempting to reunite recipients with their medals. Might have a look at it and see if it is helpful.
https://purpleheartsreunited.org/lost-purple-hearts/lost-hearts-database/