For sale is a FRAMED CABINET CARD PHOTO WWI DOUGHBOY & OFFICIAL CASUALTY NOTIFICATION. Both the photograph and official notification is professionally framed and matted. The black and white cabinet card photo is of WWI soldier Harry Morrison Jr., also known as “Happy”. The telegram is dated 18 January 1919. The letter from the soldier’s commanding officer recounts Harry’s heroic actions who was mortally wounded while rendering first aid to fallen soldiers. The letter was written to a Miss Florence Carman who may have been the soldier’s fiancé. The officer shared that when he was loaded into the ambulance Harry asked not to write his mother because he didn’t think he was badly wounded and he didn’t want her to worry. The letter closes with an apology for using a typewriter but he explained that his pen was out of ink. The frame measures 32 inches tall by 13 inches wide. A superb military collectible.
During WW1, the U.S. Army’s “7th Machine Gun Battalion” during the 1918 Battle of Château-Thierry earned the nickname “Rock of the Marne” for holding the line on the Marne River. Since the battalion was designated a motorized unit, the unit received Ford Model T trucks, touring cars, and Indian motorcycles. The unit’s mobility enabled it to rush to Château-Thierry to help halt the German advance on Paris.
During the First World War, telegrams were the fastest way to send written communication. Telegrams were used by governments and war correspondents needing to communicate quickly and efficiently. They were often used to send notice of a soldier’s death, capture or wounding. Soldiers also sent telegrams to let their families know of their travels or that they had survived a battle.
