Medal, Commemorative

Object number2014.140.4 a-e

Date1921

MediumMetal/Paper/Satin/Velvet/Metal/Fabric/Ink

Credit LineGift of Stephanie Mallinger

DescriptionSelective Service Medal set consisting original box, ribbon bar, medal, and award card.Dimensions(a) Width 3.813, Length 6.75, Depth 0.5;
(b) Width 3.5, Length 6.625, Depth 0.688;
(c) Height 0.375, Width 1.375, Depth 0.25;
(d) Height 2.813, Width 1.5, Depth 0.25;
(e) Height 1.25, Width 3.063.
Inscriptions(a)
Gold printed text on top at center "SELECTIVE / SERVICE / MEDAL".

(d)
One side of the medallion is decorated with the Great Seal of the United States with "SSS" on the eagle's chest, front also has raised text around the perimeter "SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM / WORLD WAR II". Reverse side has engraved text "AWARDED / IN THE NAME OF / THE CONGRESS OF / THE UNITED STATES / FOR FAITHFUL AND / LOYAL SERVICE".

(e)
Handwritten, typed, and stamped text on one side "HERBERT ISAAC FRANK / AWARDED 5-21-21 / APPROVED BY J.S.E. Young, Lt. Col. USA. Ret / FOR VICTORY MEDAL WITH / no clasps"; back has printed text from an Army form.
Historical NotesThis Selective Service Medal was awarded to Herbert Isaac Frank on June 21, 1921. There is a discrepancy about the date since the medal is for WWII, but the award card states the medal was awarded in 1921. 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 Quartermaster Corps

Related institution United States Army

Related institution Jewish Big Brother Association

Related institution Jewish Social Service Bureau

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