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OSS letters on WW2 era US paratrooper wing


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This is currently up for bid on eBay (280232902033). Has anyone ever seen anything like this? The engraving of "LEE LOVE WARD" looks period. I guess anyone could get a jeweler to solder small gold letters onto a genuine WW2 era paratrooper wing. If this was the case then they ruined a genuine WW2 era paratrooper wing to make money. Or it could be genuine and the veteran could have had the letters added during or after the war. My question is if you were airborne qualified and attached to the OSS during the war but not part of one of the Jedburgh Operations or other Operational Groups where infiltration by parachute was necessary were you still authorized to wear the SF wing? Or maybe being airborne qualified was not a prerequisite for the SF wing? Does anyone know? So if anyone who was with OSS and were authorized to wear the SF wing then why wear this wing with OSS letters on the risers?

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John Cooper

Would an OSS man want to walk around with this? My gut says made but I who knows... just my 1.5 cents worth.

 

John

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Would an OSS man want to walk around with this? My gut says made but I who knows... just my 1.5 cents worth.

 

John

 

I would say not.Could have worn after the war on the "victory uniform".It may be a item he had made or in this case a sweetheart item as it appears it was a gift according to the engraving.I know a 508th pathfinder and he sent his original wings home to his mother(they were plain..no do dads added to them)He stated it was bad luck to wear your original first wings from jump school graduation.I have see many with the pin clipped on the back too.Maybe this was another way to insure wings were not worn.

 

RON

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Out of curiosity, I checked this out when it first popped up on ebay, and judging from the sources to which I have access, no one by the name of Lee Ward served in the OSS. (I guess one could argue that this was given as a sweetheart piece from someone whose first name was Ward to a lady whose first name was Lee, as in "To Lee, love Ward.")

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I meant to edit the above to include this opinion, but, apparently, my time to edit had expired.

 

It goes without saying that this wing had no official sanction within OSS. In fact, I’ve not encountered anything like it in my years of contacting OSS vets. Might it be a one-of-a-kind modification that a member of OSS asked of a jeweler, perhaps for the reason I suggest above? One can always propose that possibility, but without evidence, that’s all it is - a possibility.

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Thanks everyone for the information. I'm guessing a number of people felt this was an original something as the final wining bid (29 bids) was $515.55.

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101combatvet

The type of thing I would not have any problem with when found at an estate or flee market at a reasonable price.... but on ebay.... forget about it.

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I meant to edit the above to include this opinion, but, apparently, my time to edit had expired.

 

It goes without saying that this wing had no official sanction within OSS. In fact, I’ve not encountered anything like it in my years of contacting OSS vets. Might it be a one-of-a-kind modification that a member of OSS asked of a jeweler, perhaps for the reason I suggest above? One can always propose that possibility, but without evidence, that’s all it is - a possibility.

 

Or more likely a mercenary-minded jeweler created it to go with some of his other fantasy pieces. We have lots of evidence for this scenario.

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market garden

I would say the GUYS name was Ward and his WOMAN was Lee Hince -Lee Love Ward. Ward would be the guys first name.Market garden

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  • 1 year later...

Another one of these paratrooper wings with the OSS applied lettering has surfaced on eBay with another inscription on the reverse (eBay #260494910650).

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pathfinder505

I have never seen or heard of OSS on a wing but that doesnt mean it couldnt occur. I do know that George Musulin of the OSS was the heaviest person to qualify as a paratrooper. He was 200 lbs+ and he was heavy enough he thought the chute would rip due to his weight. There are pictures of him wearing the wing while with the OSS and overseas. I think he went to jump school so he could drop behind the lines. I dont know if he was an actual Jedburg or not.

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I don't know if my WWII generation parents were typical or not, but I think they probably were. In my recollection and observation of them, they would not pay anything to engrave or even repair jewelry, including watches..nor did they ever purchase expensive jewelry. They were very frugal, having grown up in the Depression and simply would not spend a penny on anything they viewed as frivolous. It was how they were raised and how they lived their lives.

 

Dad had 4 full size wings and never bothered to engrave one of them, although he did have his medals framed late in life...after first cutting off the pins so they would lay flat! While I'm sure some others of this generation fiddled around with their war mementos, I would think that those doing so would have been a distinct minority as most of them wanted to put it all behind them, especially when they got home as survivors.

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WOW all of the sudden not just one but two OSS jump wings with engraving on the back ill wait for about 20 more to get sold and the price to drop before i run out and get a pair or maybe ill have my local jewler make all of my wings in to oss wings and then i wont have to buy one the only way i would believe them real is if found at goodwill or thrift store or a garage sale for cheap or with iron clad provenance such as in a grouping with period pictures of them being worn i see alot of people pay way to much for junk wings with devices added that just look wrong in my opinion but some one once said a fool and his money are soon parted just my thoughts on these brian

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