SPECTACULAR MEDAL GROUPING FOR WWII ETO CHIEF SIGNAL OFFICER – SOLD

Description

Certainly there are medal groups out there in the collecting world that can rival and surpass this one, but not often comes a grouping as complete for decorations, medals, insignia, and a tremendous amount of medal certificates and further documentation. This grouping belonged to the Chief Signal Officer in the European Theatre of Operations, Major General William Samuel Rumbough.

 

“William S. Rumbough was a United States (U.S.) Army officer. He started his military career with the Maryland National Guard in 1916 and was commissioned into the U.S. regular Army as a second lieutenant of infantry in 1917. Most of Rumbough’s military career focused on military communications work for the Signal Corps. From the 1920s through the early 1940s he had various assignments at the Army Signal School, the Office of the Chief Signal Officer and the Hawaiian Division. He was named commanding officer, Signal Corps Replacement Training Center, Camp Crowder, Missouri in October 1941. He then became Chief Signal Officer, European Theater of Operations (ETO) in May 1942. In July 1945 he returned to the U.S. and was assigned to the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, Washington D.C. as Chief of the Personell and Training Service. He retired from military service in 1946.”     (From U.S. Army Military History Institute Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, Pa.).

 

“As the ETO’s chief signal officer, General Rumbough faced a tremendous task. The invasion of Normandy, the largest Allied military operation of the war, presented the signal corps with the biggest challenge thus far in its history. The scale of communications would be roughly twenty-five times greater than that for TORCH (the invasion of North Africa, Nov. 1943.)

In January of 1944, General Eisenhower received the appointment as the European theater commander with the title of Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Forces. In tactical matters the new Supreme Headquarters, AEF (SHAEF), supplanted ETOUSA (European Theater of Operations, U.S. Army). Although General Runbough continued his job as chief signal officer in the ETOUSA staff, his duties were now confined primarily to the administrative and supply of the American Signal units in the theater.”     (extract; Getting The Message Through, A Brief History of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, by Rebecca Robbins Raines, Center of Military History, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C., 1999, page 298.

Commanding ETOUSA (COMZ) was Lt. General John. C.H. Lee, to whom Rumbough directly reported initially at that headquarters in Cheltenham, England, about 90 miles from London. In Lee’s personal record, SERVICE REMINISCENCES OF Lt. Gen. John C.H. Lee (of which a personalized copy signed to Rumbough is included in this collection) he writes about his seven chiefs of service, and when commenting on Rumbough he wrote, “Major General William S. Rumbough was our competent, soldierly Chief Signal Officer from start to finish. Altho given much less than he felt necessary, he met our increased service requirements to the happy amazement of all concerned. His phenomenal record should be more completely told.” 

First, let me apologize before going into this pile of material. There is a tremendous amount of space being used here for the documentation, but that is really what makes this collection so outstanding. I have photographed nearly every piece of documentation here.

The medal and insignia collection consist of the following:

 

• Distinguished Service Medal, named.
• Legion of Merit Medal, No 10384
• Bronze Star Medal
• Mexican Border Service Campaign Medal, No. 36961
• WWI Victory Medal With “France” Bar
• WWI Army of Occupation Medal
• WWII American Defense Campaign Medal
• WWII European, African, Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
• WWII Victory Medal
• WWII British Honourary  Companion of the Military Division of the Order of the Bath
• WWII French Officer of the Legion of Honor
• WWII Chevalier of the Croix of Lorraine, (with Lapel Pin)
• WWII French Croix de Guerre With Palm
• WWII French Palme Academique Medal
• WWII Belgian Croix of Commander of the Order of Couronne
• WWII French Signal Corps Insignia
• Mexican Border Service, 5th Maryland, M.N.G., City of Baltimore Medal
• Commemorative Table Medal Louis De Broglie, 20th Aniv. of Mecanique Ondulatoire
• U.S. Uniform Insignia; 1 MGen. rank, pair of GSC collar insignia, 1 SC collar Insignia, pair of U.S. collar insignia
• War Department Identification Card for Rumbough, MG. U.S.A., dtd 28 Feb., 1945.

The amount of documents and letters in the collection is quite substantial, including most of the certificates and related communications through the official channels. General Rumbough’s commissions from 1st Lieutenant to MGen. are present, along with various school certificates and diplomas. WWII correspondence includes congratulatory letters from fellow Service Chiefs from Com Z, and others. There are three signed letters by Lieutenant General John C.H. Lee plus a signed photo where Lee is presenting the Bronze Star to Rumbough. There are more photos and letters, and biographical material.

The officers relating to this collection have not been overly researched, nor have I taken the time to list them in this description; the photos provided should help you do that when considering the collection.  Please call or email with an questions in regard to one item or the entire collection.

Condition of the collection as a whole is fine with minor flaws here and there. The ribbons are all original to the medals themselves. There is no visible chips to any of the enameling on the decorations with exception to a chip on the Belgian Order of Couronne, and that is hard to see. Missing is the certificate and citation for the Bronze Star, and where the French table medal came from, I assume it came with one of the French certificates concerning Science and or Education.

The price may be scary, and I realize that combat awards for heroism are what drives the market, however if one considers the extreme importance that a group like this represents the value comes more into focus with the shear amount of history this individual played in the Victory in the ETO during WWII.

The task undertaken by a man like Gen. Rumbough is mind boggling; the weight of responsibility would be frightening to most mortals when faced with the massive complexity of pulling men and materiel together to provide the most urgent and needed support for the Allied nations in the midst of a World War. Gen. Rumbough was part of a tight circle of leaders who shaped the world we live in today. Medal groups for most of them individuals are in museums, or already in collections and spoken for by the next custodian of history. Having collected SHAEF for many years, and I have come to appreciate the accomplishments of a select few with the lives of millions upon their shoulders, but certainly never to take away the heroism of an individual who is willing to give his life for a few. This is truly and nearly a unique opportunity for collectors to obtain a collection like this, and I am honored to have both owned and offered it.