The Red Badge Of...
What makes a king out of a slave?
What makes the flag on the mast to wave?
What makes the elephant charge his tusk, in the misty mist or the dusky dusk?
What makes the muskrat guard his musk?
Courage. The one test of manhood forever tweaking the human race. But what is this thing called courage? Swimming the English Channel? Facing a flaming dragon? Or is it simply stepping into the unknown, entering a moment far outside one's comfort zone? Courage can be walking a dark street late at night; or taking a bike ride beyond our neighborhood the day we learn to ride two wheels; even ordering a meal we have never tasted before. Life is simple, its interactions complicated. The latter, a breeding ground for courage. But what is this topic you ask? Where is this yellow brick road leading? The world comes at us fast here in Buckingham. Items surface onto the market, and quickly disappear again driven downward by the great grinding tectonic plates of existence. Along the way, perhaps subconsciously, we discover something new about the human race, or perhaps even ourselves. It is a notion not taken lightly for there is much courage even in this simple process.
The first time we lifted the flap on the weathered cardboard box, we just stared, not believing the contents before us. Later, we thought, then closed the lid. Yet, the box kept beckoning. All of us in the gallery experienced the same reaction. Curiosity forced our hand. Spreading the contents across a table, we gazed at an incredible collection of medals, awarded for civilian service as well as military fire and brimstone. But most were medals one rarely
A long German military tradition. Multiple color illustrations covering the Second Reich, copyright 1909
sees. These were medals fit for a king, or at least a cowardly lion, who earned his triple cross in the Legion of Courage.
Order of St. John of Jerusalem
John Frank Stevens. A first rate civil engineer of the early twentieth century. The lure of the western United States pulled him from his Maine birthplace to a job in a Minneapolis engineering office. There, John was exposed to the building of railroad lines across the northern United States and Canada. Before long, he hopped the rails himself and started exploring the mountains on foot charting potential routes. His 1889 discovery of the legendary Marias Pass during a blizzard, alone, having outlasted his mule team and Indian guide, launched his career. In 1905, he was handpicked to lead the construction of the Panama Canal. With its multiple lock system winding through the Central American jungle, the waterway project was difficult. The French, led by Ferdinand de Lesseps, had abandoned the project, driven home by malaria and yellow fever. Chief Engineer Stevens addressed the entire task from construction to daily living conditions. So important was the Panama Canal, in 1906 President Teddy Roosevelt visited the site, the first time a President ever stepped outside the United States. John Steven's progressive approach guaranteed successful completion with healthy laborers.
1928 Order of St. John of Jerusalem Society awarded to John Frank Stevens, Chief Engineer of the Panama Canal
The Order of St. John of Jerusalem is a health based society finding its calling in ambulance corps and hospitals. Still existing today with Queen Elizabeth II as the Sovereign Head, the order maintains a health network. John Stevens may have designed a successful canal project, earning accolades worldwide, but it was his contribution to the health field that earned him this medal of honor.
A Farewell to Arms
What do Ernest Hemingway, Walt Disney, Maurice Ravel, Tony Hulman, and Ray Kroc have in common? As adventurous young men, they were all volunteers in the World War I American Field Service Ambulance Corps. At the outbreak of fighting between France and Germany in 1914, young Americans living in Paris, who felt a deep affinity for France, created an ambulance system to transport the injured from the front to the hospitals. Their work was dangerous, nerve wracking, even deadly. It was the perfect ingredient for a pubescent ratatouille. Ernest Hemingway was eighteen at the time, driving ambulances up and down mud-filled roads, dodging potholes and artillery shelling. The moment left an indelible mark in his mind. It was here A Farewell to Arms was born. American volunteers, many recruited from college campuses back in the states, poured into France. Their mission was successful and honored by a grateful France. When the United States formally entered the war in 1917, the AFS Corps was absorbed into the military system. As unique as the Lafayette Escadrille, the AFS volunteers were honored with their own medal, awarded to each participant. Were these young voyageurs courageous or simply adventure seekers? Maybe in the first ambulance run idealism steered the lorry, but in subsequent dashes, it was courage that steered their hearts. A muskrat guarding his musk.
American Field Service Volunteer Ambulance Corps medal, World War I, France.
Welcome back to our first Saturday auction. Summer is a memory, autumn a promise. And we will drive forward, navigating our ambulance along the highway of mankind. We will explore many routes along the way. Join us.