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A Heroes Sword and a Family Sought

Posted: 24/09/18 (18:44pm)

I was going to list a sword today, a sword that at first I thought was just a run-of-the-mill American P1902 army officer's sword; and the sword itself is just that. Nothing special and really only of limited interest to most collectors. In fact, I nearly didn't buy it for just that reason. Now I am glad that I did.

The sword has the name of Colonel Hugh S. Finlayson Jr engraved on it, and after a couple of hours of research I learned that the Colonel had an impressive military career.

Col. Finlayson retired from the Army in 1974 with over 31 years of service, which included tours of duty in Belgium and France where he fought in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II. After WW2, he saw action in Korea and Vietnam before serving at the American Embassy in Belgium, and numerous stateside assignments, ending as Professor of Military Science at Loyola University in New Orleans.

Before enlisting for WW2, Hugh S. Finlayson was a pitcher with the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team.

Colonel Finlayson's decorations include The Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Joint Services Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry. He was also inducted into the Field Artillery Hall of Fame.

The Colonel was a legend. He passed away in 2005.

Having learned this, I decided that the sword really belonged with his family and I spent another hour trying to track them down. I have found a family member who lives in Diamondhead, Mississippi and have sent an email to the pastor of her church, asking him to forward my email to her. I hope that she will get in touch. It would please me to be able to return the sword to its family, if they want it. I'll keep you posted...