WW2 5th Army jacket Dumpster Find…. NO JOKE! Post your own dumpster trash save stories too

[Polygon]

Where I lived in Moscow was home to a number of many former (and current) senior military officers as well as many other important people. (The apartments consisted of 7 to 8 rooms - a far cry from the 2-3 that was normal for most residents of the city!) Since many of the residents were elderly, I would say that at least twice a month an apartment would get cleaned out, and the contents would get dumped into the dumpsters into the open center square of the apartment building. I would regularly go through the piles of garbage (I can't tell you the hundreds upon hundreds of copies of Stalin's and Lenin's writings I had to move in the dumpsters!) to see what I could find. Most of the uniform stuff I ever found was literally trash - mothed or worn out beyond saving, unfortunately. About the only thing I took back to the US with me was a nice metal toy truck trailer which I had purchased the truck for on an earlier trip. Anyway, the residents thought I was clearly insane... An American was digging through their trash!!!

 

For about three years during the early 90s, I had a GREAT source at a local veteran's nursing home who would hit the dumpsters on his way home from work every day. He brought out PHENOMINAL stuff... experimental flight jackets, tons of personal items to generals, a nice German RAD dagger, the list could go on and on. He told me that he unfortunately missed a lot of the "good" stuff though as other pickers and the local kids would get to the dumpsters before he would and a lot of times take whatever else was there. The only thing that he got that I never could get from him was a nice P.08 Luger that he found in the holster... Unfortunately, he quit his job and moved on, even though we begged him to stay to save this stuff, but it was not to be...

 

Recently, an auction house on eBay had a huge military hat auction. I bought out quite a few, and noticed that they forgot the documents with one of them. So, I contacted them after they had shipped the auction items and enquired about the documents. They told me they'd look for them. A couple days later, they called me up and told me that they found them and had also found a "bunch" of other documents to other hats that had also forgotten to either get packed and/or listed, so if I wanted them, I could have the pile, as they were just going to throw it all out! Granted, it was nothing impressive, but there were some nice photos of admirals, some great letters and the like. And they were just going to chuck it all!

 

Of course, when you look in the big picture though, we lament the tossing of militaria. That's only a TINY part of most estates. What about them throwing out cabinet photos? Baseball cards? Or 1960s snapshots? Or vintage 1970s clothing? There are collectors for just about EVERYTHING out there and it's honestly impossible to sell everything piece by piece for an estate. If something doesn't sell, either to the dumpster or thrift store it goes, and that's just the sad truth of it.

 

Just a few thoughts...

 

Dave

 

It's true that there are numerous collecting fields, although on the flip side, it seems as if people are gradually becoming more cognizant of the value of uniforms, field gear, etc, and selling rather than throwing away. That's not to say people aren't throwing stuff out anymore, it's just that through the media and Hollywood films, average people are realizing the value of certain things (even if they don't necessarily "appreciate" them as we do).

 

Great story though, if I had the opportunity as you did, I would have probably "dumpster dived" quite often.

 

At least when we do catch people in the act of throwing out valuable militaria, we can say, "Their loss, our gain."

 

George

[Jason G]

OK, my story of a couple of years ago. I am a 'notorious' dumpster diver, the wife hates going to the recycle bins with me, because I don't hesitate to go after anything that looks old/promising. I was doing ebay selling pretty heavy at the time, and after dumping my own newspapers, saw a large book on top of one of the piles. Turned out, it was a 1946 book on "Rocket Science", one of the very earliest vol's ever written. I started digging, and came up with about 20 more books of a similiar vein. They went on ebay as a group, and suffice to say, they paid for some nice additions to my own collection.

 

About a year ago, same story..except this time, I was on duty as a police officer. Now, that's never stopped me from going after something good . I saw an old "Life" magazine from the early 60's...well, using the theory "where there is one, there are more" I started digging....ended up filling the entire backseat of my cruiser with "Life/Look/Newsweek/Time" all from the 1960's. I went back the next day with my big F350 pickup, and filled it...TWICE. It was the entire collection of an elderly gentleman who'd probably been a 'packrat' all mint. Almost every issue of Life, Time, and Newsweek from about 1965 until 1972.

 

The stuff is out there to be had, and in my opinion, will only increase as these older veterans pass away, and no one seems to have an interest in "Dead peoples laundry". I've rescued numerous bits of militaria over the years, including a large cache of WWII USAAF instrument parts from an abandoned building that was days away from being burned down, lock/stock and barrell by the local fire dept. My partner at the time on the force, while I was enthralled with some of the gadgetry, dug out of a pile of rags on the ground, a mint NSDAP banner!

[Dave]

My own family had to be stopped from throwing away history, so I could imagine what it must be like for nursing homes and the "care" they have for the material.

 

These are great stories!

 

This one from Ken brought back some memories though. My greatuncle was a USMA grad, and my grandfather had a bunch of photos of when his brother was at the academy in the 30s. He had always kept these in an old metal box in his garage along with a bunch of other family photos. When he finally passed away, the box sat in the garage for what seemed like forever and I figured I'd just let my grandmother do whatever she would with it (I was assuming it was just going to stay in the garage, untouched.)

 

Well, one day my mom came home with a small pile of photos of my uncle at West Point. Some of these had been torn in half. I knew where these were from, and asked my mom why my grandmother had gotten rid of them, and more importantly, why some were torn in half! (Some great pics of my great uncle - torn right through the center!) She proceeded to tell me that she just happened to be visiting her mom and saw that she had brought the metal box in from the garage and was sorting through it. Then my mom noticed that she was taking out all the non-portrait photos, tearing them in half and throwing them away!!! My mom was quite put out and rescued all the rest of my great uncle's photos from the academy as my grandmother didn't see any need in keeping them since they weren't the "nice" photos anyway!

 

And this is in a family where the entire extended family knew that I had a large militaria collection!!!

 

Another story, though it's not quite a dumpster story since the stuff never got there... A young fellow (a TV newscaster, in fact) had a nice day off and decided to clean out the basement of his recently passed away grandmother's house. His grandfather had passed away long before and being that both his grandparents were extreme packrats, he just wanted to start slowly clearing stuff out of the basement.

 

The first things to go were his grandfather's uniforms. He took a couple armloads of uniforms up and put them in his car, and then thought about where he could go to deposit them. He knew of a theater down in town, so he figured he'd stop by there to see if they wanted them before donating them to the Goodwill.

 

His next door neighbor was out doing yardwork on the nice day and noticed the old uniforms in the back of the car. Now the neighbor was a rather savvy fellow and noticed that the uniforms had a 2 inch gold stripe below a 1/2 inch gold stripe on each cuff and he asked the young lad where he was planning to take the good admiral's uniforms. The grandson told him that he didn't really know, but he was going to donate them. "Don't do that," said the neighbor. "I bet I can make you a little money by putting them on eBay." So, the grandson agreed to it.

 

The neighbor listed the pile of uniforms up on eBay, with a good description that noted that the admiral had earned the Navy Cross for his actions as the commanding officer of one of the US ships during the Battle of Leyte Gulf (the Battle off Samar, most specifically)! He noted that in the auction. Yours truly happened to have some free cash and ended up (interestingly enough) buying the uniforms after the auction as there wasn't a bidder during the auction!

 

So, I proudly got these great uniforms to a real hero. But that's not where the story ends. I posted up the uniforms and the biography of this famous admiral (a member of the Surface Navy Association's "Hall of Fame") and about two years later, I got an e-mail entitled "Nice Threads" from my webpage. Turns out that the sender was none other than the grandson who had gone to donate the uniforms!

 

Over the next few years, we corresponded regularly (and still keep in touch to this day). I've been able to visit the house, go through the huge masses of various and sundry things in the admiral's basement, and have added considerable amounts of stuff to his group of uniforms!

 

These uniforms nearly went off to a local theater or the thrift store, but were saved by a curious neighbor, who I obtained them from. They are now the centerpiece of my collection, and the original owner is my personal "hero" for his bravery and valor in the face of certain death. Not only have I been able to appreciate them, but I've also been able to connect with the family, and have been able to really bring more into the group directly from the family.

 

The best part of it all is that if the family ever wanted the uniforms back, they could go back to them in a heartbeat. So, where they once went off to a nameless buyer on eBay rather than to the theater, they have now come back full circle to the family, but in the possession of someone who appreciates them and cares for them daily.

 

I love a happy ending!

 

Dave

[Jason G]

Dave, if I may say so, that is one GREAT story. Well done, sir.

[Brian Dentino]

Vic,

Very true, but in this particular instance, the person I got this stuff from was truly a good person. He wasn't looking to make a buck, he was simply respectful enough to know that it shouldn't be thrown away.

 

He even tried to donate it to a museum for free, but they never called him back. What is sad is that there was a couple other guys looking in the same dumpster, and they thought he was foolish for wasting his time with it.

 

---Chris

 

Sorry fellas, I am still trying to figure out how to use this forum. I love to see these things that are saved from oblivion by those who are dedicated to the preservation and honoring our military history. Nice, nice, and nice. Guess I will have to start checking out more dumpsters from now on!

[Lee Ragan]

About 20 years ago, when I was active in Civil Air Patrol, I came into possesion of a very nice custom made WWII AAF S/Sgt's tunic that was to be thrown away. It had been donated to the local VFW post several years prior, but someone at the VFW thought there was no need to keep it and deposited it in a big cardboard box to be carried out to the dumpster. (The coat had all insignia in place .)

A good friend and fellow CAP member who knew I was a collector, worked part time at the VFW post and found this uniform. He asked why it was going to the trash and was told some story about how they didn't have a need for it. Anyway, I ended up with the uniform at no cost thanks to this friend who had enough sense to save it.

Too bad I don't have access to a scanner or I'd post a photo of the coat. It's one of my favorite pieces in the collection but it almost ended up at the bottom of our city landfill!

[pathfinder505]

I am really enjoying these stories. I think we all have had near misses and then misses so please keep them coming.

[jim2]

About 20 years ago, when I was active in Civil Air Patrol, I came into possesion of a very nice custom made WWII AAF S/Sgt's tunic that was to be thrown away. It had been donated to the local VFW post several years prior, but someone at the VFW thought there was no need to keep it and deposited it in a big cardboard box to be carried out to the dumpster. (The coat had all insignia in place .)

A good friend and fellow CAP member who knew I was a collector, worked part time at the VFW post and found this uniform. He asked why it was going to the trash and was told some story about how they didn't have a need for it. Anyway, I ended up with the uniform at no cost thanks to this friend who had enough sense to save it.

Too bad I don't have access to a scanner or I'd post a photo of the coat. It's one of my favorite pieces in the collection but it almost ended up at the bottom of our city landfill

 

Lee was this featured in a copy of the AAMUC footlocker about 6-7 years ago? If so I remember it, and was amazed that of all places the VFW would discard something like that.

[Lee Ragan]

Lee was this featured in a copy of the AAMUC footlocker about 6-7 years ago? If so I remember it, and was amazed that of all places the VFW would discard something like that.

Yea Jim, that's the one! My buddy also told me that they had a WWII officers Mackinaw short overcaot that was to be thrown away & he was going to get that for me too, but he was too late. It's now buried in the landfill out north of town!

Makes a grown man want to cry sometimes.

[Brig]

whatever happened to honoring our troops who risked it all, and in some cases gave all, for the freedoms we enjoy today?

 

great save. it's a shame people just dump our heritage

[HBT]

I’ve really enjoyed reading all the posts everyone has contributed. As I mentioned in my previous post, I am never opposed to rooting through the trash if there is the chance of finding something interesting!

 

These posts have got me thinking, and one point I’d like to make is that when vets returned from the wars, many of them put it all behind them and got on with their lives. They were proud of what they did, but often their experiences were often intertwined with bad memories. Many chose not to discuss what they did with their families and friends.

 

Speaking from experience, my grandfather’s brother fought in the Pacific, and I have made a few delicate attempts over the years to talk with him about his experiences, but it is apparent that he is not ready to talk about.

 

My great uncle Harold Nelson was in the 82nd Airborne and participated in Operation Varsity. I didn’t know this until somebody mentioned it at my at my grandparent’s 50th anniversary party. I approached Harold and asked him if he was interested in talking with me about WWII. He wasn’t. My grandpa said that Harold never talked about the war with anyone. A year later, I was at a family reunion and Harold remembered me and briefly spoke about a few of his experiences in WWII. He died later that fall.

 

My point in all this is that it may be difficult for families to understand and appreciate the military items belonging to their relatives when they no little or nothing about what their relatives did in the service.

 

---Chris

[HBT]

I just received an envelope from NARA today containing records for CPT Arnold Lempka.

 

Here are some highlights:

 

Served from 06-29-1942 to 01-25-1946

 

He was a medical officer in the 16th Medical Regt through 06-30-1943.

Then:

-Commanding officer of 2nd Platoon 162nd Med Bn (5th Army)

-Jr Officer 162nd Med Bn (5th Army)

-Platoon Commander 162nd Med Bn (5th Army)

-Surgeon 209 AAA GP9 Sta (Comp) (What unit is this?)

 

He received five campaign stars for: Tunisia, Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno, North Apennines, and Po Valley.

 

He also received a bronze arrowhead for the amphibious operations on Salerno 09-09-1943.

 

The general order for his Bronze Star Medal is (GO #84, HQ 5th Army, 3 Jul 45). I did not receive the copy of a citation or General Order I requested.

 

He left Italy for the US on 09-21-1945.

[CNY Militaria]

I have a few more short stories...

 

My father was at an auction getting lots of militaria fot me, and after winning most of it- uniforms, photos, books, etc, he asked the son if he had any other paperwork...he said he had a ton of letters but he threw them away because he didn't think that anyone would want them.

 

 

Another person who found out I collected said that a week earlier, his mother found a german helmet with decals and a german army flag that she threw away at the landfill because she thought that the neighborhood would consider her a "Communist."

 

And this afternoon, while woring at the battalion supply office, the boss said had he known I collected, he wouldn't have thrown away a bunch of "stuff" he had. Mostly Vietnam items and helmets, but he did give me a lot of stuff he still had, including several rare items.

[Jason G]

This is something I pulled from a dumpster at the US Naval Station, Annapolis, while I was stationed there in 1983-85. I got it in 1985.

 

It belonged to VADM Eric Waller, who was Superintendant of the USNA from 83-85. The ribbons are sewn to the breast. The only thing wrong with this is, it's missing a button.

 

 

 

[duarte1223]

Bronze Star Medal is (GO #84, HQ 5th Army, 3 Jul 45). I did not receive the copy of a citation or General Order I requested.

 

I'm sure if you send another request for only the GO, you should get it, because they can release it under the FOIA.

 

Adam

[DaveP]

Here's a quick story. About 18 months ago, I stopped in at a "Moving Sale".

The previous owners had already departed and the new owners were selling some stuff left behind along with some of their stuff as well. I picked up a couple of USAF "Air Commando" related coffee mugs for 50 cents a piece and as I paid, asked if there was anything else military related. He said yeah they threw away some patches as well. Here's what I found in the trash can in the back of the garage...

 

 

By the way, I'm always looking for Vietnam era USAF related patches...will buy or trade for them.

Dave

[bayonetman]

All of us that have collected for awhile probably have had experiences of this type, and I won't go into all of those that have came my way over the last 50 years. But this is not a new phenomenon.

 

Last year a group of dedicated veterans in my area (Parkersburg, WV) finally managed to open a small museum dedicated to area veterans (Veterans Museum of the Mid-Ohio Valley) and they have almost been overwhelmed with donations from families which had uniforms and memorabilia that they simply did not know what to do with, but didn't want to just throw it away. The museum opened just last summer and they are already having to look for a larger facility as they simply don't have the room to display what they have already been given.

[MattOravik]

Hey does anyone on here ever check Goodwill dumpsters? I've never checked any but I had a store clerk tell me that military UNIFORMS are usually just thrown away because it's not something someone will really wear. The shirts and pants they put out cause someone might actually wear them.

 

The rage I had to contain when he told me that and also that he wouldn't set them aside for me instead of in the dumpster.

 

-Matt.

[Polygon]

Veteran hospitals/home might discard uniforms if they do not go immediately to the next of kin. That might be one place to contact and see if they are either willing to let you bring any uniforms home or holding auctions for them.

[General Apathy]

Hi everyone, regarding trash dump finds, here is what a friend of mine over here in England found when he went to his local town dump. Thankfully the person dumping it had set it to one side away from the main pile and he was able to take it away free of charge. It's quite unusual to find all the cable with these cameras, and that carton to the right is an unused roll of WWII film for the camera. ( Lewis )

[Jason G]

Hey does anyone on here ever check Goodwill dumpsters? I've never checked any but I had a store clerk tell me that military UNIFORMS are usually just thrown away because it's not something someone will really wear. The shirts and pants they put out cause someone might actually wear them.

 

The rage I had to contain when he told me that and also that he wouldn't set them aside for me instead of in the dumpster.

 

-Matt.

 

That sounds oh so typical for 'goodwill', which IMO lacks both these days. The trend I've noticed with them is they are trying to be more 'upscale', and thus, "old uniforms" get tossed. That isn't the first time I've heard that particular story.

 

I've attempted to donate decent used kids clothing and been turned away, I no longer use their services.

[srossio]

The "Good Will" stores around my neck of the woods have created a specific antique area within their shops. Some of the employees consider themselves to be antique road show people and thus the prices they have placed on items are beyond upscale antique markets. The last time I was in (summer of 2006) they had priced a Vietnam Era dress jacket, minus insignia, for seventy-five dollars. When I questioned them about this they said that people are willing to pay these prices. This is at Good Will for crying out loud! I will not go back!

 

On the topic of dumpster finds...a friend of mine, who knows I collect military items, rescued a bag full of military photographs from his elderly next door neighbor. He says that she will clean out her house once every four or five months and will usually get rid of some very nice things. When I asked him if she was "O.K" mentally he replied that she is just fine, she just doesn't like old things cluttering up her life. He told me that the photographs were of a cousin of hers, she had recent photographs of him before he died so why keep old ones and she didn't know why anyone would want this junk. Mixed in with the images (that included studio shots and snap shots) was a program from the female baseball league that played in the 1940's and a wonderful early 1900's photograph of a Detroit Tiger (pitcher). I cannot remember his name but I passed him on to my brother-in-law who collects baseball items (you know, pay it forward) and he just could not believe that this was in the trash. It makes me wonder what items are not caught by observant collectors!

[HBT]

I'm sure if you send another request for only the GO, you should get it, because they can release it under the FOIA.

 

Adam

 

Adam,

I will do that. It's been my experience that I get much more info when I make requests for Vietnam vets. I often get copies of award citations and general orders. I have never received an award citation for a WWII vet...

 

---Chris

[HBT]

Hey does anyone on here ever check Goodwill dumpsters? I've never checked any but I had a store clerk tell me that military UNIFORMS are usually just thrown away because it's not something someone will really wear. The shirts and pants they put out cause someone might actually wear them.

 

The rage I had to contain when he told me that and also that he wouldn't set them aside for me instead of in the dumpster.

 

-Matt.

 

Based on my experiences, some thrift shops have/had sorting bins in the back, where the clothes that are not deemed acceptible to be sold on the floor (often uniforms of all types) were saved then sold at bulk price per pound to rag mills. Rag mills sort the clothes then sell them in bulk to 3rd, 4th, 5th world countries. The garments that are not sold are shredded and sold as polishing cloths, shop rags, etc.

 

After 911, I heard from numerous vintage clothing pickers that several thrift shops were no longer putting out military uniforms because they did not want terrorists impersonating US soldiers! I haven't heard if this has changed.

 

I haven't religiously thrifted in years because the yields are no longer worth the time and gas invested, but when I used to thrift hardcore, Halloween was a wonderful time because many of the stores would save military stuff and weird, kooky, vintage stuff all year, then put it out at Halloween for costumes. I would fill shopping carts with stuff, but that was 8-10 years ago and pre ebay...

 

---Chris

[Guest 710ell]

I had lived in Reno and was on hard times I had gotten a call from a friend and he asked if I wanted to make some cash moving stuff from one dumpster that was over filled to another. I told him Hell Yes. So I headed up to the house. In the dumpster was his dad's dress uniforms from Korea and WW2. They were covered in soy sauce. After I was finished I called a good friend to help me get the good stuff out of the dumpster. My friend grabed the uniforms. I at the time had little money. He had more than I. Well he took the uniforms to the cleaners and they are now in his closet.

The best part was he had let us take stuff from the dumpster. We had gone back the next day to look some more. He got pissed and asked for the cash he had paided me back. I gave it back. I had offended Him!

But he was the guy that had thrown his dad's uniforms in the garbage.

People are funny. History gets trown away. The family's don't care about the history.

Well this is one of my many un-important stories.

Norm