The Caribou Public Library Archives and Special Collections contain numerous unidentified photographs of WWI military personnel. This photograph is our eighth in this series of Any ID Who?
A WWI collar disk is pinned to this serviceman’s collar. This is an enlisted artillery pin. The U.S. Army used these collar discs to tell the rank and branch of service to which a man belonged. There is a D beneath the crossed cannons. Perhaps the D represents Enlisted Artillery Battery D. The number above is a 16, so that may represent the 16th Field Artillery.
At closer inspection, the medal and ribbon look like a Cross of War (Croix de Guerre), a military decoration of France which was bestowed to members of Allied countries for acts of heroism involving combat with enemy forces. It is a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon that displays one service star pin. From the photograph, we cannot tell if this is a bronze or silver star. The star could also be a campaign or battle star.
If anyone knows who this person is or can tell us more about the collar disc, contact the director of the Caribou Public Library, Anastasia Weigle, at 207-493-4214 or email librarydirector@cariboumaine.org.
