BrianS Posted January 4, 2015 Share #1 Posted January 4, 2015 When my Father passed away, Mom entrusted these to me. She told me that they were from Dad's stay on Tinian, one of the men their used scrap metal from the wrecks of planes to make these medallions. Mom told me that Dad wore them for a long time, finally put them away. I had never seen them. ANYWAY! These were made as souvenirs for Airman of the 20th Air Force, maybe specific to the 462nd that my Dad was in. There are certainly more like it out there, as it looks like it was someone's hobby to make them and give them away. If anyone else has seen them, would appreciate the information. 20th AF B29 medallions 20th AF B29 medallions Tinian Medallion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USCapturephotos Posted January 4, 2015 Share #2 Posted January 4, 2015 Wow. I have looked at many GI souvenir items but have never seen the likes of those before. You are probably correct that there are most likely more out there somewhere that other GI's brought home. Thanks for sharing. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDK Posted January 5, 2015 Share #3 Posted January 5, 2015 Very neat! These are super cool bring backs. JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V42 Posted June 27, 2015 Share #4 Posted June 27, 2015 There were a lot of different styles of souvenirs that were made out of aircraft parts and brought back by the GI's from the Pacific area. All are unique in their own right as is yours. Thanks for showing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMPETE Posted August 5, 2015 Share #5 Posted August 5, 2015 Just seeing this. Congrats on a nice keepsake of your father's service. The pictorial work on those is particularly nice. Tough to say without seeing backside, but looks like those could be part of a watchband? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katieony Posted August 5, 2015 Share #6 Posted August 5, 2015 Really unique souvenirs! Thanks for posting. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted August 5, 2015 Share #7 Posted August 5, 2015 Tough to say without seeing backside, but looks like those could be part of a watchband? Exactly my thought too...they look like "keepers" (or whatever the term is) from a watchband. The holes would be where the rivets were for the watchband itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMPETE Posted August 5, 2015 Share #8 Posted August 5, 2015 Exactly my thought too...they look like "keepers" (or whatever the term is) from a watchband. The holes would be where the rivets were for the watchband itself. Thats it Dave. Rivetted to an aluminum cuff bracelet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted August 5, 2015 Share #9 Posted August 5, 2015 Here's one I owned, probably 15+ years ago... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMPETE Posted August 5, 2015 Share #10 Posted August 5, 2015 Nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottiques Posted August 6, 2015 Share #11 Posted August 6, 2015 Here is an aluminum trench art bracelet from Tinian and the 509th "Bomb Group"-- officially designated the "Composite Group" and responsible for the delivery of the Atomic bombs that ended the War. The style is very similar to yours. I have seen another one like mine. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMPETE Posted August 7, 2015 Share #12 Posted August 7, 2015 That's a nice one Scott. Can you post a pic that shows the front with that Torii gate...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMPETE Posted August 7, 2015 Share #13 Posted August 7, 2015 Oops- I see you did already. For some reason it didn't load when I first looked. Disregard.... Not sure I have ever seen one showing a torii gate like that. There was a concrete one on Saipan. May have provided inspiration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianS Posted June 27, 2016 Author Share #14 Posted June 27, 2016 Thankyou for posting these images, nice to see that others have more of these artifacts. I never saw my Dad wear these- or show them to any of the kids. My Mon knew exactly where he kept them, for when they would be passed down. The one bracelet that he wore when I was a kid was given to him by one of his High School students in the 1950s; was made from the instrument panel of an ME-109. The students Father was in the Luftwaffe, came to the US after the war. It's at the bottom of Lake Robin at Calloway Gardens, Dad lost it while swimming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomP Posted June 28, 2016 Share #15 Posted June 28, 2016 Thanks for sharing! My Grandfather was on Tinian with the 40th BG, but didn't bring anything like that back. Anything from Tinian, particularly Japanese items, is rare. There just doesn't seem to be much out there. Thanks again, very nice pieces of history. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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