A North African & Italian Campaign Bronze Star & Purple Heart Group to Private Joseph B. Sanduk, Company A, 14th Armored Infantry, 1st Armored Division; Company G, 3rd Armored Infantry Battalion, 6th Armored Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division
Includes:
1. Bronze Star Medal: engraved in running script "Joseph B. Sanduk." on the reverse.
2. Purple Heart with Ribbon bar: engraved "JOSEPH B. SANDUK" on the reverse.
3. Army Good Conduct Medal.
4. American Campaign Medal.
5. European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and Ribbon Bar with two Bronze Campaign Stars.
6. World War II Victory Medal with Ribbon Bar.
All six medals with an original ribbon and brooch pinback.
Also included are:
7. Bronze Star Medal Lapel Badge.
8. Purple Heart Lapel Badge.
9. Army Presidential Unit Citation.
10. Combat Infantryman Badge: in sterling silver with ultramarine blue enamels, marked "STERLING" on the reverse, measuring 76.5 mm (w) x 26 mm (h), dual push pins.
11. 1st Armored Division Patch: in red, blue, yellow, black and olive green embroidery, measuring 100 mm (w) x 92 mm (h).
12. Italian 2 Lire Bill: serial numbered "A02201992A", measuring 77 mm (w) x 67 mm (h), exhibiting foldmarks and soiling.
Accompanied by research papers, four of which are certified by the Queens County Courthouse and incorporate official embossed stamps.
Near extremely fine.
Footnote: Joseph B. Sanduk was born on August 20, 1912 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. He was drafted into the United States Army as a Private (32 879 183), on March 31, 1943, at the age of 30. His Army specialty was as a Military Policeman and he qualified for the Combat Infantryman Badge. Private Sanduk departed the United States on September 3, 1943 and would serve in the North African Theater as of October 1, 1943. He served with Company A, 14th Armored Infantry Battalion, 1st Armored Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division at the Battle of Kasserine Pass (AKA Operation Torch), a series of battles of the Tunisian campaign of the Second World War that took place in February 1943 at Kasserine Pass, a 2-mile-wide (3.2 km) gap in the Grand Dorsal chain of the Atlas Mountains in west central Tunisia. The Axis forces, led by Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel, were primarily from the Afrika Korps Assault Group, the Italian Centauro Armored Division and two Panzer divisions detached from the 5th Panzer Army, while the Allied forces consisted of the U.S. II Corps (Major General Lloyd Fredendall), the British 6th Armoured Division (Major-General Charles Keightley) and other parts of the First Army (Lieutenant-General Kenneth Anderson). The battle was the first major engagement between U.S. and Axis forces in Africa. The American troops were numerically superior, but inexperienced and poorly led; they suffered many casualties and were quickly pushed back over 50 miles (80 km) from their original positions west of Faïd Pass.
After the early defeat, elements of the U.S. II Corps, with British reinforcements, rallied and held the exits through mountain passes in western Tunisia, defeating the Axis offensive. As a result of the battle, the U.S. Army instituted sweeping changes in unit organization, and replaced commanders and some types of equipment. Private Sanduk departed the North African Theater for the Italian Theater, to participate in the Italian Campaign. He was serving with Company G, 3rd Armored Infantry Battalion, 6th Armored Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division at the Battle of Monte Porchia, from January 4 to 8, 1944, one of a series of battles to take the rocky spines that led up to the rivers below Monte Cassino proper, undertaken while the British 46th Midland Division attacked its much smaller neighbour, Monte Cedro. Private Sanduk was later wounded in action at Cisterna di Latina, Italy on May 23, 1944, with the 38th Evacuation Hospital later noting that he had sustained a scalp wound attributed to mortar fragments. He left the Italian Theater on July 21, 1944 and was medically and honorably discharged from active service on November 1, 1944 at Fort Dix in New Jersey. Joseph B. Sanduk died on September 1, 1989, at the age of 77 and is buried in Saint John Cemetery, Middle Village, Queens County, New York, Section: Row 23, Plot P, Grave 35. Private Joseph B. Sanduk was awarded a Bronze Star based on his achievement of the Combat Infantryman Badge. He was also awarded the Purple Heart for his wounds sustained at Cisterna di Latina, Italy. In addition, he was awarded the Army Presidential Unit Citation and the Army Good Conduct Medal. For his Second World War service he was awarded the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two Bronze Campaign Stars and the World War II Victory Medal.