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Personalized WW2 Knife


hunterman
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I picked up this knife recently. It appears in Wright’s book Theater Made Military Knives of World War II. On one side the blade is inscribed “John William Conley, 34880293, UNITED STATES ARMY” and on the other side “FROM DAD TO JOHN, REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR”. The seller said he had no luck researching the name. Here is what I found.

Records show John W. Conley was born March 5, 1925 , in the Chattanooga, Tennessee area. On July 16, 1943, at the age of eighteen, he enlisted in the Army at nearby Fort Oglethorpe in Georgia. PFC John W. Conley, service number 34880293, was a member of the Anti-Tank Company, 134th Infantry, 35 Division of the U.S. Army. His name appears on the role of the First Platoon at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey prior to leaving the United States for Europe. On May 11, 1944, he departed New York on Navy transport USS General A. E. Anderson, arriving in England May 25. His Anti-Tank Company was billeted in the town of Lands’ End from May 26 until July 1, 1944. From July 1 – 4, the 134th Infantry traveled to various staging areas where they boarded ships, eventually crossing the English Channel and arriving on Omaha Beach July 5 - 6.

From Omaha Beach, the 134th advanced across France and was in position to take the German town of Habkirchen in early December. The town was secured but American losses were high and its resulting positions we thinly held. During a strong counterattack by German infantry and tanks on December 20, 1944 some American positions were overrun. During this counterattack, 19-year old PFC John W. Conley was killed in action. His grave marker is in Rock Spring, Georgia.

 

I'd appreciate any information about the knife - maker, blade material, etc.

 

 

 

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Nice knife, but I am even more impressed with your research and the resulting story. That is indeed a "keeper" and should have a prize place in your collection even without any further info about the maker.

Congrats on a great find.

 

Art

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  • 3 weeks later...

Here is an update. A family member of the young soldier saw this post and contacted me. In a few days, this family heirloom that had been lost for over 40 years, will join the other items (see picture) that memorialize the sacrifice of this young man and his family. An amazing story in which I am grateful to have played a small part. (By the way, the father was a foundry metallurgist and may have been the maker of the knife).

 

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Excellent end to a great search. I have a western L71 that is enscribed Bob Norris, from Los Gatos CA. It even has his address etched in the blade. Need to chase it down...

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What a great story!

Acquiring an ID'd knife and then documenting its' history so completely is as good as it gets in my book.

 

Thanks for sharing,

 

Kim

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Thanks, everyone. The family member who contacted me is a Boy Scout leader. He was developing a brief inspirational Veteran's Day talk for his troop and was going to tell about his Uncle John Conley. When he couldn't remember the date of birth, he used Google and this post came up near the top of the search list. The coincident timing of the post, his inspirational message, and his search are remarkable. I knew when I saw the framed Purple Heart I had to give up the knife.

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