Silver Star/Purple Heart attributed to Lt James Bihlmire, 23rd Infantry

Pair to 2Lt James H. Bihlmire, 23rd Infantry, 2nd Division: Silver Star, slot brooch, unnamed; Purple Heart, with one oak leaf cluster, slot brooch, unnamed. Mounted on a velvet pad for framing with a Combat Infantryman Badge, ribbon bar (Silver Star, Purple Heart and EAME Campaign Medal) and pair of crests of the 23rd Infantry. With a photos of Bihlmire in uniform as an enlisted man and a lieutenant (plus five snapshots of him in training), an October 1942 letter home to his parents describing his training, and current information from the family. Bihlmire’s Silver Star was awarded in 2nd Division GO 26 of June 1944: “The gallantry and disregard for personal safety displayed by this officer reflects the highest credit upon himself and the armed forces of the United States.”. The 23rd Infantry landed at Normandy on 7 June 1944, captured the town of Trevieres on 9 June and then through the hedgerows in the reduction and capture of the port city of Brest. Bihlmire was wounded in the leg and received another wound later. Bihlmire died in 1971.