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WWII Officially Named AAF DFC's and Air Medals to POW's


KASTAUFFER
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Kurt,

Stunning! That is all I can say!

I truly appreciate your sharing these treasures with the rest of us.

Allan

 

 

TREASURES!!!!!

TREASURES!!!!!

TREASURES!!!!!

 

A DREAM collecction!!

 

I need so much one POW group for my collection.

 

Thanks Kurt!! Great references!! thumbsup.gif

 

Best regards,

 

Ricardo.

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  • 4 months later...

Here is a POW DFC Air Medal pair I won today on Ebay

 

This one is unusual. On the General Order his 1st Air Medal was awarded while with the 457th Bomb Group.

 

He was serving as a bombardier with the 392nd Bomb Group when he was shot down and captured 12/2/1944 . His B-24 named " Trips Daily" was shot down by German Aircraft on a mission to Bingen Germany .

 

He must have transferred from one Bomb Group to another. His 1st Air Medal was awarded in March, and he was captured in December. That is also strange for an 8th AAF crewman.

 

Kurt

 

jmt_usairmedalgroup2.jpg

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IMPERIAL QUEST
post-105-1216611186.jpg

 

 

Kurt,

 

I can't make out the "object" after the 2. Is this similiar to one of those examples of artistic license where the engraver placed a dot within the O's??

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Kurt,

 

I can't make out the "object" after the 2. Is this similiar to one of those examples of artistic license where the engraver placed a dot within the O's??

 

Its actually a "D" but a small one at that.

 

Kurt

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IMPERIAL QUEST
Its actually a "D" but a small one at that.

 

Kurt

 

 

Thanks Kurt. Per our previous discussion on a similar liberty taken on a certain Air Medal...was there a set of guidelines that stated the exact format to be used or was there a general format stated? I ask because there seems to be a high number of subtle, but noticeable differences in the way that the rank is expressed on especially Air Medals; I am guessing that because of the much higher number of AM's awarded, the probability of variance is increased as well.

 

 

BTW...super examples. thumbsup.gif

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Thanks Kurt. Per our previous discussion on a similar liberty taken on a certain Air Medal...was there a set of guidelines that stated the exact format to be used or was there a general format stated? I ask because there seems to be a high number of subtle, but noticeable differences in the way that the rank is expressed on especially Air Medals; I am guessing that because of the much higher number of AM's awarded, the probability of variance is increased as well.

BTW...super examples. thumbsup.gif

 

Thanks ! thumbsup.gif

 

Normally the 2nd LT rank on officially named DFCs and AM's is 2ND , but I have seen many examples with just a D and no N. Most of the ones I have to 2nd LT's on this thread say "2D"

 

I think its just an anomolly based on the person who did it rather than as a prescribed formatting issue.

 

Kurt

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Thanks ! thumbsup.gif

 

Normally the 2nd LT rank on officially named DFCs and AM's is 2ND , but I have seen many examples with just a D and no N. Most of the ones I have to 2nd LT's on this thread say "2D"

 

I think its just an anomolly based on the person who did it rather than as a prescribed formatting issue.

 

Kurt

 

 

Hey Kurt !

 

Agreed...I've seen many examples and have a few in my collection where the engraver omitted the 'N' for the rank....I think its just an engravers choice too.

 

Nice pair of medals !!

 

Vic

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Nice grouping, Kurt! I, as well have seen both the "nd" & "d" abbreviations used on 2/Lt Air Medals.

Your man may have been on a second tour when he went down. Maybe he completed 1st tour and volunteered to come back after R&R at home. Maybe ill? Injured? But definitely an intriguing puzzle. Let us know when you solve it as I know you will! thumbsup.gif

Regards.....Bobgee

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Nice grouping, Kurt! I, as well have seen both the "nd" & "d" abbreviations used on 2/Lt Air Medals.

Your man may have been on a second tour when he went down. Maybe he completed 1st tour and volunteered to come back after R&R at home. Maybe ill? Injured? But definitely an intriguing puzzle. Let us know when you solve it as I know you will! thumbsup.gif

Regards.....Bobgee

 

I certainly will try!

 

Here are some of the clues that have me stumped too.

 

There are no OLC's on the Air Medal. The PQMD should have applied them if he had earned them. An AM with no OLC's and a DFC says to me the DFC was for a specific act rather than missions.

 

He earned his AM as a 2nd LT and was still a 2nd LT when shot down 9 months later. If he had completed a tour he would have almost certainly been promoted to 1st LT at some point.

 

Research awaits. I already have the MACR, but there are no clues in it regarding his awards.

 

Kurt

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  • 6 months later...

Excellent Groupings..

 

Do you have any in your collection for the:

 

301st BG (8/12/15th AF)

459th BG (15th AF)

47th BG (12th AF)

 

If you do would you share a photo for any of their websites?

 

Robert

 

----

www.301bg.com

www.459bg.org

www.47bg.com

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  • 1 year later...
I agree 100%. Kurt, I think that any more acquisitions will indeed constitute "greed" on your part. In the US Militaria Collectors Handbook, it clearly states in paragraph 1(a) of the Courtesy section that ..."if fellow collectors are offended because your good fortune, knowledge, and monetary position allows you to obtain an abundance of groupings in your collection that relate to a particular venue, you are obligated to sell a reasonable number of said items to those offended by your hoarding. This will create a more balanced, and harmonious collecting atmosphere..."

 

I look forward to seeing your posts on the e-stand very soon. :thumbsup:

 

 

Oh, I love it! I got to cut and past this one!

:w00t:

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Here is another one!

 

Here is an unusual AAF Air Medal I just acquired . 1st Lt. Braithwaite was captured June 1, 1944 on a mission to France with 622 Squadron. He was the pilot of an Avro Lancaster number LL782. The rest of the crew were members of the RAF. He was captured, however one of the crew evaded. He was sent to Stalag Luft III and eventually was liberated from Stalag 7A.

 

brath.jpg

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I discussed this group here but I decided to tack it on to this thread too:

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...t=0&start=0

 

This is a VERY scarce officially engraved ( Yes even with the date ) DFC . It is numbered 692 on the edge.

 

The earliest of WWII AAF DFCs were engraved with the date as well and Rank/Name/AC .

 

The date on the medal is the date of the General Order.

 

His Air Medal is numbered 2660 . This is from the earliest numbered contract based on the small size of the numbers.

 

He was a member of the 98th Bomb Grgoup. On December 11, 1942 the crew of the B-24 "Natchez to Mobile" , took off to attack shipping in the harbor at Naples. They were met by Italian fighters and were shot down, crash landing in the water. Armando and another crewman were wounded and three others lost their lives.

 

The Navigator on the crew was a man named David W. Westheimer. He became famous for writing the book " Von Ryan's Express " which was later made into a movie. Much of that book was based on Westheimer's experiences as a POW of the Italians during WWII.

 

The crew stayed together for about a week until they were sent to POW camps. Armando and another crewman were sent to an Italian military hospital. Where he went after that is still a question I have. His nephew stated that he spent a couple years in caves in Italy, which is possible. When Italy capitulated, a large number of the POWs fled and hid out in the hills until the Americans arrived. The German's controlled much of Italy from that time in 1943 until the war was over.

 

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post_105_1275068918.jpg

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  • 5 months later...
willieg1964

This is an absolutely fascinating thread and one that is a little personal for me.

 

I've often wondered what happened to the PH that would have been awarded to my uncle posthumously (see signature below) and given to my family. There is no trace of it being in my families posession now.

 

I've also wondered whether he was awarded the AM posthumously. He was on his 5th mission when he was shot down on May 8, 1944. Since the 8th AF awarded the AM for completing 5 missions would this have merited that award?

 

I did manage to see and hold his dog tags which are in the KU file at the National Archives in College Park, MD. Unfortunately, their policy is that they will not release dog tags to family members. So for me it is a case of "so close, yet so far" concerning those.

 

Thanks so much for this thread.

 

Bill

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  • 5 weeks later...

Kastauffer,

 

My dad was in the 455th, 741st squad. This would have been a different squad because around this date my dad was on a mission over Genoa. The next one he may have been on because he was over Ploesti oil fields (which about every 3rd mission was Ploesti). My dad's diary from WWII tells of ships going down and the fact he knew some of the guys on those ship.

 

Very interesting stuff you posted.

 

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post-105-1192060562.jpg

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  • 1 year later...

I added the following 2 in a different category, but they actually fit better in this thread........


Lt. Col Warford C.O. 309th Fighter Squadron. 8 Victory Ace. POW held in Stalag Luft 3

1.post-2901-0-75347600-1399757201.jpg

 

2.post-2901-0-46424500-1399757208.jpg

 

3.post-2901-0-31911000-1399757216.jpg

 

4.post-2901-0-65908300-1399757223.jpg

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