warpath Posted November 26, 2015 Share #1 Posted November 26, 2015 WWII US Army Air Force P-51 Pilot Lt. McDonald Godfrey Purple Heart & Air Medal and B-10 Flight Jacket POW Grouping...His German POW ID card and issued Purple Heart and Air Medal each named on the reverse-Note the name is reveversed on his purple heart medal...Photo shows Lt. Godfrey in his P-51 Mustang named Candy Lamb...His POW ID card shows him wearing his B-10 Flight Jacket which was with him throughout the war as evidenced by the heavy wear visible in the photos here...Of particular interest are the interior pockets which he added to store items while a Prisoner of War.Lt. Godfrey entered Army Air Corps service in 1942 and transferred to England in March 1944... Lt. Godfrey served with the 352nd and 328th Fighter Groups in Bodney, England with his first mission on 4/26/44 as a dive bombing escort...Aon D-Day he flew 10 hours of dive bombing followed by Bomber escort flights to Berlin, Paris, Reimes, England and various German cities until his last mission on July 31 1944...On 7/31/44 after an evening of poker and beer Lt. Godfrey was a last minute substitute pilot on a bomber escort mission...On the flight his aircraft caught fire and he bailed out near Baugge, Belgium...Captured by the Civil Police he was turned over to the Germans and admitted to a German hospital for treatment of severe burns to his face, hands and feet...On his release from the hospital he was sent to Frankfurt, Germany then on 8/26/44 sent to Stalag 3 in Saegan, Poland as POW #1894...He survived the imprisonment and in January 1945 he was force marched with the rest of the camp to Mooseburg, Germany...Many men died due to starvation and exposure on the march...Lt. Godfrey was liberated in May 1945 and transferred to a hospital in France prior to returning home to the United States. (WWII USAAF P-51 Pilot Lt. McDonald Godfrey Purple Heart & Air Medal) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpath Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share #2 Posted November 26, 2015 His medals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpath Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share #3 Posted November 26, 2015 Engraved reverses...Note the reversed names on each as issued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpath Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share #4 Posted November 26, 2015 Godfrey's flight jacket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpath Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share #5 Posted November 26, 2015 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpath Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share #6 Posted November 26, 2015 Added pockets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpath Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share #7 Posted November 26, 2015 sides Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schofield1943 Posted November 26, 2015 Share #8 Posted November 26, 2015 Great group to a New Yorker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpath Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share #9 Posted November 26, 2015 http://www.battlefieldmuseum.org/engine/inspect.asp?Item=8&Filter=World+War+II Link to more photos. Thanks for looking. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy vs Spy Posted November 26, 2015 Share #10 Posted November 26, 2015 Great group you got there Ed. Regards Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Jerry Posted November 26, 2015 Share #11 Posted November 26, 2015 Another Great group! You have to love the expression on his face for the German camera. That jacket has really "been there done that". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDK Posted November 26, 2015 Share #12 Posted November 26, 2015 Cool group! Love 352nd items. Was he flying with the 352nd when he as shot down or was it with the 328th? That B-10 sure got some use! Not sure I've ever seen one that salty! Great set. JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronny67 Posted November 26, 2015 Share #13 Posted November 26, 2015 Is this the jacket he is wearing in both photos? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpath Posted November 26, 2015 Author Share #14 Posted November 26, 2015 Is this the jacket he is wearing in both photos? Yes, it is the same jacket, the only clothing he had to stay warm throughout his captivity...He was obviously not very happy having his photo taken as a POW...It's amazing these pieces survived the war let alone remain intact now. Ed His POW ID card shows him wearing his B-10 Flight Jacket which was with him throughout the war as evidenced by the heavy wear visible in the photos here...Of particular interest are the interior pockets which he added to store items while a Prisoner of War. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobgee Posted November 26, 2015 Share #15 Posted November 26, 2015 Great group! Amazing that the jacket survived in this condition. It must have meant a lot to him. Bobgee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted November 26, 2015 Share #16 Posted November 26, 2015 Very very nice Ed. That's a fabulous POW group. I have a B-10 flight jacket in my collection as well worn by a fighter pilot who was a pow in Stalag Luft 1. Finding original clothing worn by a pow is tough, Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jguy1986 Posted November 26, 2015 Share #17 Posted November 26, 2015 You can almost imagine the Mrs. telling him to throw that ol' ratty jacket in the trash. What a lucky turn of events that it survived, and such a wonderful piece of history. Thanks for sharing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpath Posted November 27, 2015 Author Share #18 Posted November 27, 2015 That jacket kept him from freezing to death in the prison camp. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Signor Posted November 28, 2015 Share #19 Posted November 28, 2015 328th Fighter Group emblem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jguy1986 Posted November 28, 2015 Share #20 Posted November 28, 2015 That jacket kept him from freezing to death in the prison camp. Ed Oh, absolutely. He certainly remembered the importance of it. It was more of a statement most of us have heard that wives ended up tossing in the trash so many of the items we actively search for these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpath Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share #21 Posted November 28, 2015 "most of us have heard that wives ended up tossing in the trash so many of the items we actively search for these days..." An old friend's father was an Airborne 4 star General, DSC winner Korea...When his father died his Mother tossed out everything he had...That's what wives do! Mr. Godfrey retained what little he saved from the war. The jacket really was his only possession and I don't know how he retained his POW file card. His family only had a couple of wartime photos of him. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KASTAUFFER Posted November 28, 2015 Share #22 Posted November 28, 2015 At Stalag Luft 1 and 3 when the war was over the POWs went to the commandants office and took their ID cards. There are 2 kinds, the personnel card and the barracks card. Yours is a personnel card. There is a thread devoted to these cards Pinned in the POW section of the forum. http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/179566-wwii-pow-stalag-id-cards-issued-to-americans-collection/ If you wouldn't mind, can you post your ID card there as well? Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpath Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share #23 Posted November 28, 2015 Thanks, Kurt, I should have known you would have the answer. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragpick Posted November 29, 2015 Share #24 Posted November 29, 2015 The 328th Fighter Group didn't go overseas in WW2. Judging by the p-51 photo he was a member of the 328th Fighter Squadron, one of the three component squadrons of the 352nd Fighter Group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbinephalen Posted November 29, 2015 Share #25 Posted November 29, 2015 Incredible items! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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