This memento, which I believe is made of guttapercha, is an example of a standard issue item provided for soldiers who were Roman Catholic, with crucifix and rosary. Below there is a separate heart-shaped compartment containing a relic. I assume this to be a personal item, although it is suited exactly to the size of the compartment. There is also a photo of a young man behind the Sacred Heart medal below the crucifix. The young man is not my grandfather, nor has he been identified by anyone in the family - perhaps he was a friend from the front. The printed and hand written tag below the medal reads in case of accident or severe illness notify nearest Catholic Priest. Below is written my grandfather's name and below it Mrs George J Hunt 48 Evans Avenue, Trenton, New Jersey as next of kin.
My grandfather, born on 12th July, 1891 in County Sligo emigrated to the United States, probably in 1910. He married, and his first wife died in childbirth shortly thereafter, whereupon he married my grandmother, Anna Roche, born in County Mayo. They lived in Trenton New Jersey with several of their siblings, on Evans Avenue. George Hunt joined the US army in part because serving in the armed forces would confer upon him and his wife automatic American citizenship. He enlisted at Camp Dix in New Jersey and was a Private in Company C 153, 348 Infantry. Service number 3673202. Discharged November 15, 1918. He survived the war and was employed as a prison warder in the New Jersey State prison, dying young in 1936. His eldest son, also, George Joseph, 91, was my father and lived in Trenton, Browns Mills and finally Moorestown, New Jersey. He died in August of 2012. He recently gave this to me to keep and to pass on within the family. My grandfather was one of thousands of recently arrived European immigrants who fought in the American services during the Great War. It is noteworthy that my grandfather in the first war, and my father in the second (Patton's Army) were in many of the same places, my father retracing his father's steps in Belgium and France.

Memorabilia
This pocket rosary case, which also served as a means of identification for notifying next of kin, was in the possession of my father, George Hunt, whose own father (of the same name) served in the US army shortly after emigrating to the United States from Ireland. It is of great importance to my father in particular as he served in the European theatre in WWII, in much the same geographical area in which my grandfather's unit fought in France and Belgium. It is now in my possession, and in an historic twist, both I and my daughter now live in Ireland, where the story began.
pocket religious artifact