An American WWII Purple Heart Group; Wounded in France

An American WWII Purple Heart Group; Wounded in France - Purple Heart: bronze gilt and enamels, engraved "NICK GENNIE" on the reverse and numbered "26290" on the edge, 34.7 mm x 42.8 mm; Victory Medal: bronze gilt, 3 Clasps - DEFENSIVE SECTOR, MEUSE-ARGONNE, ST. MIHIEL, 36.2 mm; France: Verdun Medal: bronze gilt, 26.5 mm; and Medal for Saint Mihiel 1918: bronze gilt, 32.2 mm. Original ribbons, each with its own brooch pinback, light contact, near extremely fine. Accompanied by three Saddler Patches (brown t-shaped insignia sewn upon a circular khaki brown base, 65 mm); a 91st Infantry Division Patch (yellow embroidered lettering on a green tree-shaped wool base, 38 mm x 47 mm); a U.S. Army Pin (silvered bronze, 15.2 mm x 15.5 mm, buttonhole attachment); a Corps of Engineers Badge (bronze gilt, maker marked "MEYER METAL" on the reverse, 17.6 mm x 25 mm, one of two push pin points intact); a "V" on a Leaf Clasp (bronze, maker marked "ST. LOUIS BUTTON CO." on the reverse, 8.7 mm x 18.2 mm); a Ribbon Bar (7.5 mm x 36 mm with pinback); his Purple Heart Award Document (named to "NICK GENNIE 2 272 707 SADDLER COMPANY A, 316TH ENGINEERS", for wounds received on "27 SEPTEMBER 1918 FRANCE", Gold emboss stamp of the United States of America War Office, dated September 21, 1959, 252 mm x 303 mm, in a 279 mm x 353 mm cardboard frame); his Service Record Card (red and light blue inks on a white card stock, 153 mm x 234 mm); a Group Photograph of Company A, 316th Engineers in Front of a Barracks at Camp Lewis, Washington (black and white, gloss finish, stamped "PARISH CAMP LEWIS, WASH." on the reverse, 127 mm x 178 mm, crinkled, repaired); a Photograph of Giannini in Uniform (colourized black and white, matte finish, 190 mm x 242 mm); a Photograph of Giannini in a Suit Wearing His Purple Heart (black and white, matte finish, 202 mm x 252 mm) and assorted research papers.       Footnote: 2272.707 Domanic Giannini (AKA Nick Gennie) was born on August 5, 1890, the son of Luigi and Virginia Giannani. He entered service with the United States Army on September 19, 1917, at El Centro, California, at the age of 27. He trained with the 316th Engineers at Camp Lewis, near Tacoma, Washington, achieving the rank of Saddler and with the 91st Infantry Division. Giannini went overseas with the American Expeditionary Force and was assigned to the French theatre. He is on record as having been at St. Mihiel, France from September 13 to 15, 1918 and in the Argonne Forest from September 26 to October 4, 1918, where he was wounded on September 29, 1918. A bomb shell went off next to the kitchen wagon that Giannini was standing next to as he was waiting for coffee. The next thing he recalled was that he woke up in a hospital in St. Mihele, France, restrained in a complete body cast, from his neck to his hips. He remained in hospital in France until he was released from service on May 3, 1919. His parents had predeceased him, so he listed his next-of-kin as his sister, who had been notified that he had been declared Killed or Missing in Action. After his release from service, he arrived at his sister's house in San Jose, California, alive and well. Giannini is credited with having served in England, France and Belgium. During the Second World War, he was an Air Warden with Civil Defense and had a career doing carpentry and labor work. He was awarded his Purple Heart on September 21, 1959, for wounds suffered in the Argonne Forest on September 27, 1918. He died on June 29, 1962, at the age of 71. His older brother, Amadeo Peter Giannini (May 6, 1870 to June 3, 1949), who had been raised by his mother and his stepfather Lorenzo Scatena, as his father had been fattally shot over a pay dispute with an employee, founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco in 1904, which became the Bank of America and Italy in 1922, and finally, the Bank of America in 1930, where he acted as its CEO.