Surely after 129 years the internet should get the Medal of Honor man's name, date and location of birth and picture right. But not so!

Today's blog starts with a story coming out of Chattanooga Tenneesee.

For years the Charles  H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Center has operated honouring the military and spanning the years from the days of the revolution till now. Exhibits telling the stories of the veterans, with an emphasis on the Medal of Honor recipients and with close attention to those  connected with the state are throughout the premises.

Regular visitors to this blog have read of the first Medals of Honor back in 1863. These went to some 19 union men who seized the train engine called the General and a few box cars and set off in enemy territory to destroy bridges and telegraph lines, disrupt the flow of trains and supplies and hopefully cut the days the war would last.  Chattanooga played a role in that historic event, as do its displays within the MOH Center.

The center is named after Tech Sergeant C. Coolidge, a MOH recipient from WW11. It is unknown if he is related to the former President of the same name. But never the less the center gives honourable mention to the President including the display of images.

Below we see the President presenting the Medal of Honor first to  Commander Richard Byrd and then Mechanic    Floyd Bennett at the White House after their flight over Canada to the North Pole in and 1926. 

Commander Byrd receives his Medal of Honor while mechanic Bennett awaits at the President"s back for his own medal. The following year the President would also present the medal to Charles Lindbergh for his non stop solo flight over Canada's east coast and across the Atlantic. Blogs here tell each story.

In this exhibit we see what appears to be a Revolutionary War uniform and musket. The stock of the muskets were made of a special very durable wood called Purple Heart. It of course was well looked after by its holders. Behind this on the wall is a double frame. In its lower portion is a most rare Badge of Military Merit.

It has been said that the badge reflected the Purple Heart wood of the musket, and the cloth in the shape of a heart, again due to the fondness the men held in their very weapon of the day. Only a handful of these clothe patches...or badges were awarded. The paperwork coming with the medal came to a Montrealer as noted in a past blog. But it is not known if he also got the clothe badge. 

Here is today's Purple Heart. Records were not always kept on the awarding of the medal but estimates say over 1.8 million were issued since introduced by General MacArthur in 1942..His being the first by receipt. But since it was made retroactive to 1917 the first did not go to a man. It went to a Woman. A nurse.

And here is that woman. Her name was Chief Nurse Mary MacDonald. And she was not even an American. She was born in Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Getting back to the museum, its many many artifacts, exhibits and more having probably outgrown their current location. For years they have been planing a new facility, expected to occupy some 19,000 square feet and to have its opening in February of next year.

As I looked over the news announcements I discovered a sketch of the new facility... 

and of particular interest to me, was a series of pictures of about 3 dozen Medal of Honor recipients either from, or connected to the state of Tennessee.

The second fellow in this picture is of George, but that's not his real name.

Great information has just come in and added to my own collected over the years. This needs some touch ups, and so I will end this brief intro to the "George" story for today.

While I announced recently that I will only be doing blogs twice a month now, I will bring you a special blog next Sunday and tell you all about George.

Hope to see you then,

Bart