US WWI 89th Division Soldiers Letter & Mailed Home Souvenir Iron Cross
This item is listed for historical interest only. It was listed on our site previously but has been sold and is no longer available for purchase.
Sold for: $165.00

Original period manufacture. This great little lot recently came out of an old collection here in Arizona. It consists of a handwritten letter from a Doughboy to his sister back home in Colorado. It is very well written and quite readable, with several interesting comments regarding his service, the influenza epidemic and the mailing home of the Iron Cross...he wrote; "I mailed a few packages to all of you very recently and you can expect them soon. I mailed you a piece of German "handwork" and Jim an "iron cross". Said iron cross having been given to me by a German soldier to whom it had been given by satanic majesty, - the Clown Prince for a brave deed he performed in the fields of Flanders. He (Jim apparently) can wear it as a watch chain, or just keep it as a souvenir".Also included is a newspaper clipping also mentioned in the letter, which describes the activities of the 89th Division during the war.Lastly, a series of small cards, stapled in one corner, which give a fairly inaccurate appraisal of the awarding and importance of the Iron Cross, however, one entry is interesting, giving details of the letter's purchase at an Antique Show in Falls Church Virginia, on the 17th of July 1976, for the price of $20. That was a lot of money to pay for an EK2 back in those days. To add just a little more "shine" to this already wonderful old relic, the EK's suspension ring is maker marked, looks to be MEH, it's a very small mark and difficult to see, but definitely there.