William H. Taft Signed Military Appointment for Patton's West Point Classmate

A military appointment signed by 27th U.S. President William H. Taft (1857-1930), as "Wm H Taft" at center right. Issued from Washington, D.C. on July 1, 1909. Partly handwritten and partly printed on a large sheet of parchment. Also co-signed by U.S. Acting Secretary of War Robert Shaw Oliver (1847-1935), as "Robert Shaw Oliver" at center. Docket stamped and signed by an Adjutant-General's Department official in the upper left corner. A blind embossed "Department of War" seal is found in the lower left corner. Expected surface wear including isolated edge darkening and minor chipped edges mostly confined to the left and bottom. A small hole is located near the bottom margin. Isolated stains, else near fine. 15.125" x 18.875."

President William H. Taft conferred the rank of "Second Lieutenant in the Coast Artillery Corps" upon Henry Horace Malven, Jr. (1885-1938), a recent graduate of the United States Military Academy. Malven's classmate in the Class of 1909 was George S. Patton, Jr. (1885-1945), future 4-star general of the U.S. Army. In fact, Patton is listed directly before Malven (as cadet numbers 4795 and 4796 respectively) in the 1920 edition of the "Biographical Registry of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York Since Its Establishment in 1802," Supplement, Volume VI-B, 1910-1920. Malven's promotion to Second Lieutenant became effective after June 11, 1909.

Henry Horace Malven, Jr. was embarking on what would prove a solid, life-long career in military service, first in the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps, and then in the U.S. Army and the Adjutant-General's Department. The Coast Artillery Corps, active between 1901-1950, was responsible for the defense of coastlines, rivers, and harbors in the United States and its overseas possessions. Malven served at various bases in the United States, in France during World War I, and in the Philippines during the interwar period. The highest rank Malven achieved in the U.S. armed forces was as a Lieutenant Colonel.He died at age 52 at Walter Reed Hospital and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

William H. Taft served as president between 1909 and 1913. Oliver served as Assistant Secretary of War between 1903-1913; Taft's official Secretary of War from mid-March 1909 to late May 1911 was Jacob M. Dickinson (1851-1928).

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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