carbinephalen Posted January 2, 2015 Share #1 Posted January 2, 2015 Good evening all, I have been meaning to post this one for awhile. 1st Lt O'leary was a Bombardier on a B-17 in the 410th Bomb Squadron, 94th Bomb Group when he and the rest of his crew were shot down on a mission to Berlin in April of 1944. They all parachuted to safety (minus one who was KIA) and were then captured by the Germans. He was a POW for over a year until liberated near the end of the war. This uniform grouping came to me from the family with photos, his Caterpillar Club certificate and pin, and I was able to find the MACR for this ill-fated flight. The Bombardier wings are sterling and the ribbons are Wolf-Brown. O'leary wore this uniform upon his safe return to the United States at the end of the war. This uniform is of particular importance to me because a bombardier is the closest job to mine in the AF that was available during WWII. Thanks for looking and have a Happy New Year! -Carbinephalen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbinephalen Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share #2 Posted January 2, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WW2JAKE Posted January 2, 2015 Share #3 Posted January 2, 2015 whats going on with the lieutenants bar? looks kinda strange Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted January 2, 2015 Share #4 Posted January 2, 2015 whats going on with the lieutenants bar? looks kinda strange Real silver that has tarnished I think. Great uniform and paperwork! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbinephalen Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share #5 Posted January 2, 2015 This picture refuses to display correctly. Let's try this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbinephalen Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share #6 Posted January 2, 2015 Matt is correct. Just a little tarnishing on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandomatic Posted January 2, 2015 Share #7 Posted January 2, 2015 Man, couldn't have went to a better fella! Nice piece. Have you done any research on his camp? A lot of these guys experienced pretty nasty marches as the end drew near. For many, in the cold, it was a death march. I read an account where the misery was so widespread that the POWs carried the rifles of the Germans as they marched some great distance to reach American lines as opposed to our red allies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandomatic Posted January 2, 2015 Share #8 Posted January 2, 2015 Found this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandomatic Posted January 2, 2015 Share #9 Posted January 2, 2015 Looks like it was where the Great Escape was from. That means my P-47 Pilot was there with your guy! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalag_Luft_III They did march, but I think it was one of the shorter ones. Wouldn't make it much better for the POWs that were sick, had inadequate clothing, or like most I'm sure, suffered weakness from malnutrition. Wikipedia: "Just before midnight on 27 January 1945, with Soviet troops only 16 miles (20 km) away, the remaining 11,000 POWs were marched out of camp with the eventual destination of Spremberg. In below-freezing temperatures and 6 inches (15 cm) of snow, 2,000 prisoners were assigned to clear the road ahead of the main group. After a 34-mile (55 km) march the POWs arrived in Bad Muskau where they rested for 30 hours before marching the remaining 16 miles (26 km) to Spremberg. On 31 January the South Compound prisoners plus 200 men from the West Compound were sent by train to Stalag VII-A at Moosburg followed by the Centre compound prisoners on 7 February. Some 32 prisoners escaped during the march to Moosburg but all were recaptured.[12] The North, East and remaining West Compound prisoners at Spremberg were sent to Stalag XIII-D at Nürnberg on 2 February. With the approach of U.S. forces on 13 April, the American prisoners at XIII-D were marched to Stalag VII-A. While the majority reached VII-A on 20 April, many had dropped out on the way with the German guards making no attempt to stop them. Built to hold 14,000 POWs, Stalag VII-A now held 130,000 from evacuated stalags with 500 living in barracks built for 200. Some chose to live in tents while others slept in air raid slit trenches.[13] The U.S. 14th Armored Division liberated VII-A on 29 April.[6] Kenneth W. Simmons' book 'Kriegie' (1960) vividly describes the life of POWs in the American section of Stalag Luft III, during the final months of the war, ending with the brutal winter forced-march away from the camp, escaping the advancing Russian troops, and eventually being liberated." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WW2JAKE Posted January 2, 2015 Share #10 Posted January 2, 2015 Real silver that has tarnished I think. Great uniform and paperwork! Matt is correct. Just a little tarnishing on this one. thanks guys, looked really weird in that first picture. almost black Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbinephalen Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share #11 Posted January 2, 2015 Wow! Thanks for that research 'Garand. That is very interesting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandomatic Posted January 2, 2015 Share #12 Posted January 2, 2015 No problem! I'm not aware of a good, all-encompassing book about Stalag III, but I'm sure one exists. Definitely check out Masters of the Air, though. If I remember right, it has some good insight about the liberations and probably mentions this one more than wikipedia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doinworkinvans Posted January 2, 2015 Share #13 Posted January 2, 2015 whats going on with the lieutenants bar? looks kinda strange age.... Carbine, beautiful and clean example. They dont come much purer than that - glad you can keep this fine gentlemens story safe and alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oss.capt Posted January 2, 2015 Share #14 Posted January 2, 2015 That's a good looking group Carbinephalen! Is it a tailor made jacket? Also very nice you got it from the family. Great provenance and history! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbinephalen Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share #15 Posted January 2, 2015 Good eye Capt. It is in fact a tailor made example. I don't believe this one was ever an officer's 4-pocket that was cut down. It appears to have been manufactured as an Ike using the darker chocolate colored material. It makes for one sharp jacket and I wish all the services' dress uniforms still looked this good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbinephalen Posted January 2, 2015 Author Share #16 Posted January 2, 2015 I forgot to post the 8thh aaf patch side. Nothing fancy, just a nice, original, cut edge example Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38Driver Posted January 2, 2015 Share #17 Posted January 2, 2015 Very nice. Glad it's found a good home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY Militaria Posted January 2, 2015 Share #18 Posted January 2, 2015 Great Ike with a lot of history! Glad that you are the caretaker now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsoon Posted January 2, 2015 Share #19 Posted January 2, 2015 Great looking jacket and history. It does sort of look like it could be a cut down service blouse; the cuffs and waistband seem a bit of a different color. Looks cool, tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David D Posted January 2, 2015 Share #20 Posted January 2, 2015 Amazing Ike! Glad it is a good home -Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbinephalen Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share #21 Posted January 3, 2015 Thanks for all of the comments guys. It really is a nice one to display in the collection room! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timberwolf Posted January 3, 2015 Share #22 Posted January 3, 2015 Great jacket Tom! Glad to see some much larger photos of it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cperkins510 Posted May 4, 2015 Share #23 Posted May 4, 2015 Do you have any pics of the caterpillar pin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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