An original military'whatsit' I think from WWI. German, Chinese, USA
I don't know what this was for. Perhaps a loading tool for a large gun??? Please let me know if you know what this is. Who served as a pilot in the USAAC, and my uncle, Charles James Beal, who was killed in 1953 when he flew his Navy jet into a violent storm. My grandfather, Frank Peer Beal Sr. Was born in Rochester, New York on November 24, 1883. He graduated high school in Albion, Michigan in 1902 where he was captain of the baseball team and president of his class.
He graduated from Occidental College of Los Angeles in 1907 where he was captain of the baseball and basketball teams as a five letter man. He was a coach with the Culver Military Academy in 1908 &'09. He acted as a missionary in Tientsein, China in 1910,'11, and'12 and received a British citation for bringing imperiled missionaries out of China. He was a postgraduate of Harvard and Andover Theological Seminaries and was ordained by Dean Fenn of Harvard Theological Seminary.
He was secretary of the YMCA and recreational director in Boston. Known as the'Flying Parson' as division officer and flying Chaplain of the first division of WWI, he is said to have buried the first soldier to die in Germany. He was founder of the game of paddle tennis, through which tennis stars Althea Gibson and Bobby Riggs honed their talents. He refereed the first national basketball games in China.
He started the "Save Children's Life" in NYC in 1926 through which over 500 playgrounds were opened. He was director of the first municipal playground in America. He worked with Teddy Roosevelt Jr. To start the American Legion.
He was instrumental in the rise of Althea Gibson to stardom and worked to help set up the chess matches of Bobby Fischer with the Russians. He also tried to get Walt Disney to help set up a tennis match between Althea Gibson and Bobby Riggs. He joined the Community Councils of New York City in 1925 where he served for 33 years, the last 10 as president. Obviously a very busy man in the community until his passing at the age of 81 in 1965. Obviously I did not know what I was dealing with when I listed this so please forgive me for not being more thorough. The stamp on the metal screw cap on the handle has been stamped twice with 2 different stamps and is hard to read but one stamp appears to be SEB while the other stamp is'FAB 1' I think.The original ink stamp on the handle appears to be'5 1/2. Also stamped on the handle, and even harder to read, is'A-K 127.12.17' or perhaps'A-K a27.12.17'.... Maybe with some help to know what it could say I could make it out. The item "An original military'whatsit' I think from WWI.
German, Chinese, USA" is in sale since Tuesday, May 31, 2016. This item is in the category "Collectibles\Militaria\WW I (1914-18)\Original Period Items\Other WWI Original Items". The seller is "iliketorennovate" and is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This item can be shipped to United States.- Country//Region of Manufacture: Unknown