1918 U.S. MINT DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL
in Lieu of Certificate of Merit Medal
#1485
Master Sergeant Louis A. Sillito
United States Army Master Sergeant Louis A. Sillito (Serial #56-010) was born in Nashville Tennessee in 1871, & he grew up in Minnesota Sillito enlisted as a Private in the Army Hospital corps during the Spanish American War in 1898. He was stationed in Guantanamo, Cuba with the 3rd United States Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Co. C. On Sept 1st 1898, & he was awarded the Certificate of Merit for nursing yellow fever patients.
From 1901 through 1916 Sillito served with the 28th Infantry Regiment, the 28th first saw combat service from December 1901 to January 1904 during the Philippine–American War where Sillito's regiment was heavily involved in counter-guerrilla operations. During the years 1906–1908, the regiment, minus one battalion, performed guard and police duty as part of the American forces of Cuban Occupation. The 28th Regiment was back in the Philippine's during the Moro Rebellion (1899-1913).
In 1913 Sillito still serving with the 28th Infantry was ordered to Texas to assist in guarding the Mexican border against raids by Pancho Villa.
By the time United States entered into World War I, Sillito was a Color Sergeant in the 28th regiment was assigned to the First Expeditionary Division June 8th 1917, which later became the 1st Infantry Division "The Big Red One". Sergeant Sillito Departed New York, NY bound for France on the SS Antilles June 14th 1917. On the morning of Oct. 23rd 1918 the first American Shell was fired tiwards German Lines by a 1st Division Artillery Unit. The 28th Infantry Regiment scored the first American Victory against the Germans in April 1918 when it captured the small village of Cantigny and took 250 German Prisoners of War. The 28th was thereafter known as the "Black Lions of Cantigny". Sergeant Sillito & The Big Red One fought on the Montdidier-Noyon, Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, & Meuse-Argonne Battlefields.
Color Sergeant Sillito departed Brest, France on the Transport ship U.S.S. Orizaba Aug. 22nd 1919. Sillito retired from the Army after World War I as a Master Sergeant.
Sergeant Sillito was awarded Army Distinguished Service Medal #1485 on April 8th 1921, in Lieu of the Certificate of Merit Medal, under the provisions of the act of Congress July 9th 1918. When the Certificate of Merit was disestablished by Act of Congress in 1918, the law provided that the "Distinguished Service Medal also be issued to all enlisted men of the Army to whom the certificate of merit has been granted... in lieu of such certificates of merit, and after the passage of this act the award of the certificate of merit for distinguished service shall cease...." A total of 271 recipients applied for the Distinguished Service Medal in lieu of previously awarded Certificates of Merit.
His citations reads:
"The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Louis A. Sillito, Private, U.S. Army, for volunteering to nurse and nursing yellow fever patients at Guantanamo, Cuba, on 1 September 1898, while serving as a member of Company C, 3rd Infantry Regiment."
Master Sergeant Louis A. Sillito passed away May 27th 1941. He is buried at the Fort Vancouver Military Cemetery, Clark County, Vancouver, WA. Section 3-E Site 1143.
From 1901 through 1916 Sillito served with the 28th Infantry Regiment, the 28th first saw combat service from December 1901 to January 1904 during the Philippine–American War where Sillito's regiment was heavily involved in counter-guerrilla operations. During the years 1906–1908, the regiment, minus one battalion, performed guard and police duty as part of the American forces of Cuban Occupation. The 28th Regiment was back in the Philippine's during the Moro Rebellion (1899-1913).
In 1913 Sillito still serving with the 28th Infantry was ordered to Texas to assist in guarding the Mexican border against raids by Pancho Villa.
By the time United States entered into World War I, Sillito was a Color Sergeant in the 28th regiment was assigned to the First Expeditionary Division June 8th 1917, which later became the 1st Infantry Division "The Big Red One". Sergeant Sillito Departed New York, NY bound for France on the SS Antilles June 14th 1917. On the morning of Oct. 23rd 1918 the first American Shell was fired tiwards German Lines by a 1st Division Artillery Unit. The 28th Infantry Regiment scored the first American Victory against the Germans in April 1918 when it captured the small village of Cantigny and took 250 German Prisoners of War. The 28th was thereafter known as the "Black Lions of Cantigny". Sergeant Sillito & The Big Red One fought on the Montdidier-Noyon, Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, & Meuse-Argonne Battlefields.
Color Sergeant Sillito departed Brest, France on the Transport ship U.S.S. Orizaba Aug. 22nd 1919. Sillito retired from the Army after World War I as a Master Sergeant.
Sergeant Sillito was awarded Army Distinguished Service Medal #1485 on April 8th 1921, in Lieu of the Certificate of Merit Medal, under the provisions of the act of Congress July 9th 1918. When the Certificate of Merit was disestablished by Act of Congress in 1918, the law provided that the "Distinguished Service Medal also be issued to all enlisted men of the Army to whom the certificate of merit has been granted... in lieu of such certificates of merit, and after the passage of this act the award of the certificate of merit for distinguished service shall cease...." A total of 271 recipients applied for the Distinguished Service Medal in lieu of previously awarded Certificates of Merit.
His citations reads:
"The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Louis A. Sillito, Private, U.S. Army, for volunteering to nurse and nursing yellow fever patients at Guantanamo, Cuba, on 1 September 1898, while serving as a member of Company C, 3rd Infantry Regiment."
Master Sergeant Louis A. Sillito passed away May 27th 1941. He is buried at the Fort Vancouver Military Cemetery, Clark County, Vancouver, WA. Section 3-E Site 1143.
S.S. Antilles
SS Antilles was an American passenger-cargo ship launched in 1907. Chartered by the U.S. Army in 1917 for use as a troop transport ship, Antilles was sunk by a German U-boat on 17 October 1917, resulting in the loss of 67 lives. At the time of its destruction the Antilles sinking represented the largest single greatest loss of American lives to that point in World War I.
SS Antilles, official number 204018, was a 6,879 gross ton vessel constructed in the shipyards of William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania delivered April 1907. Antilles was a twin screw steam vessel with nominal speed of 15 knots(28 km/h; 17 mph) and dimensions of 421 feet 11.5 inches (128.6 m) on load line, extreme beam 53 feet (16.2 m) and mean draft of 26 feet (7.9 m) with a displacement at normal coal supply of 10,500 tons.
The vessel was operated as a combined passenger and cargo ship by the Southern Pacific Steamship Company from the time of its launch until 1917. Antilles and sister ship Momus, along with several other ships, operated between New York and New Orleans with Southern Pacific Steamship's Morgan Line.
Following American entry into World War I, selected by the Shipping Control Committee, Antilles was turned over 26 May 1917 and chartered by the United States Army for use as a civilian crewed U.S. Army Chartered Transport (USACT). The ship was among those in the first troop convoy to depart on 14 June, after considerable confusion and delays in troop loading, from the Hoboken Port of Embarkation. Antilles sailed from New York on 24 September in a four ship convoy, designated Group Number 8, composed of Antilles, a new Navy transport Henderson, another Army chartered transport Finland and another Army chartered ship that turned back, Lenape. The convoy made the crossing successfully but both Antilles and Finland were torpedoed on the return voyage.
On 17 October 1917, three days out of Saint Nazaire, France and two days out of Quiberon Bay where another ship had joined the convoy for the return voyage, Antilles was torpedoed by German U-boat U-62 reportedly sinking in four and a half minutes after being hit. The ship was in a small convoy composed of Antilles, Henderson and Willehad escorted by the patrol yachts USS Alcedo, USS Aphrodite, USS Corsair and USS Kanawha. Both Aphrodite and Corsair had been among the escort on that first convoy to France in June. In rough weather Kanawha had been forced to turn back due to the weather with the convoy slowed by the same weather. At about 6:45 a.m., during a course change, Antilles was astern of Corsair and seen to suddenly sheer out of formation and began settling by the stern. Alcedo turned back to where Antilles had sunk and began picking up survivors while Corsair circled in a search for the submarine until about 8:30 with no sign of a submarine found and the search for survivors and the submarine discontinued at 10:30.
The survivors of the U.S. Army Chartered Transport (USACT) Antilles sinking were rescued by USS Alcedo.The majority, 118 survivors, were rescued by Alcedo with 50 rescued by Corsair. Among the fifty persons rescued by Corsair was then Brigadier General William Sharp McNair who had been ordered to return to take command of 151st Field Artillery Brigade. A total of 67 lives were lost in the sinking. The loss of life was the first case in the war involving a large number of American casualties.
Survivors were landed in France on 21 October where they were immediately cared for by the Red Cross. Those that died were some of the first to come under the new war-insurance law allowing payment of $6,000 payable to families in installments of $25 per month over twenty years.
SS Antilles, official number 204018, was a 6,879 gross ton vessel constructed in the shipyards of William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania delivered April 1907. Antilles was a twin screw steam vessel with nominal speed of 15 knots(28 km/h; 17 mph) and dimensions of 421 feet 11.5 inches (128.6 m) on load line, extreme beam 53 feet (16.2 m) and mean draft of 26 feet (7.9 m) with a displacement at normal coal supply of 10,500 tons.
The vessel was operated as a combined passenger and cargo ship by the Southern Pacific Steamship Company from the time of its launch until 1917. Antilles and sister ship Momus, along with several other ships, operated between New York and New Orleans with Southern Pacific Steamship's Morgan Line.
Following American entry into World War I, selected by the Shipping Control Committee, Antilles was turned over 26 May 1917 and chartered by the United States Army for use as a civilian crewed U.S. Army Chartered Transport (USACT). The ship was among those in the first troop convoy to depart on 14 June, after considerable confusion and delays in troop loading, from the Hoboken Port of Embarkation. Antilles sailed from New York on 24 September in a four ship convoy, designated Group Number 8, composed of Antilles, a new Navy transport Henderson, another Army chartered transport Finland and another Army chartered ship that turned back, Lenape. The convoy made the crossing successfully but both Antilles and Finland were torpedoed on the return voyage.
On 17 October 1917, three days out of Saint Nazaire, France and two days out of Quiberon Bay where another ship had joined the convoy for the return voyage, Antilles was torpedoed by German U-boat U-62 reportedly sinking in four and a half minutes after being hit. The ship was in a small convoy composed of Antilles, Henderson and Willehad escorted by the patrol yachts USS Alcedo, USS Aphrodite, USS Corsair and USS Kanawha. Both Aphrodite and Corsair had been among the escort on that first convoy to France in June. In rough weather Kanawha had been forced to turn back due to the weather with the convoy slowed by the same weather. At about 6:45 a.m., during a course change, Antilles was astern of Corsair and seen to suddenly sheer out of formation and began settling by the stern. Alcedo turned back to where Antilles had sunk and began picking up survivors while Corsair circled in a search for the submarine until about 8:30 with no sign of a submarine found and the search for survivors and the submarine discontinued at 10:30.
The survivors of the U.S. Army Chartered Transport (USACT) Antilles sinking were rescued by USS Alcedo.The majority, 118 survivors, were rescued by Alcedo with 50 rescued by Corsair. Among the fifty persons rescued by Corsair was then Brigadier General William Sharp McNair who had been ordered to return to take command of 151st Field Artillery Brigade. A total of 67 lives were lost in the sinking. The loss of life was the first case in the war involving a large number of American casualties.
Survivors were landed in France on 21 October where they were immediately cared for by the Red Cross. Those that died were some of the first to come under the new war-insurance law allowing payment of $6,000 payable to families in installments of $25 per month over twenty years.
U.S.S. ORIZABA
USS Orizaba (ID-1536/AP-24) was a transport ship for the United States Navy in both World War I and World War II. She was the sister ship of Siboney but the two were not part of a ship class. In her varied career, she was also known as USAT Orizaba in service for the United States Army, as SS Orizaba in interwar civilian service for the Ward Line, and as Duque de Caxias (U-11) as an auxiliary in the Brazilian Navy after World War II.
Orizaba made 15 transatlantic voyages for the Navy carrying troops to and from Europe in World War I with the second-shortest average in-port turnaround time of all Navy transports. The ship was turned over to the War Department in 1919 for use as Army transport USAT Orizaba. After her World War I service ended, Orizaba reverted to the Ward Line, her previous owners. The ship was briefly engaged in transatlantic service to Spain and then engaged in New York–Cuba–Mexico service until 1939, when the ship was chartered to United States Lines. While Orizaba was in her Ward Line service, American poet Hart Crane leapt to his death from the rear deck of the liner off Florida in April 1932.
In World War II the ship was requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration and again assigned to the War Department as USAT Orizaba. After completing one voyage as an Army transport, the ship was transferred to the U.S. Navy, where she was re-commissioned as USS Orizaba (AP-24). The ship made several transatlantic runs, was damaged in an air attack in the Allied invasion of Sicily, and made trips to South America. The transport also served in the Pacific Theatre, making several transpacific voyages, and one to the Aleutians.
In June 1945, Orizaba was transferred under Lend-Lease to the Brazilian Navy where she served as Duque de Caxias (U-11). In August 1945, Duque de Caxis carried parts of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force from Naples back to Rio de Janeiro. The ship was badly damaged by a fire in 1947, but was repaired and remained in service. Permanently transferred to Brazil in 1953, Duque de Caxias was decommissioned in 1959 and scrapped in 1963.
Orizaba made 15 transatlantic voyages for the Navy carrying troops to and from Europe in World War I with the second-shortest average in-port turnaround time of all Navy transports. The ship was turned over to the War Department in 1919 for use as Army transport USAT Orizaba. After her World War I service ended, Orizaba reverted to the Ward Line, her previous owners. The ship was briefly engaged in transatlantic service to Spain and then engaged in New York–Cuba–Mexico service until 1939, when the ship was chartered to United States Lines. While Orizaba was in her Ward Line service, American poet Hart Crane leapt to his death from the rear deck of the liner off Florida in April 1932.
In World War II the ship was requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration and again assigned to the War Department as USAT Orizaba. After completing one voyage as an Army transport, the ship was transferred to the U.S. Navy, where she was re-commissioned as USS Orizaba (AP-24). The ship made several transatlantic runs, was damaged in an air attack in the Allied invasion of Sicily, and made trips to South America. The transport also served in the Pacific Theatre, making several transpacific voyages, and one to the Aleutians.
In June 1945, Orizaba was transferred under Lend-Lease to the Brazilian Navy where she served as Duque de Caxias (U-11). In August 1945, Duque de Caxis carried parts of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force from Naples back to Rio de Janeiro. The ship was badly damaged by a fire in 1947, but was repaired and remained in service. Permanently transferred to Brazil in 1953, Duque de Caxias was decommissioned in 1959 and scrapped in 1963.