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Sgt Leonard's bone wings.


Kilroy56
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These wings were probably bought by John Leonard in an Egyptian Bazaar when the 44th troop carrier squadron was settled at Ismailia, about 60 miles North east of Cairo.

During May 43 the 44th moved to North Africa.

On July 9th (Operation Husky) , the plane piloted by Capt Lawrence D. Lichliter took off for what was assumed to be a milk run but , over the Sicilian coast the aircraft (# 42-23492 ; nose #41) , exploded in mid- air killing the entire crew : F/O Harry R. Pawlowski (CP) , T/Sgt Olin J. Thornburg (CC) and Sgt John M. Leonard (RO).

It was later surmised that the plane was hit by ground fire in one of the parapacks which was carrying ammunition.

The wings were returned to the family with personal belongings.

post-105887-0-86030100-1554390864_thumb.jpg

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skypilot6670

Nice wings. But a sad reminder of the price we pay for freedom. I don’t see any blood vessels (little black lines or dots) in the white of the wings ,so I suspect they are ivory. Beautiful and probably very rare. Thanks for posting. Mike

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Those are some awesome looking wings. Personally, I've not seen one/s like it. Thank you for sharing it on the forum.

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I see these come up for sale occasionally. Were they more commonly associated with/made in North Africa? Or did servicemen bring home wings made from bone or ivory from other parts of the world as well?

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