Wall & Dougherty USN/USMC Naval aviator wing find at flea market

[Tonomachi]

I picked this up at the flea market this morning for 60 dollars. It was part of a grouping that came out of an estate of a USN fighter pilot from the Vietnam War. My guess is that this belonged to the pilots relative. There were two other Balour sterling pin back USN flight wings one full size and the other miniature. The seller didn't bothered to get the name of the pilot and wanted too much for the grouping so I settled for this wing as I remembered no berries in the shoulders means WW1 or in-between wars. Does anyone know if this is a WW1 piece or between the wars piece?

 

 

 

 

[mghcal]

Wow! What an amazing find! That's definitely either a ww1 or immediately after wing. I've never seen that hallmark before but with the Tiffany style catch it's for sure ww1 era. Great find!

 

Also, if it's a relative of the Vietnam pilot you might try to get the name again. Even the address of the estate sale where the guy bought it all would be useful. Sounds like a family of USN pilots and might be some really interesting history there.

[KASTAUFFER]

I wonder if Robbins made the wing for the other company? They did do that for Jewelry stores.

 

Kurt

[KASTAUFFER]

That company was a Jewelry store in Honolulu.

 

Kurt

[cwnorma]

Does anyone know if this is a WW1 piece or between the wars piece?

 

The badge being struck before Robbins re-worked the shield (fine lines) and the so-called Tiffany clasp (actually manufactured by Blancard) argue for earlier.

 

Robbins did "jobber" work for small jewelers. It might be informative to ascertain what years the Wall and Dougmerty Jewelry Co was operational in Honolulu. I have no records on that matter.

 

Chris

[mghcal]

It looks like the Wall and Dougherty Co was opened in 1912. They look to have still been in business until at least 1921 and could have existed far beyond that time. The 1916 directory lists them as "Jewelers, Goldsmiths, Platinumsmiths, Silversmiths, Opticians, and Optometrists".

[pfrost]

This thread provides a comparison of various Robbins' wings. http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/276703-a-study-of-early-robbins-usn-wings/?hl=%2Bwwi+%2Brobbins

 

I think B17 John has an example of a "Tiffany-catch" (Blancard?) and unworked wing that his dated to the late 1920's (but I may be wrong). Thus, it was my understanding that it may have been around the late 20's that can be used to draw the line in these wings. While I can't be sure, it is my sense that Robbins used the 3 cartouche symbols only on the WWI vintage wings. Thus, this wing MAY (but then again, why quibble for such a beauty) that this is likely post WWI-mid-1920's vintage wing rather than a WWI vintage wing.

 

Robbins also produced the NANCO and Pancraft wings in the 30's and 40's as well as their own hallmarked wings. I have posted a number of examples.

 

If I had to guess, no matter what... $60 is a killer deal for a fantastic wing..... Thanks for sharing a wonderful and exciting example that really adds to the knowldedge of Robbins USN aviator wings.

[Tonomachi]

Many thanks for everyone's input and information concerning this wing.

[digi-shots]

Tonomachi, great looking wings!

 

Are these full size or smaller?

[Costa]

that is a real nice wing. first of its kind with that maker I have seen.

[Tonomachi]

Tonomachi, great looking wings!

 

Are these full size or smaller?

Looks full size when compared with a WW2 era USN/USMC pilot wing.

[Patchcollector]

Great catch,that's one handsome Wing

[digi-shots]

Tonomachi, I've got the small 2" version of this wing...

 

Here are some pics.. sorry for the cell phone image, my other camera isn't available at the moment.

 

They have some detail but no where as sharp as yours.

 

[Tonomachi]

Tonomachi, I've got the small 2" version of this wing...

 

Here are some pics.. sorry for the cell phone image, my other camera isn't available at the moment.

 

They have some detail but no where as sharp as yours.

 

Wings, Hall and Dougherty, small, front.jpg

Thanks for posting these photos so these wings with this hallmark are out there in the collecting community.

[Tonomachi]

I went to the flea market today and ran into the seller whom I obtained the Wall and Dougherty USN/USMC pilot wing from. He still had not sold the items from the Vietnam War USN fighter pilot estate. However he told me that he went back to the picker whom he had originally obtained these items from and brought back some documentation and the name of Robert M. Furney whom he felt was the USN fighter pilot. I looked at the below listed certificates and told him that these were from an Army pilot not a Naval pilot. So I made him an offer on the items from the estate and he accepted.

 

 

 

[Tonomachi]

Photos

 

 

[Tonomachi]

Here is a photograph of Colonel Robert M. Furney

 

 

[Tonomachi]

So it wasn't until I got home that I realized the ribbons were Army not Navy yet they came with these two USN/USMC pilot wings.

[Tonomachi]

I had wondered why these USN/USMC pilot wings were both pin back WW2 period pieces which would probably not have been worn by a Vietnam War era fighter pilot. So the only thing I can think of is that these USN/USMC pilot wings must have belonged to a relative. There is the possibility that Army Pilot Colonel Robert M. Furney had a father or grandfather who was a Naval or Marine Corps aviator. I found his obituary and it identifies his father with a different last name of Melvus Hayes. I Googled this name and could not find any matches to any military aviators.

 

 

[rustywings]

Your flea market turned out to be a nice honey hole!

[mghcal]

This is a tough search. I've been looking for awhile and coming up with problems. The father was Melvus Hayes Furney b. Feb 17, 1889 in Kenton Ohio. D. Jan 1966 Oakland MI. As far as military service there isn't much to find besides his registration cards for ww1 and ww2. I can't find his parents names or if he had any brothers that may have been aviators. The next search I tried was for the mother Ella M Lion/Lyon. She lived with her grandparents Junius and Elmira Miles on a farm in Washington Indiana from the time she was a child. It was a very very difficult search but by backtracking through her grandparents cemetery on findagrave I found her parents were Wilbur P Lyon and Ella Miles who died in 1910 and 1906 at the ages of 33 and 28. That's as far as I can go. You might find an early USN officer directory from the 1920s and search for the last names Lyon/Lion/Lyons/Miles/Furney to see if you can find any matches and then backtrack from there.

[Tonomachi]

This is a tough search. I've been looking for awhile and coming up with problems. The father was Melvus Hayes Furney b. Feb 17, 1889 in Kenton Ohio. D. Jan 1966 Oakland MI. As far as military service there isn't much to find besides his registration cards for ww1 and ww2. I can't find his parents names or if he had any brothers that may have been aviators. The next search I tried was for the mother Ella M Lion/Lyon. She lived with her grandparents Junius and Elmira Miles on a farm in Washington Indiana from the time she was a child. It was a very very difficult search but by backtracking through her grandparents cemetery on findagrave I found her parents were Wilbur P Lyon and Ella Miles who died in 1910 and 1906 at the ages of 33 and 28. That's as far as I can go. You might find an early USN officer directory from the 1920s and search for the last names Lyon/Lion/Lyons/Miles/Furney to see if you can find any matches and then backtrack from there.

I appreciate all of your effort to help me try and identify who the aviator relative was.

[Tonomachi]

I picked up these five black and white 8 x 10 photos at the flea market last weekend not knowing or recognizing the name tape of Furney. What are the odds that I would again add to this grouping from a different flea market seller who must have been at the same estate sale as the first flea market seller. These are posed photographs but I was able to make out the pocket hanger giving me his helicopter unit in Vietnam as the 361st Aviation Company (Escort) or the Pink Panthers.