This artifact tells two stories:  The first, of a man who served his nation in the First World War.  The second, how communities decided to honor those who served before the widespread adoption of service medals by the U.S. military.

Edward Harry Dettenthaler was born on the first of October 1895 in Carrollton Township, Michigan.  His father and mother were German immigrants, and by the 1920 census, he was living with his widowed mother. [1] He married Maybelle Mergen on March 10, 1930. [2] They had a son, Max, before Maybelle tragically passed in 1943. [3]

Before his career as a freight solicitor for the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway, [4] he was a doughboy fighting for his nation.  On June 5, 1917, Edward Dettenthaler registered for the draft with the Saginaw County War Board.  He stood 5 foot, 4 inches and was of slender build with brown hair and gray eyes. [5] He would eventually enlist in the Tank Corps of the U.S. Army.

On August 14, 1918, he would depart on the City of Exeter from Philadelphia, PA for France.  He was assigned to Company A, 306th Heavy Tank Battalion, 306th Tank Brigade and rose to the rank of Sergeant.  The 306th would fight in the Meuse-Argonne campaign utilizing the Renault FT-17 before service in the Defensive Sector.  He would serve overseas until departing for New York from Marseilles, France on February 28, 1919. [6] When he arrived in New York, he was headed to Camp Custer, MI to muster out.

Arriving home to Saginaw County, Sergeant Dettenthaler likely encountered a community full of patriotic fervor like much of the doughboys coming home.  Many companies capitalized on this zeal, by marketing local “War Service Medals” to local governments to recognize their citizens.  Saginaw County authorized a bronze medal on a bronze pendant for issue to their hometown heroes!

The suspense is a bronze stylized eagle and U.S. shield circled with the wreath of victory and the abbreviation U.S. flanking the central design.

The medal’s obverse shows the statue of liberty flanked by the U.S. seal and the Michigan state seal.  “Veterans of the 1917 – 1919 World War” is written in raised lettering.  The reverse has the seal of Saginaw County over the raised citation, “Presented by Saginaw County War Board to [blank to engrave name] in grateful recognition of his part in the World War.”  “Edward Dettenthaler” is engraved in the space.

Sergeant Dettenthaler passed away on April 25, 1967 at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Saginaw.  Edward Dettenthaler was a first generation American who took up arms against his parent’s former home country.  The history of the United States and the world at large is not just written by great men, but by the everyday heroes who take up the challenge when called upon.

Sources:

1. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

Original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

2. Ancestry.com. Ohio, County Marriages, 1774-1993 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.

Original data: Marriage Records. Ohio Marriages. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, UT.

3. Felton, Mary & Darlene Hudson. Veterans of World War I.  Saginaw County Genealogical Society.  Pg. 196
4. Ibid.
5. Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.

Original data: United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm.

6. Ancestry.com. U.S., Army Transport Service, Passenger Lists, 1910-1939 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.

Original data:

Lists of Incoming Passengers, 1917-1938. Textual records. 360 Boxes. NAI: 6234465. Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985, Record Group 92. The National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

Lists of Outgoing Passengers, 1917-1938. Textual records. 255 Boxes. NAI: 6234477. Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985, Record Group 92. The National Archives at College Park, Maryland.