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Rare & Historically Significant USMC “China Marine” Named Grouping — PFC Barney Guthrie Goodknight (Service No. 245766)
Offered here is an exceptional and deeply personal named U.S. Marine Corps grouping belonging to Private First Class Barney Guthrie Goodknight, Service No. 245766.
This remarkable archive documents Goodknight’s long Marine Corps history spanning the pre-WWII China Marine era, the 1937 Shanghai crisis, World War II, and later Cold War-era service. The centerpiece is his exceptionally scarce named and engraved 1937 Soochow Creek Medal, accompanied by his other original medals, miniature dress medal bar, official USMC service document, and personalized family photo album.
The entire grouping originated together and has been preserved as one archive. It will NOT be separated.
1. Rare Named & Engraved 1937 “Soochow Creek” Medal — Shanghai, China
The centerpiece of the grouping is an original 1937 Soochow Creek Medal, an unofficial commemorative medal associated with U.S. Marines serving in Shanghai during the intense fighting between Chinese and Japanese forces in 1937.
The medal features the Marine Corps Eagle, Globe and Anchor (EGA) and the distinctive Soochow Creek design, suspended from its original “U.S. MARINES” brooch.
Most importantly, the reverse is personally engraved:
“PRESENTED TO
B. G. GOODKNIGHT
FOR BRAVERY AND VALOR
BATTLE OF SOOCHOW CREEK
SHANGHAI 1937”
This personalized period engraving directly identifies the recipient and provides exceptional provenance connecting Goodknight to Shanghai during the 1937 crisis.
Named examples of the Soochow Creek Medal are particularly desirable pieces of China Marine history.
2. Full-Size USMC Medal Group
Also included are Goodknight’s full-size military medals:
Bronze Star Medal — awarded for heroic or meritorious achievement or service in connection with military operations.
China Service Medal — U.S. Navy/Marine Corps medal featuring the traditional Chinese junk design and associated with American naval and Marine service in China.
Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal — an especially important named component of the archive documenting Goodknight’s early Marine Corps service.
The Good Conduct Medal is engraved to:
B. G. / Barney G. Goodknight
1st Enlistment
This establishes his first Marine Corps enlistment in the pre-WWII period and corresponds directly with his named 1937 Shanghai/Soochow Creek Medal.
3. Six-Piece Miniature Dress Medal Bar
Included is Goodknight’s original six-medal miniature dress bar, representing his extended military career.
The bar includes:
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
- Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal
- National Defense Service Medal
- China Service Medal
- World War II Victory Medal
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Together with the earlier named medals and documentation, this dress bar reflects the extraordinary span of Goodknight’s military service from the pre-WWII China Marine era through WWII and into the Cold War period.
4. Original USMC Service Document — PFC Barney Guthrie Goodknight
The grouping includes an original laminated United States Marine Corps Certificate of Satisfactory Service / service document issued directly to:
BARNEY GUTHRIE GOODKNIGHT
PRIVATE FIRST CLASS
SERVICE NO. 245766
The document records his World War II-era Marine Corps service from:
April 3, 1945 – July 24, 1946
It bears the appropriate official information and signature of a U.S. Marine Corps officer.
This document provides another direct identification of the veteran and ties the grouping to Barney Guthrie Goodknight by both his full name and Marine Corps service number.
5. Personalized Goodknight Family Alaska Photo Album
Also included is the Goodknight family’s personalized Alaska travel/cruise photo album.
The album is personalized:
“Mr. and Mrs. B. G. Goodknight”
and contains personal photographs of Barney Goodknight and his wife during their Alaska trip.
Please note that this is a family travel album rather than a China or military-service photo album. It is included because it remained with the Goodknight archive and provides an additional personal connection to the veteran and his family.
Historical Significance
This is much more than an assortment of unrelated military medals.
It is a named and preserved archive belonging to one U.S. Marine, with multiple pieces independently bearing the Goodknight name and documenting different periods of his life and service.
The grouping traces an unusually long military history:
1934–1938 — First USMC enlistment
1937 — Shanghai / Battle of Soochow Creek
1945–1946 — Documented WWII-era USMC service
Later service represented by his Cold War-era decorations
The personalized 1937 Soochow Creek Medal is particularly significant. These unofficial Shanghai-made medals have long been associated with the legendary “China Marines,” and a period example personally engraved to an identifiable Marine is considerably more desirable than an unnamed example.
The inscription “For Bravery and Valor — Battle of Soochow Creek — Shanghai 1937” makes this an especially compelling piece of pre-WWII U.S. Marine Corps history.
Condition & Provenance
All pieces are offered in their original vintage condition with honest, age-appropriate wear and patina.
The medals have NOT been cleaned or polished.
Please carefully examine all photographs for exact condition, engraving, ribbons, brooches, documents, and contents of the grouping. The photographs form an important part of the description.
This collection has remained together as a named Goodknight archive and is being offered only as one complete grouping.
I WILL NOT SEPARATE THE MEDALS, DOCUMENTS, OR PERSONAL ITEMS.
Shipping
The complete grouping will be packed with extreme care to protect the medals, ribbons, documents, and album during transportation.
Shipping includes tracking and appropriate insurance.
International buyers are welcome through International Shipping, where available.
A rare opportunity to acquire an extensive, named USMC archive spanning the legendary China Marine era, Shanghai 1937, World War II, and the Cold War, centered around an exceptionally desirable personalized 1937 Soochow Creek Medal engraved to Barney G. Goodknight.
Please review all photographs carefully and feel free to ask any questions before purchasing.
