Eager to Ship out to France As Soon As Possible. the Units Were Recruited from Over 40 College Campuses and from Communities and Corporations
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eager to ship out to France as soon as possible. The units were recruited from over 40 college campuses and from communities and corporations. These men formed strong bonds since they joined together, trained together, and served together in the field. They trained at Camp Crane at the Allentown Fair Grounds in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Here they were quartered in animal barns. While in training the units competed against each other in sports such as baseball, football and track events. They also formed musical bands to provide for their own entertainment. The obvious result was a strong esprit de corps and high morale. The units served with distinction through the war and during the occupation of Germany. Many individuals were decorated with the war crosses of France and Italy, and some units received citations for the exemplary service. In the closing months of World War I, the idea evolved to form a veterans association in order to perpetuate the friendships formed by the men of the service. Committees were formed by commanders in France and Italy to create the organization and register members. The association was open to men of the American Field Service as well as the Ambulance Service. The first reunion was planned for June 8-10, 1920, at Camp Crane. The first president of the association was Colonel Richard Slee. The association created a medal for its members. It was manufactured by the Whitehead & Hoag Company, of Newark, New Jersey, and its design took on the appearance of an automobile wheel with a spoked rim upon which was superimposed the USAAS insignia. The insignia was the caduceus device of the Army Medical Department, with a stylized letter "A", for ambulance, overlaid. The words "U.S. Army Ambulance Service Association" encircled the edge of the medal, which was struck of dark bronze. The reverse of the medal bears the inscription "France America Italy/World War 1917-1919" in the upper half, with a laurel branch near the bottom edge. The space between them was provided for the individual’s name to be engraved. 28 The medal is one and one-eighth inches in diameter (29mm) and 2mm thick. Its suspension ribbon is maroon or dark rose in color and measures 38.5mm wide. It has 3mm-wide white stripes on each edge. The ribbon is attached to a slotted brooch with the words "Whitehead & Hoag Co. Pat. Appl’d For" stamped in small letters on it. The pin catch is an open hook. The medal came pinned to a card with the maker’s name and logo on the front and an advertising message on the back. The medal pictured here belonged to PFC Birchall Freeman, of Allentown. Birchall (see below) enlisted in the USAAS on October 25, 1917, at age 22, completed his training and sailed for France on December 26, 1917. He earned the Victory Medal with bars for Aisne, Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, Meuse-Argonne, and Defensive Sector. 29 Freeman served in S.S.U. 567, assigned to the French Army and was mentioned in French division citations on two occasions, entitling him to wear the Croix de Guerre w~th two silver stars on the ribbon. Freeman’s service continued into the occupation period, but he returned to the United States on April 20, 1919 and was discharged at Fort Dix, New Jersey, three days later. Source: John R. Smucker, Jr. The History of the United States Army Ambulance Service, 1967. THE KOLAR GOLD FIELDS RIFLE VOLUNTEERS REGIMENTAL DRILL MEDAL Mark T. Weber (OMSA 4950) Three years ago, I happened to obtain an obscure Indian Army medal from a fellow OMSA member. I had never heard of the unit that issued the medal, but having an interest in the Indian Army, I decided to trade for it. The date and name engraved on the medal offered the possibility of obtaining some further information about the unit and the officer in question. Unfortunately, no published history of the unit seems to exist, but I have been able to put together some details about the regiment and the recipient of the medal. The Regiment The Kolar Gold Fields Rifle Volunteers was an Infantry Volunteer Corps unit of the Indian Army formed in 1903 from a detachment of the Bangalore Rifle Volunteers. The regiment was an auxiliary, or reserve unit, formed from the European staff of the Kolar Gold Fields works complex in Oorgaum, in the state of Mysore. The regiment’s uniform was the traditional khaki drill worn by most units of the Indian Army. In 1915, the Kolar Gold Fields Rifle Volunteers (K.G.F.R.V.) 3O .