Bob Hudson Posted April 13, 2014 Share #1 Posted April 13, 2014 I drove down to Coronado today in response to a call from a woman whose father graduated USNA Class of 43, which actually finished one early because of the war. He had quite an interesting career and you can see some of that in bio below. He passed away one year ago at age 93. I bought many items including this remnant of a flag, which she said he father called a battle flag from the Battle of Casablanca. It was stored in a plastic grocery bag, with the history written on the bag. She said it is in her father's handwriting. That may be the strangest provenance I've ever encountered. The flag still has faint traces of the markings on the white fly, which would read "US ENS 10," with 10 being its size. These have four grommets, which are well-weathered. It came from the USS Rhind (DD-404) and I got an old photo of that too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #2 Posted April 13, 2014 .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morlok Posted April 13, 2014 Share #3 Posted April 13, 2014 Very nice! Great find & a great piece of history! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USdog Posted April 13, 2014 Share #4 Posted April 13, 2014 Awesome flag!! Love the provenance lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #5 Posted April 13, 2014 Here's his bio through 1965 (he retired in 1972). Notice it mispells the name of the Rhind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave peifer Posted April 13, 2014 Share #6 Posted April 13, 2014 great piece bob.....what else were you able to buy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #7 Posted April 13, 2014 great piece bob.....what else were you able to buy? Pennants and plaques from his various commands of destroyer squadrons, etc signed from photos from some of his former bosses such as Sec. of Navy John Connally, Admiral Arleigh Burke and Admiral Elmo Zumwalt. He and Zumwalt were in the same class at Annapolis and he was eight months older than Zumwalt, hence the "old man" quip: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #8 Posted April 13, 2014 The Zumwalt greeting on his 46th birthday would mean that he was Zumwalt's Chief of Staff when Zumwalt was CO of Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla Seven. He was aide and flag secretary to Burke when he was CO of Cruiser Division Five in 1950-51. I have pennants from both of those units, as well as a couple others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted April 13, 2014 Share #9 Posted April 13, 2014 Now that is an historic find! I wonder if some of the other officers kept fragments of it too? That would explain the missing sections unless they really, really used it until it was worn out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted April 13, 2014 Share #10 Posted April 13, 2014 Wow! What a great group! And that's a FANTASTIC photo of ADM Burke!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave peifer Posted April 13, 2014 Share #11 Posted April 13, 2014 what a group,i'm thankfull he wrote that note...........dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #12 Posted April 13, 2014 what a group,i'm thankfull he wrote that note...........dave This morning I've been working on a way to preserve the grocery bag note. I've got it folded up with a piece of foamcore inside. I placed it inside an archival sleeve along with a note I wrote and signed. I printed the images of the flag and bag on my note. I may put the whole thing inside a vacuum-sealed bag. Here's the front of the bag and for you detail geeks a photo of the Von's market on Coronado Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave peifer Posted April 13, 2014 Share #13 Posted April 13, 2014 that would work for me.........good idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #14 Posted April 13, 2014 Something else that came with it is an origina pencil drawing by famed Naval artist Arthur Beaumont. The sketch is called "Running the slot" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #15 Posted April 13, 2014 With a little research I determined that the pencil sketch became the painting "31 Knots" which shows the USS Charles Ausburne & DesRon 23 "running the slot" in the Solomon Islands in 1943. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #16 Posted April 13, 2014 By the way, I can find no record of Beaumont making or selling reproductions of sketches. As far as I can determine, he did these as preliminary guides to his paintings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyCanteen Posted April 13, 2014 Share #17 Posted April 13, 2014 With a little research I determined that the pencil sketch became the painting "31 Knots" which shows the USS Charles Ausburne & DesRon 23 "running the slot" in the Solomon Islands in 1943. 4.jpg Now that is stunning!! (as if the flag wasn't stunning enough!) It is a study that later became his painting. You will notice he played around with moving the background ships into different positions before settling on a final look. Rare is an understatement. That may be the real gem in this group IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #18 Posted April 13, 2014 You will notice he played around with moving the background ships into different positions before settling on a final look. I found a similar example online of a study for the USS HELENA: it got flipped 180 degrees for the final painting: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Baker Posted April 13, 2014 Share #19 Posted April 13, 2014 Very nice grouping. I like it ALL. It would be just too difficult to pick a favorite. That flag is killer though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #20 Posted April 13, 2014 Very nice grouping. I like it ALL. It would be just too difficult to pick a favorite. That flag is killer though. I really didn't discover what I'd bought until I got home last night. I had to drive 50 miles to Coronado after spending all day on my feet at my flea market booth, so I as quite tired when I met the family. I pawed through the boxes and pulled an offer out of the air: it was more than they'd expected and one that made me cross my fingers. So, it was nice to get home last night and find that flag was indeed a WWII Navy ensign, and to discover the Beaumont drawing was among the items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #21 Posted April 13, 2014 The drawing of the ships is from Destroyer Squadron 23 which was commanded by Arleigh Burke. Law was an aide to Burke in 1950, so that may have been when he did something for Beaumont in regards to the painting and Adm. Burke. And, among the items is a box of lighters, including one for DesRon 23: These eight are all Zippos: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #22 Posted April 13, 2014 These are bronze, very heavy, and I assume they were attached to a bulkhead at command headquarters. The oval one is nine inches high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #23 Posted April 13, 2014 There are the usual plaques received by Naval officers in abundance, but this large (19x9x9 inches) glassed-in piece takes the prize. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #24 Posted April 13, 2014 This is a very large framed certificate from his days with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I have no idea about the people who signed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hudson Posted April 13, 2014 Author Share #25 Posted April 13, 2014 Being a good Coronado Navy family, his heirs are keeping his medals, which are nicely framed. I got a couple of uniforms, a cap and his mini-medals, which show the gold star for a 2nd award and the V for valor on his Bronze Star: Does anyone know what this is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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