mdk0911 Posted November 23, 2019 Share #1 Posted November 23, 2019 check out this auction for Pearl Harbor Life Ring from U.S.S. Arizona, All Original and Unrestored https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/pearl-harbor-life-ring-from-u.s.s.-arizona-all-o-56e4741bb8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted November 23, 2019 Share #2 Posted November 23, 2019 Found in a rubble pile in the 1970's....thirty years or so after the attack? I'm skeptical of that story on a number of levels. If it had been exposed to the elements in Hawaii for that long it should show some fading, wear and tear, let alone if it had been blown off the side of the ship or been floating in the oil soaked waters after the attack. If it is true to the time period, I suspect it was a decorative item for some Navy social function. It could even have been a wall hanger in a bar. Either that or it was purloined by a souvenir hunter (or drunken sailor) prior to the attack. Even if it had ended up in a rubble pile, undamaged by the debris around it, is it credible that no one noticed it in 30 some years? Nostalgia and reverence for the USS Arizona goes all the way back to WWII and surely someone would have grabbed it. As the saying goes, buy the item, not the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yp221 Posted November 23, 2019 Share #3 Posted November 23, 2019 I thought the Arizona's life preserver's were marked simply "ARIZ" (like the ship's boats). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yp221 Posted November 23, 2019 Share #4 Posted November 23, 2019 Since this has my curiosity, I looked through a few of my references on the Arizona. I was wrong in the above post, couldn't find any life preserver's marked ARIZ. But I did find a few pics of different styles of markings from the early 30s to 1939.. None of which look like the one in the auction. Early 30s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yp221 Posted November 23, 2019 Share #5 Posted November 23, 2019 1939 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29navy Posted November 25, 2019 Share #6 Posted November 25, 2019 My guess is that it is a prop from the "full size" scale model of the Arizona used in the Movie "Tora Tora Tora". I mean, a rubble pile in Hawaii in the 1970s? Think about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirMechanic Posted November 26, 2019 Share #7 Posted November 26, 2019 When looking at it for the first time, I noticed rather immediately that there was a brighter white hue around the lettering. I find this to be unusual and a bit suspicious. I also noticed that the lettering seems to be quite intact compared to the cracked white paint surrounding much of it. Im not an expert on vintage paint and how it ages, so perhaps my observations are actual normal from something purportedly to be an original vintage artifact. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wharfmaster Posted November 27, 2019 Share #8 Posted November 27, 2019 The Arizona probably lost a number of Life Rings over the side between 1915 and 1941, for a number of reasons. Wharf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerialbridge Posted November 28, 2019 Share #9 Posted November 28, 2019 Posted Today, 09:53 AM The Arizona probably lost a number of Life Rings over the side between 1915 and 1941, for a number of reasons. Gee, WM, that life ring looks a lot like the one my great-uncle saw fall over the side of Arizona while he was at his 5 inch gun in 1918. ;-) Life rings like flags (another purported Arizona flag coming up for auction) seem pretty dicey in the authentic department, considering they can sell for thousands of dollars. I'll stick to named and traceable medals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wharfmaster Posted November 28, 2019 Share #10 Posted November 28, 2019 Posted Today, 09:53 AM The Arizona probably lost a number of Life Rings over the side between 1915 and 1941, for a number of reasons. Gee, WM, that life ring looks a lot like the one my great-uncle saw fall over the side of Arizona while he was at his 5 inch gun in 1918. ;-) Life rings like flags (another purported Arizona flag coming up for auction) seem pretty dicey in the authentic department, considering they can sell for thousands of dollars. I'll stick to named and traceable medals. Yep AB, I'm Sticking with named medals too. Wharf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerialbridge Posted November 28, 2019 Share #11 Posted November 28, 2019 Wharf, named and verifiable medals or other artifacts to Arizona crewman, absolutely. Flags, life-rings, generic signage, clocks, boat hooks, lights, cowl vents, etc, with unofficial first, second or third-hand stories, erm, maybe not so much. Best regards, AB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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