WW2 Military Cross Canadian 6x Place Medal Grouping Attributed Nijmegen Salient

Description

WW2 Military Cross Canadian 6x Place Medal Grouping Attributed Nijmegen Salient. Up for sale is an excellent pair of mounted full size and mini medal bars belonging to Captain Harrison K Bird Jr Canadian Fourth Armored Brigade. These are replacement medals issued to him for offical wear sometime before his death in 2003 and custom mounted for him! They came directly from the estate liqudator who liquidated the estate his heir. This is a historic group for a number of reasons! Interesting he was an american and his father was a famous and decorated WW1 era General also named General Harrison K Bird he would go on to be award a NYS Conspicious service cross in 1947 for his actions serving with the canadian army! I believe he was actually an american in canadian service/ i am not sure the circumstances of how he ended up there.These have never been in a collection and are directly coming onto the market! If this grouping was period medals we would be talking thousands! This is a chance to own a set of replacement medals to a historic figure at a fraction of the price of his war period issued medals! He was also wounded in combat! These were worn by him for occasions and military presentations/events! See below i have added his bio and some other information about his awards!
Harrison K. Bird Jr. was born in the year 1910 in New York City. In 1940, He traveled to Thunder Bay, Canada to enlist into the Canadian Army. He was enrolled in the First Survey Regiment of the Royal Canadian Artillery, and was soon in England training.  Harrison Jr. was one of the first soldiers trained on the new invention of “Azdic” or “Radar”. According to Nick Curcumelli-Rodostamo, a personal friend of Bird’s, “Harrison hated the training, because he hated math”.
Harrison used those skills to help direct anti-aircraft guns defending Britain. Harrison Bird Jr. rose to the rank of Sergeant before he was able to enter officer training. After he went through officers training, Harrison Jr. was assigned to A-Co., Lake Superior Regiment (Motor),also known as “Lake Soups”.  His regiment was the infantry component of the Fourth Canadian Armoured Brigade, which consisted of three armoured regiments and one infantry battalion assigned primarily to support the 21’s Armoured Regiment – The Governor General’s Foot Guards.
The Lake Soups joined the Normandy Campaign just after the liberation of Caen. Their first engagement was just south of the city. They continued to push the Nazis back at Cinatheaux, The “Falaise Gap”, Leopold Canal, and Antwerp.
On January 17th, 1945, The Lake Superior Regiment commanded by Lt.-Col. R. A. Keane, sent A-Co. across in daylight to raid the village of Hoenza-Driel, on the north bank of the river Maas, north-east of 's-Hertogenbosch. The objective of Operation "Schultz" was to establish the identity of the enemy holding this sector of the front by capturing two or more prisoners.
The raid was very heavily supported: not only the tanks of the three armoured regiments of the 4th Armoured Brigade, but also two field regiments and one medium regiment of artillery fired, in addition to mortars and medium machine-guns. The company commander was wounded soon after landing. Lieutenant Harrison K. Bird took command and directed the rest of the operation and the withdrawal of the company, including 3 prisoners. For his actions, Lt. Harrison was awarded the Military Cross. On April 27th, 1945, Lt. Bird was lightly wounded during The advance to the North Sea. Harrison Bird remained over seas during the occupation and was promoted to Captain. In June 1947, he was presented with the New York Conspicuous Service Cross during a ceremony at the Fort Ticonderoga Museum.
In the private sector, Harrison Jr. was a lifelong competitive swimmer and member of the New York Athletic Club. He attended Miss Bovee's School, earning highest recognition for perfect attendance before graduating from Deerfield Academy in 1929. He went to study at Williams College. Harrison Jr. lived and worked in Europe for Knoedler & Co, and The Hearst Family.
Harrison had a passion for military history and has written five novels on Adirondack Military History. He became a curator of uniforms and equipment at the Fort Ticonderoga Museum. According to Nick Curcumelli-Rodostamo, “Harrison had an affinity for bulldogs, and always had one as a pet. One named Maas, after river”.
Harrison was involved with many organizations; the Lake George Park Commission, Grace Chapel of Sabbath Day Point, and The St. Anthony Society, and Lake Superior Regiment Association. Harrison Bird Jr. died on July 6th, 2003 at the Fort Hudson Nursing Home.
From this bio you can tell what a man the Captain was! He truly followed in his father footsteps and would go on to become a decorated man! I am not sure what became of his original medals! I know a set of his period mini medals does exist in a collection owned by the person who owns his fathers medals! Past that i dont know what became of his full sized medals! A true hero who volunteered before we even got involved with the war!Check out the photos to find clippings confirming his decorations and a photo of him!