HISTORIC 1 OF 3 IN THE WORLD* 1920 GROVER CLEVELAND BERGDOLL FBI WANTED POSTER

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HISTORIC 1 OF 3 IN THE WORLD* 1920 GROVER CLEVELAND BERGDOLL FBI WANTED POSTER:
$19999.99

UP FOR sale, IS WITHOUT QUESTION ONE OF THE RAREST WANTED POSTERS KNOWN TO BE IN EXISTENCE. IT IS OF COURSE, THAT OF INFMAOUS DRAFT DODGER AND INTERNATIONAL PLAYBOY GROVER CLEVELAND BERGDOLL.Grover Cleveland Bergdoll(October 18, 1893 – January 27, 1966) was an early aviator, racing driver andWorld War Idraft dodger, who went toGermanyto avoid prison.

Shortly after he was convicted of dodging the draft in World War I, Grover Cleveland Bergdoll asked the U.S. Army to temporarily release him from prison. He had buried a valuable cache of gold during the war, he claimed, and he wanted to recover it before someone else did. Bergdoll's subsequent escape would mark the start of a 20-year standoff with the American government. Grover Cleveland Bergdoll was a household name for much of the early 20th century. He was the son of a wealthy German-American brewing family, an amateur race car driver, and a skilled aviator who trained with the Wright Brothers. After his draft evasion, he was captured at his stately mansion as his gun-toting mother tried to fend off the police. Bergdoll's escape overseas would prove to be a thorny issue in international politics. It resulted in a contentious investigation in Congress, where one witness was nearly shot by a representative. He was regularly pilloried by veterans' groups, and American servicemen twice tried to kidnap him. As Bergdoll's exile dragged on, he was left with a harsh choice: return to the country where he was a wanted man, or stay in Europe to face the perils of the Nazi dictatorship

FIRST, LET IT BE SAID, THAT THERE IS NO KNOWN EXAMPLE OF THIS WANTED POSTER ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, OTHER THAN ONE MUSEUM, AND A SINGLE UNIVERSITY. THERE IS ONE ON DISPLAY AT THE CHESTER COUNTY HISTORY CENTER & MUSEUM IN SOUTH CAROLINA. THERE IS ALSO ONE OTHER IN THE "ARCHIVES & MANUSCRIPTS" DEPARTMENT OF YALE UNIVERSITY IN NEW HAVEN CONNECTICUT. THAT'S IT. IF THERE IS ANOTHER, IT HAS NEVER BEEN IDENTIFIED. THE POSTER YOU SEE HERE UP FOR sale, IS ONLY ONE OF THREE IN THE WORLD. GROVER CLEVELAND BERGDOLL CONTINUES TO BE THE SUBJECT OF MULTIPLE BOOKS, COUNTLESS DOCUMENTARIES, AND ENDLESS NEWS ARTICLES. THE BEST SELLER "THE ARTFUL DODGER" HAS WON COUNTLESS AWARDS. TALK ABOUT ONE OF A KIND. NOT SURE IF IT GETS ANY BETTER THAN THIS. IT IS IN PHENOMENAL CONDITION AS YOU CAN SEE. IT HAS BEEN CAREFULLY PRESERVED IN ITS PROTECTIVE HARD, CUSTOM, ACRYLIC HOLDER FOR DECADES. IT MEASURES A LARGE 12 X 9 1/2 INCHES. HERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO OWN A PIECE OF HISTORY.

PLEASE MAKE YOUR BEST OFFER, WE WILL ACCEPT ANY REASONABLE OFFER

He was born inPhiladelphiato a wealthy brewing family. He was one of 119 people to train at theWright Flying School, and in 1912 he purchased aWright Model Bbiplane for $5,000. Bergdoll made several public flights from an airfield on family-owned land outside Philadelphia, and was the first person to fly an airplane between Philadelphia andAtlantic City, New Jersey. After 748 flights the plane was placed in storage; it was later rediscovered and restored, and in 1936 it was donated to theFranklin Institute.

Bergdoll attempted to qualify for the 1915Indianapolis 500and also raced between 1911 and 1916, almost exclusively in his brotherErwin Bergdoll's cars.

Although Bergdoll registered for the draft, he skipped a physical and failed to turn in a questionnaire on his fitness for duty. He was declared a deserter in 1918 (As he never enlisted he was actually guilty of evading Article 58 of theSelective Service Act of 1917), eluded police for two years, and was arrested at his home in January 1920. After he was found guilty of desertion at a court-martial atFort JayonGovernors Island, he was sentenced to five years in prison.

Five months later, military authorities allowed Grover to be released under guard to recover a cache of gold he claimed to have buried nearHagerstown, Maryland. During a stop at his Philadelphia home, he escaped with his chauffeur. Despite a nationwide manhunt, the duo managed to cross the border intoCanadaand sail to Germany, ultimately finding refuge inEberbachat a hotel owned by Bergdoll's uncle.

In January 1921, U.S. sergeants Franz Zimmer and Carl Naef sought to kidnap Bergdoll and bring him to an area of Germany that was occupied by the Allies, so he could be returned to the United States. Along with four German men, they ambushed Bergdoll at the Eberbach train station. Bergdoll managed to escape by vehicle, and a passenger named Lena Rupp was shot in the right hand when Naef opened fire on the fleeing car. All six would-be kidnappers were tried and sentenced to prison terms, although the sergeants were soon released due to efforts by the American government.

Another kidnapping attempt was made in August 1923, when Corliss Hooven Griffis of the American Graves Registration Service led a group of four other men in an effort to capture the fugitive. Two men waited in Bergdoll's hotel room to try to seize him, but he managed to shoot both of them, killing one and seriously wounding the other. The four surviving conspirators were seized and sentenced to prison terms. Griffis was widely considered a hero in the United States, and was also released early after a petition effort to free him collected more than 2 million signatures.

Bergdoll later moved toWeinsberg, Germany and married a German woman. On two occasions, he made secret trips back to Philadelphia. He arrived in 1929 on the first trip and returned in 1933. The second time, he traveled to the U.S. in 1935 and returned to Germany in 1938.

Bergdoll publicly surrendered in May 1939. He was nearly returned to Germany after RepresentativeForest Harnesstried to pass legislation barring the reentry of any draft dodgers who had escaped custody and fled to a foreign country. After another court-martial, he was sentenced to serve the remainder of his original term plus three years. He was imprisoned until 1944.

After his release, Bergdoll lived in Virginia. He died inRichmond, Virginia, in 1966, in psychiatric care.

Frank C. Williams, the man drafted immediately after Bergdoll by his local draft board, served in World War I as an engineer and survived the conflict. However, theAmerican Legionclaimed that the man "drafted in Bergdoll's place" was Russell C. Gross ofPhiladelphia, the first man drafted after Bergdoll to die in the war. Gross became a private in Company B of the328th Infantry Regiment, part of the82nd Division.He was killed in action on October 24, 1918, during theMeuse-Argonne Offensive, and posthumously cited for bravery by Brigadier GeneralJulian Robert