AEF grouping ID'd to Ralph Orville Bradshaw of Company I, 353rd Infantry Regiment, 89th Division

[henry1023]

This uniform group belonged to Ralph Orville Bradshaw, he served with Company I, 353rd Infantry Regiment, 89th Division. His uniform features a nice 353rd Infantry, 89th Division patch along with a smaller 3rd Army patch stitched above the service chevrons. This group includes his uniform, id tag, gas mask, mess tin, diary, and quite a bit of photos and souvenirs from his service.

He arrived in France on June 22, 1918 and served in both the St. Mihiel offensive and Meuse-Argonne offensive. He returned to the states on May 22, 1919, after serving occupation duty in Germany. Ralph O. Bradshaw passed away in 1978. Age 84.

[buellmeister]

Henry,

What an interesting WWI grouping! I particularly love the picture showcasing his souvenir, "hate" belt and buckle.

Thank you for sharing it!

Joel

[Tank Destroyer]

Excellent grouping, very nice. I like the story about cow pies LOL. Really nice in site to Mr. Bradshaws service in Europe.

Marty

[henry1023]

Thank you. The photo of him in the hate belt and "Cow shit Pete" are definitely some of my favorite parts of this group.

[MAP]

You did well. Great grouping. Amazing that it survived intact after all these years.

[henry1023]

I thought the same. I think it had a lot to do with Ralph Bradshaw's wife, Anna Mae Bradshaw, she kept everything together after he passed in 1978. From what I can tell she deeply cared for her husband. She passed in 2001 at the age of 100. After she passed I guess an ungrateful relative decided to sell it all.

[AZPhil]

Fantastic looking uniform.
The photo's of the Gent just make that one a WINNER!!

Semper Fi
Phil