Images(5)

Button, Membership

Object number2014.140.11 a,b

MediumBrass/Metal

Credit LineGift of Stephanie Mallinger

DescriptionTwo circular American Legion buttons.Dimensions0.563 x 0.875 in. (1.4 x 2.2 cm)
InscriptionsEach button has text on front "AMERICAN LEGION" with "US" in the middle.

Embossed text on back "PAT 54296 RENEWED '35".
Historical NotesThese belonged to Herbert Isaac Frank. The American Legion Post 577 is in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. The Buck and Frank families were Jewish families that lived in McKeesport, PA, and Irwin, PA, respectively, during the late 19th and 20th centuries. They were connected through Rose (Buck) Frank, who married Herbert I. Frank in 1930. Herbert I. Frank was drafted into the Quartermaster Corps but received a medical discharge shortly after the Armistice. After the war, he attended the University of Pittsburgh. In 1930, he married Rose Buck. The couple had two daughters Stephanie (Frank) Mallinger, born in 1931, and Ann (Frank) Hoechstetter, born in 1932. Herbert I. Frank was involved in local philanthropic groups, such as Jewish Big Brother Association, the Jewish Social Service Bureau, and the Young Men and Women's Hebrew Association. Due to his standing in the community, he was asked to join a local draft board. For three years, he served as chairman on City Draft Board #14, before resigning after a dispute with other board members over the issuing of deferments. Following his resignation, he took a position on a Price Control Board. Herbert I. Frank passed away in 1946.

Previous owner Herbert Isaac Frank (died 1946)

Related institution American Legion (founded 1919)

Related institution American Legion Post 577

Related institution Quartermaster Corps

Related institution United States Army

Related institution Jewish Big Brother Association

Related institution Jewish Social Service Bureau

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