Captain Harvey Sleeper was my father, who was born in Bangor, Maine December 31, 1892. He brought home everything from WW1 including his painted trunk. I have it all. His group includes patched 82nd Division uniform and short trench coat, Purple Heart for wounds received Nov. 4, 1918, Wound Certificate, and engraved Victory Medal. His painted trunk is full to the brim with scrapbooks, pictures, field gear, and letters between he and home. He was the signal officer for the 320th Field Artillery, which put him in HQ Co. reporting to Colonel Williams, the CO. When I was young, I visited Col. Williams with my father at his residence in NYC. My recollection is that he lived at Hotel Pierre. My father wrote one of the chapters in the 320th FA unit history, and also took all the pictures shown in that book in the Winter of 1918-1919.
The attached pictures show Captain Sleeper in a studio picture in France in spring 1919. His scar from his shrapnel wound is barely visible in his upper left scalp where the hair was shaved away. The scar (which he carried all his life) is going diagonally down from right to left. Note the wound stripe on the right sleeve. The other picture was taken in Short Hills, New Jersey on Memorial day 1939. That is me in his arms at age 2. Harvey Sleeper would have been 46 years of age at the time. The uniform still fits!
The picture of his uniform is as it is today. It has the Sam Browne belt, Purple Heart and Victory ribbons, trench whistle, 82nd Division patch and 320th FA numbered collar brass. The picture to the left of the uniform (with the glare) is Capt. Sleeper on horseback in France. The officers in his headquarters had mounts.
