NAMED LEGION OF MERIT MEDAL MAJOR FRANK KARGER WWI 80TH DIV. WW2 QMC +RESEARCH For Sale

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Major Frank Karger had 2 Legion of Merit medals 1 engraved and 1 not engraved. This listing is for his engraved Legion of Merit. His un-engraved Legion of Merit is listed separately in my store item #267798426146

Frank Karger’s military career began as a young enlisted soldier during the First World War and, more than twenty-five years later, culminated with his service as a Major in the United States Army Quartermaster Corps and the award of the Legion of Merit during World War II.

Frank Karger was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 12, 1898. He grew up in Milwaukee and attended West Division High School, where he distinguished himself as a track star and was also active in the Athena Debating Society, serving as its vice president. His success in athletics, combined with his involvement in debating and student activities, showed an early combination of drive and leadership that would continue into his civilian and military careers.

With the United States at war with Germany, Karger registered for the draft in 1918. At the time he was working as a surveyman for the United States government in Dubuque, Iowa. He subsequently entered the United States Army and was assigned Service Number 1,828,262.

Karger was assigned to Company M, 319th Infantry Regiment, 80th Division, and by the spring of 1918 had advanced to the rank of Sergeant. On May 18, 1918, Sergeant Karger and the men of the 319th Infantry departed Norfolk, Virginia, aboard the transport Zeelandia, beginning their journey to the war in France.

The 319th Infantry formed part of the 160th Infantry Brigade of the 80th Division. After arriving overseas, the division underwent additional training before entering the battle zone during the summer of 1918. The 80th initially served alongside British forces in northern France, occupying the Artois sector from July 22 to August 7 and participating in operations associated with the Somme Offensive during August.

The division was later transferred south as the growing American Expeditionary Forces prepared to undertake their own major offensive operations. During the St. Mihiel Offensive in September 1918, the 80th Division was assigned to the reserve of the American First Army. Although elements of the division were detached for direct participation in the attack, Karger’s 319th Infantry remained with the division and did not make the principal St. Mihiel assault.

The regiment soon entered far heavier fighting.

On September 26, 1918, the American First Army launched the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the largest American operation of the First World War. The 80th Division entered the attack as part of III Corps, advancing on the western side of the Meuse River. Beginning south of Bethincourt, its troops pushed forward against German defenses, capturing Bethincourt and fighting through the Bois Jure while coming under increasingly heavy German artillery and machine-gun fire. By the end of the opening day’s fighting, elements of the division had advanced toward Dannevoux.

The 80th Division continued to participate in the Meuse-Argonne operations during the remaining weeks of the war, moving in and out of the front as the American armies steadily drove northward through difficult terrain and heavily defended German positions. The division returned to the offensive during the final advance in November and remained involved in operations until the Armistice brought the fighting to an end on November 11, 1918.

During his service in France, Karger made the significant transition from enlisted soldier to commissioned officer. Having crossed the Atlantic as a Sergeant of Company M, 319th Infantry, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant before leaving Europe.

Karger remained overseas following the Armistice and was eventually assigned to St. Aignan Casual Company No. 5934 for his return to the United States. On June 22, 1919, Second Lieutenant Karger departed Brest, France, aboard the transport North Carolina. After ten days at sea, he arrived at Hoboken, New Jersey, on July 2, 1919, bringing his first period of wartime service to a close.

Returning to civilian life, Karger established a career in business and management in Milwaukee. By 1930 he was employed as an engineer in the dry-goods business, and the federal census specifically identified him as a veteran of the World War. Over the following decade his work became increasingly centered on management and organizational efficiency. By 1940 he was employed as an efficiency expert, and census records show that he had completed four years of college.

Those years of civilian experience would prove particularly valuable when the United States found itself at war again.

Karger registered for the World War II draft on February 15, 1942. He was then employed by Ed Schuster & Company, Inc. of Milwaukee. Rather than returning to the infantry, Karger entered his second period of wartime service as an officer and was assigned to the Quartermaster Corps, where his years of experience in engineering, management, and organizational efficiency were well suited to the enormous logistical demands facing the wartime Army.

By 1943 Karger was serving as a First Lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps. On November 27, 1943, the War Department announced his temporary promotion to Captain.

As the war continued, Karger was assigned to the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot, where he became involved in the management and administration of one of the Army’s important logistical organizations. The Quartermaster Corps faced the immense responsibility of procuring, storing, managing, and distributing the supplies required by millions of American servicemen operating throughout the world, making efficient management of the Army’s depots an essential part of the overall war effort.

Karger’s responsibilities increased along with his rank. By 1945 he had been promoted from Captain to Major and was serving as the officer in charge of the Management Control Division at the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot. A Milwaukee newspaper reported in September 1945 that Major Karger had returned home on leave shortly after receiving his promotion, specifically noting his position at the depot.

His wartime service at Philadelphia earned Karger significant official recognition. For his work during World War II, Major Frank Karger was awarded the Legion of Merit, one of the United States military’s distinguished decorations for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services. Published Army award records identify Major Frank Karger among the recipients of decorations during 1945, while his obituary later noted that he was one of three executive officers of the Quartermaster’s Department at Philadelphia to receive the Legion of Merit during the war.

Following the end of World War II, Karger returned to Milwaukee and resumed his civilian career with Ed Schuster & Company, Inc., eventually serving as the company’s operative manager. His postwar life, however, would be relatively short.

After a long illness, Major Frank Karger died at Columbia Hospital in Milwaukee on August 27, 1949, at the age of 51. Funeral services were held at the Weiss Chapel on North Farwell Avenue, and he was laid to rest in Spring Hill Cemetery.

Karger’s life represented a remarkable progression through two generations of American military service. The young Sergeant who sailed for France with the 319th Infantry in 1918 experienced the final campaigns of the First World War and earned a commission before returning home. When his country again went to war more than two decades later, he returned to uniform and applied the management experience of his civilian career to the vast logistical organization supporting the United States Army. By the conclusion of World War II, the former infantry Sergeant had risen to the rank of Major, held an important management position within the Quartermaster Corps, and had been recognized for his service with the Legion of Merit.

(I will include 32 full size color printed pages of the research presented)

--ORIGINAL WORLD WAR II UNITED STATES LEGIONNAIRE GRADE LEGION OF MERIT MEDAL, W/ FULL TONE WRAP BROOCH.

--WWII PERIOD ENGRAVED:

“FRANK KARGER” (LISTED IN THE “LOM” ROLLS)

--RE-SEWN ORIGINAL RIBBON DRAPE TESTED U.V. NEGATIVE.

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