EXTREMELY RARE! WWI 327th Infantry Regiment (82nd Division) Battle of Saint-Mihiel and Meuse–Argonne Offensive U.S. Combat Flag Carried by Cpl. Henry F. Keopke
EXTREMELY RARE! WWI 327th Infantry Regiment (82nd Division) Battle of Saint-Mihiel and Meuse–Argonne Offensive U.S. Combat Flag Carried by Cpl. Henry F. Keopke
Comes with a hand-signed C.O.A. and full historical research report
This once-in-a-lifetime and museum-grade World War I artifact is an original American Expeditionary Force (AEF) 327th Infantry combat flag carried during the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and Meuse–Argonne offensive by Cpl. Henry F. Keopke (1907362) of Company H. 327th Infantry Regiment - 164th Infantry Brigade - 82nd Division (which would later become the infamous 82nd Airborne Division during WWII).
This WWI American Expeditionary Force combat flag is documented to have been flown/carried by Cpl. Henry F. Keopke (1907362) while serving with the 327th Infantry Regiment the entire length of the Great War and was carried into battle on the front lines of the Western front by Cpl. Keopke during his documented combat in the Toul Sector (from June 27th to August 9th, 1918), Marbache Sector (from August 17th to September 11th, 1918), St. Mihiel offensive (September 12th to 16th, 1918), and Meuse Argonne offensive (from September 30th to October 28th, 1918).
*This listing comes with EVERYTHING as seen in the second photograph as added providence including all of Cpl. Henry F. Keopke’s World War I 327th Infantry service records and remarks, 4 World War I medals, overseas wool cap, uniform patch, and combat flag.
327th Infantry and the Battle of Saint Mihiel:
During the Saint Mihiel offensive the 82nd Division (occupying the Marbache sector in the Moselle Valley) was tasked with protecting the flank of attacking U.S. forces. But as the Germans were reinforcing this sector in anticipation of a coming Allied offensive, the Division ordered a series of raids to mislead the Germans on the exact location of attacking units. The 327th Infantry, conducted a raid on a German strongpoint known as the Bel Air Farm on 13 September. The 82nd continued operations in Saint-Mihiel until, on 17 September, it was relieved by troops of the 90th Infantry Division just west of the Moselle River. The 82nd Division went into reserve to prepare for the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, but the 327th was attached to the 28th Divisionand remained on the front until early October.
327th Infantry and the Meuse Argonne offensive:
The 82nd Division was given a new axis of advance early in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive to attack and fill a gap to the left flank of the 28th Infantry Division which was advancing to capture Hill 223 as part of operations to rescue the 77th Infantry Division's Lost Battalion. On the night of 6/7 October 1918, the regiment relieved troops on the left of the 28th Division on the Aire River. On 7 October, it attacked toward the Argonne Forest, making some progress toward Cornay. On 8 October rescuers reached the Lost Battalion. The next day the 327th continued to attack towards the high ground northwest of Châtel-Chéhéry. The 327th then continued to fight in the Ardennes region, capturing Cornay and Hill 180. On 4 November the regiment was pulled from the line and moved into training area; it was there when it learned of the 11 November Armistice.