A 349th Infantry Regiment "Naked Lady" Letter Opener

[Charlie Flick]

Gents:

 

While not really an "edged weapon", I don't think anyone will object if I post this one here.  I have owned this  letter opener for many years. About 11 years ago I posted it to one of the Insignia subforums here on the site to find out what that crest was all about.  I learned that it was the insignia of the 349th Infantry Regiment, a component of the famous 88th Division, the "Blue Devils".  The 349th had fought a bloody and difficult war in Italy during WW2.  Thus, my guess is that this souvenir letter opener was purchased by a 349th veteran while in Italy.  It is probably not something which he wanted to send home to Mom.  Rather, I think the soldier figured that this was a souvenir that he wanted to keep for himself, or maybe as a gift to a younger brother.

 

Composed of cast aluminum these naked lady letter openers were a popular item for GIs with time and money on their hands.  Our friend and fellow member Frank Trzaska posted pics of a nearly identical opener on his site just this past month.  That post can be found here:

http://www.usmilitaryknives.com/current_knotes.htm  Reading Frank's Knife Knotes reminded me of my own example and prompted me to post it here.

 

Regards,

Charlie

 

 

[Frank Trzaska]

Excellent example Charlie, I have a few but have never seen one with a DI on it, bravo!