First World War Victory Medal, 5 Clasps - DEFENSIVE SECTOR, MEUSE-ARGONNE, ST. MIHIEL, AISNE-MARNE, MONTDIDIER-NOYON (bronze, 36 mm); and Society of the 1st Division AEF Veterans Organization Medal 1917-1919 (bronze, maker marked "BBB" (Bailey, Banks and Biddle of Philadelphia) on the edge, 38 mm). Un-mounted, original ribbons, both with brooch pinbacks, light contact on the former, spotting on the latter, very fine. Accompanied by a 1st Division Lapel Badge (bronze gilt with red, orange, green and white enamels, 19.5 mm, vertical pinback); and a 1st Division Pin (blackened bronze with red enamels, 7.5 mm x 10.5 mm, screwback).
Footnote: The First Expeditionary Division, later designated the 1st Infantry Division, was constituted on May 24, 1917, in the Regular Army, and was organized on June 8, 1917, at Fort Jay, on Governors Island in New York harbor, under the command of Brigadier General William L. Sibert, from Army units then in service on the U.S.-Mexico border and at various Army posts throughout the United States. The original table of organization and equipment (TO&E) included two organic infantry brigades of two infantry regiments each, one engineer battalion; one signal battalion; one trench mortar battery; one field artillery brigade of three field artillery regiments; one air squadron; and a full division train. The total authorized strength of this TO&E was 18,919 officers and enlisted men. George S. Patton, who served as the first headquarters commandant for the American Expeditionary Forces, oversaw much of the arrangements for the movement of the 1st Division to France, and their organization in-country. Frank W. Coe, who later served as Chief of Coast Artillery, was the division's first chief of staff. The first units sailed from New York City and Hoboken, New Jersey on June 14, 1917. Throughout the remainder of the year, the rest of the division followed, landing at St. Nazaire, France, and Liverpool, England. After a brief stay in rest camps, the troops in England proceeded to France, landing at Le Havre. The last unit arrived in St. Nazaire on December 22nd. Upon arrival in France, the division, less its artillery, was assembled in the First (Gondrecourt) training area, and the artillery was at Le Valdahon. On July 4th, the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry, paraded through the streets of Paris to bolster the sagging French spirits. At Lafayette's tomb, one of General John J. Pershing's staff said, "Lafayette, we are here!" Two days later, on July 6th, Headquarters, First Expeditionary Division was re-designated as Headquarters, First Division. The 1st Division adopted the Square Table of Organization and Equipment on August 8, 1917, which included two organic infantry brigades of two infantry regiments each; one engineer regiment; one signal battalion; one machine gun battalion; one field artillery brigade of three field artillery regiments, and a complete division train. The total authorized strength of this new TO&E was 27,120 officers and enlisted men. On the morning of October 23rd, the first American shell of the war was fired toward German lines by a First Division artillery unit. Two days later, the 2nd Battalion of the 16th Infantry suffered the first American casualties of the war. By April 1918, the Germans had pushed to within forty miles (64 km) of Paris. In reaction to this thrust, the "Big Red One" moved into the Picardy Sector to bolster the exhausted French First Army. To thedivision's front lay the small village of Cantigny, situated on the high ground overlooking a forested countryside. The 28th Infantry Regiment attacked the town, and within 45 minutes captured it, along with 250 German soldiers. It was the first American victory of the war. The 28th were hereafter nicknamed the "Black Lions of Cantigny." Soissons was taken by the First Division in July 1918. The Soissons victory was costly, with 700 men killed or wounded. The First Infantry helped to clear the St. Mihiel salient by fighting continuously from September 11 to 13, 1918. The last major World War I battle was fought in the Meuse-Argonne Forest. The division advanced seven kilometers and defeated, in whole or part, eight German divisions. This victory was mainly due to the efforts of George C. Marshall, who at the time was a captain in the 1st Division and organized soldier's movements and logistics. The war was over when the Armistice was signed. The division was at Sedan, the farthest American penetration of the war, and was the first to cross the Rhine into occupied Germany. By the end of the war, the division had suffered 4,964 killed in action, 17,201 wounded in action, and 1,056 missing or died of wounds. Five division soldiers received Medals of Honor. The division's dog-mascot was a mixed breed terrier known as Rags. The dog was adopted by the division in 1918 and remained its mascot until its death in 1936. Rags achieved notoriety and celebrity as a war dog, after saving many lives in the crucial Argonne Campaign by delivering a vital message despite being bombed and gassed. The Society of the 1stDivision AEF Veterans Organization Medal was produced by Bailey, Banks, and Biddle of Philadelphia around the time of the dedication of the 1st Division Monument in Washington, DC, a couple of years after the close of the First World War. The reverse of the medal lists the nine actions the division participated in.