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Pictures of wings and pretty girls


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Championhilz

Here's a beautiful color shot of Lawrence A. McGough with his mother and father - McGough was from Highlands, New Jersey, and served in the 2nd Bomb Group:

 

Highlands86.jpg

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Next, a really handsome photo of an AAF Major and his wife. Looks like he had both PTO and ETO service, and ended up with an Air Medal for his trouble...

Looks like he's wearing a Navigator wing and if so, as a major, he would most likely have been an instructor or maybe a squadron or group lead. However, the lack of a DFC would in my mind eliminate him from having flown combat assignments as most of the DFCs were awarded upon completion of a full combat tour. I think the majority of navigators on the line were kids fresh out of the Cadet programs like my father. Dad moved to England and started flying his missions as a 2Lt during Jan '44 and finished his 50th about 14-months later as a Capt. flying as a lead and he was younger than this man.

 

PS

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Found one other interesting picture. I suspect that this is one taken in England. A 50 mission cap, silk scarf, A2 jacket and a cold stare. Big difference from his earlier photos and this wedding photos!

 

I think he's name was Clyde Jr. That is the only thing written anywere. Darn!

Patrick, a belated comment on your post #47 and the 3 posts previous to it...a terrific group and worthy of trying to find a name to go with the pictures. I have one before/after picture of my father that tells a similar story--the eagerness before deployment and the weariness later or afterward.

 

 

PS

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This is another favorite of mine. This is one of those "souvenir"photographs from the Streets of Paris Nightclub--Hollywood's hot night spot! This fella is having a VERY good night but I think he is clearly facing an ace and may end up in trouble.

Another belated comment...there is no question the lad is facing an Ace (post #5).

 

As to finding so many unidentified pictures, one problem I've noted in my own family accumulations is with the duplicates. You can take time to properly id a picture, then find several duplicates in subsequent piles. Do you id them also, or maybe discarding the duplicates would go further toward reducing later confusion...or, do many folks in the present really consider demystifying things for the benefit of the future? Kind of tricky, isn't it?

 

PS

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  • 2 weeks later...
flight helmets 522
Here are two I've come across at flea markets in Northern California. I have no idea who they are. The one getting married is wearing a bombardier wing and the colorized one is wearing observer wings.

 

 

Great photos...I have my Grandfather's wings,(he was a B-25 pilot) as well as photos of him, wearing them. Alson photos of him and my Grandma.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 2 months later...

I wanted to share another, rather more tragic photograph. This is a picture of Lt. Edward "Murphy" Wallerstein and (I believe) his wife Rose. Lt Wallerstein was a B26 bombardier in the 450th BS, 322nd BG who was KIA in the Netherlands. He was flying in a B26 named War Eagle. I suspect that he was an actor before the war, but have found little to support that in my initial research.

 

From the American Battle Monuments Commission:

Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Forces

 

Service # O-746774

 

450th Bomber Squadron, 322nd Bomber Group, Medium

 

Entered the Service from: Missouri

Died: 23-Feb-45

Buried at: Plot M Row 16 Grave 3

Netherlands American Cemetery

Margraten, Netherlands

Awards: Air Medal with 8 Oak Leaf Clusters

 

I did some more research on Lt Wallerstein, and found that this lovely young Dutch woman had adopted his grave:

 

http://www.fallennotforgotten.nl/Caretaker00005.htm

 

I had the opportunity to visit the Netherlands a few years ago as part of a scientific conference. One night, a number of us Americans were talking to some of our Dutch hosts, and I mentioned I wanted to visit Arnham and Nijmegen. Sadly, the other Americans had no idea why I wanted to go there (to my shame, most wanted to go to Amsterdam to visit the pot bars), but the Dutch were so excited when they learned of my interest in WWII and offered to show me around--they have yet to forget what WWII was like. Sadly, I couldn't take them up on their offer, but I have to say they were the nicest people I met while in Europe.

 

BTW, it looks like his wings are the Amcraft pattern bombardier wings.

Patrick

post-1519-1298440915.jpg

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I found this picture at the flea market, but unlike most of the unnamed pictures I find, this one was also with some of Lt Wallerstein's other paperwork. Here is his diploma from Kirtland Field Army Air Forces Bombardier School.

post-1519-1298441169.jpg

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Great stuff, Patrick!! We get so caught up in rarity of this pattern or that pattern of wing that we sometimes forget what these wings actually represent. My favorite wings are the wings that I have that are attributed to the men who actually wore them as pilots, navigators, bombardiers, and gunners and it is interesting to note that all of my attributed wings are basic graduation wings except for one 3rd pattern Luxenberg.

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Another very nice swapmeet find Patrick!

 

So, Monday thru Friday you are "Doctor Frost"....then on the weekends, you transform into "Patrick The Picker!"

 

Militaria folklore in the making!

 

Thanks for posting buddy...

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Ricardo, you raise a good point. I saw that and some of the ribbons are ????

 

The photo is not named, but it was paper clipped to the diploma and a couple of Wallerstein's other paperwork (including his diploma and discharge papers when he was commissioned). From NARA and his diploma and other paperwork on hand, I know"

 

Edward Wallerstein was born in 1923, was an actor (according to his NARA records), enlisted from Missouri on May 13, 1941.

 

ARMY SERIAL NUMBER 17029532 17029532

NAME WALLTERSTEIN#EDWARD##### WALLTERSTEIN#EDWARD#####

RESIDENCE: STATE 75 MISSOURI

RESIDENCE: COUNTY 191 ST LOUIS CITY

PLACE OF ENLISTMENT 7545 JEFFERSON BARRACKS MISSOURI

DATE OF ENLISTMENT DAY 13 13

DATE OF ENLISTMENT MONTH 05 05

DATE OF ENLISTMENT YEAR 41 41

GRADE: ALPHA DESIGNATION PVT# Private

GRADE: CODE 8 Private

BRANCH: ALPHA DESIGNATION AC# Air Corps

BRANCH: CODE 20 Air Corps

FIELD USE AS DESIRED # #

TERM OF ENLISTMENT 0 Undefined Code

LONGEVITY ### ###

SOURCE OF ARMY PERSONNEL 0 Civil Life

NATIVITY 75 MISSOURI

YEAR OF BIRTH 23 23

RACE AND CITIZENSHIP 1 White, citizen

EDUCATION 4 4 years of high school

CIVILIAN OCCUPATION 002 Actors and actresses

MARITAL STATUS 6 Single, without dependents

COMPONENT OF THE ARMY 1 Regular Army (including Officers, Nurses, Warrant Officers, and Enlisted Men)

 

How many Lt. Edward Wallerstein from Missouri who were bombardiers in the 8th AAF in WWII? And were actors in private life? At the very least, I am pretty sure the paperwork I have is from the KIA Wallerstein.

 

So the major question is does the photo go with the paperwork? Frankly, I think they do, they came out of a box of "crap" under a table in a flea market, where paper clipped together with a bunch of other paper relating to this same man. I muck around in enough boxes to get a feeling that stuff sometimes get mixed up but other times you get a feeling that stuff belongs together--this stuff all seem to belong together.

 

I agree, the ribbons don't match up and suggest it is a post war picture. Its hard to argue otherwise, that is for sure. I just don't know, maybe it isn't a WWII victory ribbon :think: ? Maybe it was a picture of friends of Wallerstein? Of course, I will need to do more research on the photo, the next step will be to find a Kirtland Bombardier school yearbook and see if I can match up the photo to the name.

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Whatever the ribbon is, it doesn't matter for this discussion. The 322nd Bomb Group (Medium) was with the 9th Air Force after 1943 and the handsome gentleman is clearly wearing an 8th Air Force patch. From the B-26 Web site:

 

 

322nd Bombardment Group

 

Constituted as 322nd Bombardment Group (Medium) on 19 Jun 1942. Activated on 17 Jul 1942. Trained with B-26 aircraft. Part of the group moved overseas, Nov-Dec 1942; planes and crews followed, Mar-Apr 1943. Operated with Eighth AF until assignment to Ninth in Oct 1943. Served in combat, May 1943-Apr 1945, operating from England, France, and Belgium. Began combat on 14 May when it dispatched 12 planes for a minimum-level attack on a power plant in Holland. Sent 11 planes on a similar mission three days later: one returned early; the others, with 60 crewmen, were lost to flak and interceptors. Trained for medium-altitude operations for several weeks and resumed combat on 17 Jul 1943. Received a DUC for the period 14 May 1943- 24 Jul 1944, during which its combat performance helped to prove the effectiveness of the medium bombers. Enemy airfields in France, Belgium, and Holland provided the principal targets from Jul 1943 through Feb 1944, but the group also attacked power stations, shipyards, construction works, marshalling yards, and other targets. Beginning in Mar the 322nd bombed railroad and highway bridges, oil tanks, and missile sites in preparation for the invasion of Normandy; on 6 Jun 1944 it hit coastal defenses and gun batteries; afterward, during the Normandy campaign, it pounded fuel and ammunition dumps, bridges, and road junctions. Supported the Allied offensive at Caen and the breakthrough at St Lo in Jul. Aided the drive of Third Army across France in Aug and Sep. Bombed bridges, road junctions, defended villages, and ordnance depots in the assault on the Siegfried Line, Oct-Dec 1944. Flew a number of missions against railroad bridges during the Battle of the Bulge, Dec 1944-Jan 1945. Then concentrated on communications, marshalling yards, bridges, and fuel dumps until its last mission on 24 Apr 1945. Moved to Germany in Jun 1945. Engaged in inventorying and disassembling German Air Force equipment and facilities. Returned to the US, Nov-Dec 1945. Inactivated on 15 Dec 1945.

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I think this group actually served with the 8th AAF first but...

 

the more I mull this over, the more I think the photo is not of Wallerstein, and so doesn't match the paperwork. I just can't make it work--it must be someone else ( I recall the old saying, "who you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?").

 

Here is some more information vis a vis Wallerstein. Ironically, his wife lived in Hollywood, the paperwork came out of the Los Angeles area, and the photo was taken in a Santa Monica Studio.

post-1519-1298523765.jpeg

post-1519-1298523807.jpeg

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I think you are probably right, Patrick. From what I have found, the 322nd BG was operating in the Ruhr area of Germany in Feb. 1945.

 

I have a couple of visor hats and some original pictures of a Navigator/Bombardier who actually flew 7 missions on Flak Bait of the 322nd. He has a gorgeous Belgian made Ike, his medals, and 4 wings but I just don't have the nerve to ask him for them. He offered me the hats and pictures and also gave me a piece of German Flak that crashed into his plane and nearly killed him. I just hope some clueless relative doesn't send this stuff to the landfill some day. He sold his A-2 flight jacket to a kid 20 years ago for $10 at a yard sale. :crying:

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  • 2 weeks later...
Those silver wings were still working their magic in 1946 when this picture was taken.

 

I don't know, he looks a little shell shocked!

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