A gentle reminder about the Spoils of War Section

[gwb123]

The intent of the Spoils of War section is to share items that can be traced back to a specific US GI who brought them home.

 

The story of how it came back and who brought it back is as important as the item itself.

 

The Spoils of War section was never intended to show items that have merely been picked up and added to a collection without any kind of back story. We are not saying these are not interesting items, it is just this is not the place for them. (Continued...)

 

Photo: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:101st_Airborne_Division_-_WW2_01.jpg

 

American paratrooper James Flanagan (2nd Platoon, C Co, 1-502nd PIR), among the first to make successful landings on the continent, holds a Nazi flag captured in a village assault. Marmion Farm at Ravenoville, Utah Beach, France. 6 June 1944

[gwb123]

So for example:

 

Okay: The Walther PPK that your Uncle in the Big Red One brought back in 1946 and sent back to your Aunt in a ration crate.

Not Okay: The Walther PPK that you picked up at the local gunshow without any supporting paperwork.

 

Okay: The VC flag that your father found in an enemy rucksack and had tacked up on the wall of his hooch in 1968.

Not Okay: The VC flag that you bought off of eBay that came without any provenance.

 

Okay: The Japanese helmet your grandfather picked out of the sand at Iwo Jima and had on his fireplace mantel for years.

Not Okay: The Japanese helmet you bought at the antique mall booth without ever talking to the owner.

 

Okay: The Luftwaffe breast eagle that came with a thoroughly documented grouping belonging to SGT Jonathon Wells,

along with his Ike jacket, medals, records and discharge paperwork.

Not Okay: The Luftwaffe breast eagle that you picked up for a great price off of a website specializing in German militaria.

 

If you have a question on something you want to show and are not sure, just drop a line to one of the Moderators.

 

Thanks to everyone for supporting the US Militaria Forum!

 

(Source unknown on this photo..Vietnam era.)

[m151mp]

ok, i got a story for you here. when my brigade was pulled from the nam, oct 70, those of us who were picked to go home with the flags were taken over to the hold baggage warehouse so we could send our stuff home, and travel with only our shaving kit and two spare uniforms. that way our duffel bags would weigh very little, since we would be getting a stateside issue at ft benning in just a couple of days. so we went there with all our stuff, and S2 was there to issue paperwork for war trophies. in the case of quite a few of us, we were brought to hold baggage before we went to supply turn in. most of us were pretty happy to be getting home a few days earlier than expected. i got an 11 day drop, for instance. so when i got to the head of the line, i was horsing around, and took my entire rucksack and dropped it in the crate. the MP tells me, we can't do that---you got ordnance in there. so he pulls out my rucksack, dumps out all the ordnance, and throws it back in the crate. he calls the S2 guy over, and they are both horsing around, we're all in a good mood. the S2 guy then picks up his clipboard and writes out the paperwork for the rucksack. if you ever visit "The Museum of the Forgotten Warriors" near beale afb, look for my rucksack, with the original paperwork, in the first section, on the left back corner.