Antique Columbia Meritorious Service Citation Certificate WWI Wounded or Killed Soldier Certificate - Henry Arvid Usitalo, WA State

This Wounded Solider Certificate depicts the symbolic figure Columbia holding a proclamation above her head in one hand while, with her other hand, touching a sword to the shoulder of a World War I doughboy who kneels at her feet. A large sized US flag flies behind her along with the faces of other soldiers. This Meritorious Service Citation Certificate was presented to the family of Henry Arvid Usitalo, a resident of Seattle, Washington following his death after World War I. A private in the 361st Infantry, he is recorded as having died from wounds incurred during his service in the war (his death would have taken place sometime during WWI between 1914 and 1918). This absolutely stunning etching has the name of Henry A. Usitalo, his military and rank and infantry number inscribed at the bottom along with the signature of Woodrow Wilson. This certificate poster has been nicely and professionally framed in a vintage frame that showcases the poster beautifully. The poster is aged in all the right ways with wrinkles from time and general and uniform discoloration.

The top of the poster reads:
COLUMBIA GIVES TO HER SON THE ACCOLADE OF THE NEW CHIVALRY OF HUMANITY

The bottom of the poster reads:
SERVED WITH HONOR IN THE WORLD WAR AND DIED IN THE SERVICE OF HIS COUNTRY

Measurements (approximate):
22.5 inches tall
18.5 inches wide
0.6 inches in depth

Some interesting bonus history of Columbia herself we captured from the Pritzker Miliary Museum & Library Website:

"Before the United States had an Uncle Sam, it had a Brother Jonathan and the Romanesque goddess known as Columbia. The first known use of Columbia as personification of America appeared in a weekly British publication in 1738. By the time of the American Revolutionary War, Columbia had become a symbol of the new, independent country.

In form, Columbia is a quasi-mythical, adult female personification of the United States and the values of the people who live there. She wears roman-styled robes which are pure white or red, white and blue. If she is not wearing the colors of the United States flag, she is holding one. On her head she wears a cap of liberty or a laurel wreath. She has evolved over time from looking almost Native American to the Anglo-American looking women in the World War I era posters.

Although her dominance as a United States icon has waned, Columbia played an important role in the propaganda of World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945). She implored citizens to buy bonds, ordered men to join the service and watched over United States soldiers fighting in foreign lands."

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