WW2 5th Army jacket Dumpster Find…. NO JOKE! Post your own dumpster trash save stories too

[HBT]

About a month and a half ago, I received a call from a guy who heard I buy military collectibles. He claimed to have a WWII uniform that he found in a dumpster. We talked for a bit, and I agreed to meet him.

 

When I arrived at his house, the uniform was laying on his dining room table. I was very pleased to find a clean WWII officer blouse, wool field trousers, a beautiful fur-felt officer visor made by Brooks Brothers, an officer’s overseas cap, and a paper bag containing extra insignia.

 

There was also a 1939 dated, German field surgery kit. The cover is made from vegetable tanned leather, with a cloth (blood stained?) insert, containing pouches for the various implements.

 

Lastly, there was a private purchase, OD rubberized canvas garment bag that was too deteriorated to save, but it served its purpose by protecting the uniform pieces for so long!

 

The blouse was void of pin insignia, but when I looked inside the front pocket, I found a folded paper envelope, containing medical ciphers, CPT bars, and a two-piece ribbon bar (Bronze Star and ETO Ribbon w/ invasion arrowhead plus three campaign stars).

 

I asked the man to tell me EVERYTHING he knew about the uniform. He said that he’d had it for almost three years. He wanted to donate the stuff to a museum, but the museum never called him back. He claimed to have literally found the garment bag (contained all aforementioned items) in a dumpster after an estate auction for a widowed lady that had recently died.

 

He had to dig a bit to get to the bag. While he was digging, he also noticed an Army duffle bag and footlocker at the bottom of the dumpster!!!! He mentioned that the dumpster was a compacting type, and that the footlocker was partially crushed and beneath heavy objects. He said he could see items poking out through the cracks of the broken footlocker!!!!

 

He said there were other guys poking around the dumpster too. They were taking framed paintings, medical journals, books, etc. They laughed at him when he walked away with the uniform and asked what he wanted with some old uniform.

 

I constantly think about that dumpster with the duffle bag and footlocker, and how I would have dove in head first, risking injury to rescue everything. It’s in the landfill now. What kind of auctioneer in 2003 would throw WWII memorabilia into a dumpster?

 

Fortunately the caps were named, and the rotten garment bag had a luggage tag with a name and full ASN (0-419249). I searched the net and found articles and obituaries for the vet (CPT Arnold Lempka) and his wife. Lempka graduated from Creighton School of Medicine in 1941 and was called to active duty. He was stationed in Africa and received a Bronze Star. After the war he became a prominent surgeon and later President of several organizations, including Nebraska Medical Association. I am hoping that NARA will throw me a bone and provide a copy of his General Order for his Bronze Star so I can learn how he earned it.

 

I think this would make a fun thread if others would contribute items that they saved from dumpsters.

 

********************************************************************

I just received an envelope from NARA today (01-12-2007) containing records for Arnold Lempka.

 

Here are some highlights:

 

Served from 06-29-1942 to 01-25-1946

 

He was a medical officer in the 16th Medical Regt through 06-30-1943.

Then:

-Commanding officer of 2nd Platoon 162nd Med Bn (5th Army)

-Jr Officer 162nd Med Bn (5th Army)

-Platoon Commander 162nd Med Bn (5th Army)

-Surgeon 209 AAA GP9 Sta (Comp) (What unit is this?)

 

He received five campaign stars for: Tunisia, Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno, North Apennines, and Po Valley.

 

He also received a bronze arrowhead for the amphibious operations on Salerno 09-09-1943.

 

The general order for his Bronze Star Medal is (GO #84, HQ 5th Army, 3 Jul 45). I did not receive the copy of a citation or General Order I requested.

 

He left Italy for the US on 09-21-1945.

 

 

---Chris

 

[HBT]

Visor Cap, O/S Cap, and spare insignia

 

 

Visor Cont.

 

[HBT]

1939 Dated German Field Kit

 

 

kit cont.

 

[seabee]

Nice uniform. Its sad that people throw a piece of history away.

[Polygon]

Nice uniform. Its sad that people throw a piece of history away.

 

Wow, that is a fantastic find- and it's also sad that some show such little regard for militaria so as to throw it in the dumpster to begin with.

[HBT]

Wow, that is a fantastic find- and it's also sad that some show such little regard for militaria so as to throw it in the dumpster to begin with.

 

 

Agreed!!!

 

Does anyone else have something that was rescued from the land fill? I'm sure there are plenty out there. What confuses me is that this happened in 2003 (Post SPR, Antique Road Show, Band of Brothers, etc).

 

---Chris

[Polygon]

Agreed!!!

 

Does anyone else have something that was rescued from the land fill? I'm sure there are plenty out there. What confuses me is that this happened in 2003 (Post SPR, Antique Road Show, Band of Brothers, etc).

 

---Chris

 

 

Actually, I do have a small story:

 

I work at a library as a page, and one day as I was emptying the trash, I found a copy of "American Soldier" by Gen. Tommy Franks headed to the dumpster. When I opened the inner cover, I was surprised to find it was actually signed by the General.

 

It really infuriated me that someone would discard such an important piece of history!

[CNY Militaria]

Great find!

 

This isn't a dumpster find per se, however the lady I bought it from for $5 siad that she had planned to cut it up and use for sewing fabric, after throwing the insignia away. Thank God saved it!

[HBT]

Great find!

 

This isn't a dumpster find per se, however the lady I bought it from for $5 siad that she had planned to cut it up and use for sewing fabric, after throwing the insignia away. Thank God saved it!

 

I wonder what she was intending to use the fabric for? That would make an itchy quilt!

 

I have a story. My buddy bought a nice, large AAC grouping from the widow of a vet. He got uniforms, photos, and paperwork. As he was looking at one of the photos, he saw the vet wearing a very nice painted A-2 flight jacket. My friend inquired if she still had the jacket and she said she burned it in a leaf pile a week ago because the cuffs and waistband had moth holes and the paint was worn. OUCH!!!

 

---Chris

[Costa]

sad indeed that here in america you will find a large percentage of those who are stupid, eneducated and gulible! not to mention that they have their freedom today for what the guys in those uniforms fought and died for. how fast they forget.

[CNY Militaria]

I wonder what she was intending to use the fabric for? That would make an itchy quilt!

 

I have a story. My buddy bought a nice, large AAC grouping from the widow of a vet. He got uniforms, photos, and paperwork. As he was looking at one of the photos, he saw the vet wearing a very nice painted A-2 flight jacket. My friend inquired if she still had the jacket and she said she burned it in a leaf pile a week ago because the cuffs and waistband had moth holes and the paint was worn. OUCH!!!

 

---Chris

 

I friend of mine is giving me all of his AAF items he used in the war as an officer, but when I asked about his A-2 jacket, he said that he wore it so much after the war, it got ratty and he threw it out. At least he got great use out of it!

Justin

[vicjoy1945]

Hey guys...

 

GREAT STUFF !!! And more importantly...history saved !!

 

Unfortunately, these occurances may become much, much more common depending on the long-term effect (and eventual interpretation) of the Stolen Valor Act. If individuals or families or relatives find that they might not be able to sell their unwanted military items and relics, they will more than likely opt to toss them in the garbage or burn them.

 

Lets face it, we have these items in our collections because the owners or families or relatives...whoever...either do not care about the items, history, soldier...or...they care more about the money they're worth on the open market. Even the guys pulling this stuff out of the garbage are doing so to make a buck...if they can't sell it, it will remain in the garbage.

 

Collectors and history are the real losers here...

 

Vic

[Polygon]

It reminds me of Soviet uniforms- at the end of World War Two, they were either worn out by vets or literally burned in mass piles saving only those that belonged directed to Stalin's "cult of personality."

 

As long as we have an interest and make the effort to save these uniforms from destruction, they will be appreciated further in the future. However, it's sad to say that there are also people who simply sell militaria as scalpers more or less with little to no historical interest in the subject.

[Jeeper704]

A lot of American Veterans had their Ike Jackets dyed in another color so they could wear it for work.

Harry Traynor (704TD Bn) even used his Tanker's Jacket till it was worn out and threw it away.

Such a shame ....

 

The grouping sure is worth taking a dive into the dumpster for.

 

@Schottzie: what's the Armored unit on that jacket, please?

 

Erwin

[screaming-eagle]

thats a very nice find, i dont get why people toss this stuff it is not very thoughtful of the meaning behind the uniform.

[CNY Militaria]

A lot of American Veterans had their Ike Jackets dyed in another color so they could wear it for work.

Harry Traynor (704TD Bn) even used his Tanker's Jacket till it was worn out and threw it away.

Such a shame ....

 

The grouping sure is worth taking a dive into the dumpster for.

 

@Schottzie: what's the Armored unit on that jacket, please?

 

Erwin

 

4th armored division. It belonged to her uncle.

 

Justin

[HBT]

A lot of American Veterans had their Ike Jackets dyed in another color so they could wear it for work.

Erwin

 

I’ve never heard of dying clothing for wearing post war, but it makes sense. I can admire the resourcefulness of it. I’ve always been told that clean WWI Pershing boots are rare because the soldiers wore them out after the war.

 

---Chris

[HBT]

Even the guys pulling this stuff out of the garbage are doing so to make a buck...if they can't sell it, it will remain in the garbage.

 

Vic

 

Vic,

Very true, but in this particular instance, the person I got this stuff from was truly a good person. He wasn't looking to make a buck, he was simply respectful enough to know that it shouldn't be thrown away.

 

He even tried to donate it to a museum for free, but they never called him back. What is sad is that there was a couple other guys looking in the same dumpster, and they thought he was foolish for wasting his time with it.

 

---Chris

[Dave]

It reminds me of Soviet uniforms- at the end of World War Two, they were either worn out by vets or literally burned in mass piles saving only those that belonged directed to Stalin's "cult of personality."

 

Where I lived in Moscow was home to a number of many former (and current) senior military officers as well as many other important people. (The apartments consisted of 7 to 8 rooms - a far cry from the 2-3 that was normal for most residents of the city!) Since many of the residents were elderly, I would say that at least twice a month an apartment would get cleaned out, and the contents would get dumped into the dumpsters into the open center square of the apartment building. I would regularly go through the piles of garbage (I can't tell you the hundreds upon hundreds of copies of Stalin's and Lenin's writings I had to move in the dumpsters!) to see what I could find. Most of the uniform stuff I ever found was literally trash - mothed or worn out beyond saving, unfortunately. About the only thing I took back to the US with me was a nice metal toy truck trailer which I had purchased the truck for on an earlier trip. Anyway, the residents thought I was clearly insane... An American was digging through their trash!!!

 

For about three years during the early 90s, I had a GREAT source at a local veteran's nursing home who would hit the dumpsters on his way home from work every day. He brought out PHENOMINAL stuff... experimental flight jackets, tons of personal items to generals, a nice German RAD dagger, the list could go on and on. He told me that he unfortunately missed a lot of the "good" stuff though as other pickers and the local kids would get to the dumpsters before he would and a lot of times take whatever else was there. The only thing that he got that I never could get from him was a nice P.08 Luger that he found in the holster... Unfortunately, he quit his job and moved on, even though we begged him to stay to save this stuff, but it was not to be...

 

Recently, an auction house on eBay had a huge military hat auction. I bought out quite a few, and noticed that they forgot the documents with one of them. So, I contacted them after they had shipped the auction items and enquired about the documents. They told me they'd look for them. A couple days later, they called me up and told me that they found them and had also found a "bunch" of other documents to other hats that had also forgotten to either get packed and/or listed, so if I wanted them, I could have the pile, as they were just going to throw it all out! Granted, it was nothing impressive, but there were some nice photos of admirals, some great letters and the like. And they were just going to chuck it all!

 

Of course, when you look in the big picture though, we lament the tossing of militaria. That's only a TINY part of most estates. What about them throwing out cabinet photos? Baseball cards? Or 1960s snapshots? Or vintage 1970s clothing? There are collectors for just about EVERYTHING out there and it's honestly impossible to sell everything piece by piece for an estate. If something doesn't sell, either to the dumpster or thrift store it goes, and that's just the sad truth of it.

 

Just a few thoughts...

 

Dave

[Dave]

Another short story...

 

When my grandmother passed away, a lot of the things from her house ended up at ours. One day (this was about 10 years ago) I walked out in the backyard and noticed my dad dumping stuff into our large trashcan. I was curious and went out to look... He was throwing out his half-brother's and stepfather's uniforms! Now note... I had been collecting militaria on a fairly large scale for about 8 years by this time.

 

I asked him what the heck he was doing, and he told me that he couldn't have his half-brother's uniforms (a Navy petty officer, aircrew) around because of the memories, and that he was tossing his stepfather's uniforms (a Navy W4, who served from 1924 to 1954) because he despised the man. Well, that was pretty clear!

 

I finally talked him into letting me eBay his stepfather's uniforms (he gave me 10 days to have them out of the house) but he insisted that his brother's uniforms had to go. Period.

 

Now consider all of that in the light that I had a pretty serious collection in our house at that time! (I later talked him out of throwing out his own uniforms!)

 

Of course, I too am guilty as well... I joined the military, and after I came home after my first duty, I had a pile of my work uniforms, insignia, shoulder boards, etc. that I wore during that training. I threw it all out. My mom (of all people) saw the pile in the trash and dug it out, insisting that if I didn't care about it, SHE did! So I told her that if she wanted to keep it, she could, but if I saw it around, it was back in the trash!

 

So, the morale to these stories is that not everyone that tosses militaria is a history-hater. My dad had his reasons, and I had my reasons for getting rid of the stuff. I am certain that that is fairly common amongst those who get rid of these things.

 

Just another couple thoughts...

 

Dave

 

P.S. Incidentally, I scored four two-star admiral's uniforms out of the local thirft store today!

[duarte1223]

I've never had a dumpster find myself, but I'm glad all of these great pieces have been saved!

 

Adam

[BrianMcC]

I find these stories fascinating but at the same time they make me cringe.

 

In this day and age with all the history/antiques type stuff on television one would think that greed would certainly triumph over indifference.

 

Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

 

Brian

[HBT]

Another short story...

 

When my grandmother passed away, a lot of the things from her house ended up at ours. One day (this was about 10 years ago) I walked out in the backyard and noticed my dad dumping stuff into our large trashcan. I was curious and went out to look... He was throwing out his half-brother's and stepfather's uniforms! Now note... I had been collecting militaria on a fairly large scale for about 8 years by this time.

 

I asked him what the heck he was doing, and he told me that he couldn't have his half-brother's uniforms (a Navy petty officer, aircrew) around because of the memories, and that he was tossing his stepfather's uniforms (a Navy W4, who served from 1924 to 1954) because he despised the man. Well, that was pretty clear!

 

I finally talked him into letting me eBay his stepfather's uniforms (he gave me 10 days to have them out of the house) but he insisted that his brother's uniforms had to go. Period.

 

Now consider all of that in the light that I had a pretty serious collection in our house at that time! (I later talked him out of throwing out his own uniforms!)

 

Of course, I too am guilty as well... I joined the military, and after I came home after my first duty, I had a pile of my work uniforms, insignia, shoulder boards, etc. that I wore during that training. I threw it all out. My mom (of all people) saw the pile in the trash and dug it out, insisting that if I didn't care about it, SHE did! So I told her that if she wanted to keep it, she could, but if I saw it around, it was back in the trash!

 

So, the morale to these stories is that not everyone that tosses militaria is a history-hater. My dad had his reasons, and I had my reasons for getting rid of the stuff. I am certain that that is fairly common amongst those who get rid of these things.

 

Just another couple thoughts...

 

Dave

 

P.S. Incidentally, I scored four two-star admiral's uniforms out of the local thirft store today!

 

 

Dave,

Congrats on your score today!

 

Your excellent posts got me thinking about all the stuff people throw away. I also agree that these people are not all history-haters. They have many reasons for throwing stuff away, but it’s unfortunate none-the-less.

 

Your post also reminded me of my former part-time job, working in a Goodwill donation trailer in high school (early 1990's) and in a Goodwill store later in college (mid 1990's). I cannot even remember all the serious scores that came from this… not only militaria, but also rare LPs and 45s, Vintage clothing (particularly denim!!!), etc.

 

Anyway, the Goodwill I worked at in college also got great stuff all the time, but my manager was mental. One time a large box came in full of 1940's and 50's girly magazines and pin-ups. My manager told me to throw them in the dumpster. I told her that I wanted them, and she said "they still go in the dumpster." So, I put them in the dumpster then after she went home, I climbed in and retrieved them.

 

I would constantly argue with her because she would fill the dumpster with vintage and antique clothing, lamps, pottery, whatever. Her justification was that she wanted her Goodwill to be a “boutique” and not some run-down thrift shop.

 

Rather than continuing to argue with her, I let her throw the stuff away and at night, I would take it out of the dumpster and fill my car. I sold most of it to vintage clothing dealers and antique shops. It more than financed my rent and militaria collection.

 

This went on for months and months until one day, I was called into my manager’s office, where she told me I was fired for "stealing from the Goodwill." Isn’t it ironic that the "junk" she was throwing away was what I was being accused of “stealing". I still miss that job.

 

I sincerely apologize for this digression from militaria.

 

---Chris

[kklinejr]

When my grandfather passed away, the entire family was shocked to see what he had kept from the war. Luckily, I finally decided to help out in the "cleaning process" of his residence. My relatives had set aside the Salvation Army pile, the "disperse to others" pile, and the junk pile. In the junk pile was the mother load of militaria and, man, was I angry. Loads of German bringbacks, all of his equipment and uniforms, and his medals. Days later we found his Walther PPK id'd to an officer (I had to stop my own relatives from throwing it in a nearby river for fear of breaking the law). I did the paperwork, registered the pistol, and saved yet another wonderful bringback item.

 

My own family had to be stopped from throwing away history, so I could imagine what it must be like for nursing homes and the "care" they have for the material.

 

Ken

[kklinejr]

I also forgot to mention...one of my greatest sources for militaria, the Salvation Army, is also one that makes me a bit saddened. All of these families who simply dispose of their own history...such a shame.

 

Ken