rustywings Posted September 18, 2015 Share #1 Posted September 18, 2015 While in Dayton last week for the ASMIC Convention, I got to visit the National USAF Museum and see some of the best aviation displays and exhibits this Country has to offer. I thought some of you might like a peek at the General Billy Mitchell display which included two of his USAS uniform coats with bullion Pilot wings. (I had to snap these images through the glass case, so the resolution is poor.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustywings Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share #2 Posted September 18, 2015 Closer image: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustywings Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share #3 Posted September 18, 2015 Closer: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustywings Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share #4 Posted September 18, 2015 Second uniform: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutiger83 Posted September 18, 2015 Share #5 Posted September 18, 2015 Beautiful....Simply beautiful.....Kat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustywings Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share #6 Posted September 18, 2015 Thank you Kat... One more: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutiger83 Posted September 18, 2015 Share #7 Posted September 18, 2015 I love the bullion collar insignia as much as I do the wings. ...Kat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doinworkinvans Posted September 18, 2015 Share #8 Posted September 18, 2015 Good gracious - what a beautiful display. Can someone tell what the ribbons are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDK Posted September 18, 2015 Share #9 Posted September 18, 2015 Very nice Russ. Thanks for sharing the photos! JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffP Posted September 18, 2015 Share #10 Posted September 18, 2015 Russ, thank you for posting those wonderful pictures. Here are two official portraits of General Mitchell wearing one of his uniforms. I suppose it may even be possible that it is the same uniform seen on the far of the first photo at the top of his thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irish Posted September 19, 2015 Share #11 Posted September 19, 2015 Very nice Russ, thanks for posting. Hope your road trip is going well. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawk3370 Posted September 19, 2015 Share #12 Posted September 19, 2015 I noticed that the bullion wing with the star applied separate above the wing, the star is upside down (point down). Rickenbacker's uniform on display in Washington has the same star upside down. Often wondered about that. Any of you guys know why they were wearing them this way? Perhaps Cliff has run upon the answer to this somewhere in his travels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bschwartz Posted September 19, 2015 Share #13 Posted September 19, 2015 Beautiful shots Russ. Thanks for sharing. Those are amazing historical items. As many of you know I live in Wisconsin and the Milwaukee airport is named after Mitchell. He grew up here and is buried here. The airport has (or had, I haven't been there in a long time so I'm not 100% positive it's still there) a small museum to Mitchell and it had some very nice items but nothing of this caliber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT247 Posted September 19, 2015 Share #14 Posted September 19, 2015 The last time i was there, around July 4, it was still there. Great groupings, I know they had his medals there along with other personal effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustywings Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share #15 Posted September 19, 2015 Good gracious - what a beautiful display. Can someone tell what the ribbons are? According to Wikipedia, here's a break-down of the medals and decorations General Mitchell received: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustywings Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share #16 Posted September 19, 2015 Russ, thank you for posting those wonderful pictures. Here are two official portraits of General Mitchell wearing one of his uniforms. I suppose it may even be possible that it is the same uniform seen on the far of the first photo at the top of his thread. Thank you Cliff. If anyone can add substance and meaning to a thread, it is you Sir! Here's a few more images for comparison. It looks like the General had a nice assortment of badges over his career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustywings Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share #17 Posted September 19, 2015 Very nice Russ, thanks for posting. Hope your road trip is going well. Jack Hello Jack (aka: "lower case" irish!), It was a real pleasure being set-up next to you at the ASMIC! I had a terrific road trip in both directions and successfully checked-off many museums from my bucket list including: The Weisbrod Aircraft Museum, in Pueblo; The National World War I Museum, in Kansas City; The Indiana Military Museum, in Vincennes; The Indiana War Memorial Museum, in Indianapolis; The National Museum of the USAF, in Dayton; The Truman Presidential Library, in Independence; and The Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum, in Abilene. Every one of them distinctly different and well worth my time! I hope to see you at next year's ASMIC Convention in Portland... Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustywings Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share #18 Posted September 19, 2015 I noticed that the bullion wing with the star applied separate above the wing, the star is upside down (point down). Rickenbacker's uniform on display in Washington has the same star upside down. Often wondered about that. Any of you guys know why they were wearing them this way? Perhaps Cliff has run upon the answer to this somewhere in his travels. I agree with you Terry. I've noticed that star discrepancy on several other USAS Pilot images as well. Here's an image of Eddie Rickenbacker's uniform with the inverted star which you described: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenchbuff Posted September 19, 2015 Share #19 Posted September 19, 2015 Awesome photos Russ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doinworkinvans Posted September 19, 2015 Share #20 Posted September 19, 2015 Could look at these all day. Such beautiful uniforms. Why did he have so many Italy awards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustywings Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share #21 Posted September 19, 2015 Beautiful shots Russ. Thanks for sharing. Those are amazing historical items. As many of you know I live in Wisconsin and the Milwaukee airport is named after Mitchell. He grew up here and is buried here. The airport has (or had, I haven't been there in a long time so I'm not 100% positive it's still there) a small museum to Mitchell and it had some very nice items but nothing of this caliber. Hey Bob, thank you for the additional info. In reading several articles earlier today, I learned Billy Mitchell's father was a prominent Senator from Wisconsin... and his grandfather was heavily involved in Wisconsin railroads and banking... and considered to be the richest man in that area of the country during Billy's informative years. His family's estate encompassed most of present day West Allis, Wisconsin. I wonder if any of Billy Mitchell's descendants still play important roles in the Milwaukee area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bschwartz Posted September 20, 2015 Share #22 Posted September 20, 2015 You know, I'm not sure about that. I was born in West Allis and that's where my parents lived until their 30s. We moved to Madison, where I currently live, when I was ten. I didn't become a WW2 aviation buff until around 12 so I just missed out on being interested and close enough to research all of Mitchell's history in the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1SG_1st_Cav Posted September 20, 2015 Share #23 Posted September 20, 2015 Awesome pictures and uniforms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katieony Posted September 23, 2015 Share #24 Posted September 23, 2015 Wow, thank you for sharing the images of his uniforms. The museum is a must see! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffP Posted September 27, 2015 Share #25 Posted September 27, 2015 Russ, here is a very nice group photo of Billy Mitchell's medals. Cliff PS: To see more detail just click the photo two times to enlarge it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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