Lot 1251

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Description:

BLACK SOLDIER'S PURPLE HEART AND DOCUMENT GROUPING
A large grouping of material from the estate of Named World War I Purple Heart, awarded to Master Sergeant Hansen Outley (1892-1941), a black artilleryman of the 349th Field Artillery, 92nd Division, who fired the last shot for the regiment of World War I. The medal is complete with ribbon and pin and is engraved with Outley's name on the reverse. It shows light oxidation and some soiling from storage in an old German camera box where it was found with another box filled with documents concerning Outley's distinguished career as a soldier and diplomat. Also present is a 1941 newspaper clipping showing Outley at Fort Sill where his regiment had been reactivated and where he was allowed to fire the first shot of their 155mm. artillery piece. Tragically, another undated clipping (but almost certainly from 1941) describing a horrific car crash in which driver Outley crashed his car, killing his passenger and Outley himself being very severely hurt. Included are about twenty American military appointments, promotions, and service records from Outley's military service from World War I, the interwar years in the Philippines, and training until his untimely death, two U.S. diplomatic passports showing Outley's service in Liberia as a military attache training Liberian 'Frontier Forces', photographs of the soldier and family, military letters of recommendation, and a June 20, 1941, War Dept. telegram announcing his death. There is also a 1940 letter to Outley from his sister, a religious medal, and yet another clipping that indicates Outley may have been refused a pilot's license. There is also a surprising document, a German Pilot's Medical Certificate submitted by Outley to German authorities in 1928 in connection with the issuance of a pilot's license. A German army officer's letter included states that Outley was fully qualified and had already completed 128 flights - an unheard of accomplishment for a black in the United States. The 349th was one of the Army's first predominately African-American artillery units.

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January 26, 2023 10:00 AM EST
Chesapeake City, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $999,999 $10,000
$1,000,000 $1,999,999 $50,000
$2,000,000 + $100,000