WIA 82nd Airborne Grouping - D-Day, Market Garden, Sicily, Italy, Korea, Vietnam

[zad82nd]

Sir,

 

Please send me a PM. ASAP. There are storm clouds brewing....

 

v/r

 

Jim

[Timberwolf]

Sir,

 

Please send me a PM. ASAP. There are storm clouds brewing....

 

v/r

 

Jim

 

What?....

[zad82nd]

Directed to stealthytyler.

[stealthytyler]

Sir,

 

Please send me a PM. ASAP. There are storm clouds brewing....

 

v/r

 

Jim

 

??? I responded to your PM.

[stealthytyler]

Ok, big news, and I am quite disappointed. This following message comes from zad82nd:

 

The uniforms were assembled for a display in the INSCOM Headquarters building on Ft. Belvoir, VA. Not a Museum.

The helmet, boots, sweater and the A2 leather jacket were/are not his either. The A2 was assembled for the display. New made leather name tap added as well. A very good friend of mine worked at INSCOM and assembled the uniforms and built the displays.

[stealthytyler]

Another update from zad82nd:

 

The individual who recreated the uniforms used period insignia. The helmet wasn't with the INSCOM display, that was added by the seller from Texas. My friend sold the uniforms and photos to the seller/collector in Texas. Im fairly certain the Texas individual added the helmet to the grouping .

[stealthytyler]

I bought this group from an Ebay seller from Texas. So, it is fair to say that he sold me these items knowing that he was scamming me. I guess that is all for now.

[doyler]

Have to say I'm not surprised...never liked the "group" from the second it was displayed.....

[stealthytyler]

Have to say I'm not surprised...never liked the "group" from the second it was displayed.....

What was the dead giveaway for you Doyler?

[manayunkman]

Where did the guidon come from?

 

The way I looked at it was sum of parts (due to lack of ID in any of the key pieces) plus attributed papers & photos.

 

A loose grouping at best.

 

Very sorry to hear this latest news.

 

How long ago did this transaction take place?

 

I would call eBay as you have, it seams, rock solid proof of lack of candor.

 

What was the connection between the museum and the eBay seller?

[doyler]

What was the dead giveaway for you Doyler?

 

Just that inner voice,,,then it looked to generic.Nothing named or numbered...which isn't a deal killer but an early 4 pocket with no name,no caps named or numbered.Not one piece with any significant identification.I have items that are not named but have gotten them right from the vet.I also have a 506th group where the vet I got it from number doesn't match any inked info in the items but "the story" is the key as to why he had others clothing.Plus his discharge states 513th and if you didn't know him or know why he was transferred the set/stuff don't make sense so the "story" people often disclaim really explains a lot.

 

the enlisted cap looked more post war than the early low crown overseas caps.Granted many enlisted bought custom caps(officers quality even) and the more pointed were worn end of war but this one just looked post war or Korea era by the pictures.

 

THe helmet net was added for sure.These nets have been for sale for years.I have a few myself and many on the market most likely came from a guy I know who cut up a huge army surplus net he found.Just none of it really blended to me and the little voices said "not so much".

 

Im wrong a lot.But tend to listen to the voices......

[stealthytyler]

The friend of the guy that made this display said the flag, photos and docs came from the vets family. The rest was put together. I plan to contact the man himself that created this display just in case there are other items I have that actually did come from the veterans family.

[nirvana]

For what it's worth, that's not an original GI guidon either IMO. Someone made it or had it made, but it certainly didn't come from the army. This means something to some collectors, myself included, but others are more flexible on the matter.

[stealthytyler]

For what it's worth, that's not an original GI guidon either IMO. Someone made it or had it made, but it certainly didn't come from the army. This means something to some collectors, myself included, but others are more flexible on the matter.

 

Thanks for the comment. I spoke to the man that put this display together today and he told me that the flag, photos and documents came directly from the veterans family. It is pretty worn and tattered. I am no expert on these flags...thats all I can tell you.

[nirvana]

No prob. It's very possible (likely I think) that the guidon is a period piece, in that the original unit flag was lost or destroyed and they had a replacement made. On the other hand, it could have been a presentation piece that was given to him at some point. But I would be comfortable saying its from the correct era.

 

The story here is a rough one, I'm sorry that this happened. The choice is yours of course, but I'd be pursuing that Texas dealer...

[manayunkman]

Guidons usually have sleeves with a leather attaching loop inside the sleeve.

 

What do the insides of the sleeves look like?

[stealthytyler]

Here are some closeups. Like i said, the display coordinator said the flag came from the veterans family as did the photos and documents.

 

[stealthytyler]

[stealthytyler]

[manayunkman]

Could it be German made?

[manayunkman]

The material is not the usual material you see.

 

That HBT looks German.

[nirvana]

It's weird. The pole sleeve looks good, but the font and and emblem look wrong. Like a blank flag had custom applied stuff. Is there a QM tag in the sleeve?

[nirvana]

See the difference in the artillery shells in the middle? Letter size, font. These are tagged GI flags, standard pattern.

[manayunkman]

Now I know what was bothering me.

 

It's red and white not yellow.

[manayunkman]

Run a black light over it and check the thread that holds the applique.