bazelot Posted July 25, 2020 Share #1 Posted July 25, 2020 A very interesting jacket. It has patches from both WWII and Korea. On both shoulders there are 15th Air Force Italian made patches which are in sorry condition but still there and on the chest is a super rare Korean War 12th Tactical Reconnaissance squadron which is the Blackbirds squadron (later flew U2s and then the SR71). The jacket is a Bronco with amazing patina and replaced cuffs and waistband, The jacket came with the original Korean war dog tags, the pilot WWII sterling silver ID bracelet and the Korean war radiation detector attached to the tags. Named to George B. Fleming, he was a navigator in the AAF . It is not common to see a Korean war jacket with its original WWII patches. Vet saw a lot of action in both WWII and Korea. It also came with all his medals (i believe there are 12 of them all in the original packaging and 3 of them are named including the DFC and Air Medal. THere is even a 50 lira note from Italy dated 1943 from his days in the 15 Air Force. The 12th Tactical was activated at Komaki Air Base in Japan as part of the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing and was later re-stationed at Kimpo Air Base in Seoul, South Korea in August of 1951. Between January and June of 1953, the Squadron flew RB-26B Invaders in over 1,100 missions, mainly night photo surveillance intelligence gathering; the 12th Tactical provided much needed information to be used by the ground forces in combat and communications. The Unit received a Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "e;V"e; Device, and 3 Distinguished Unit Citations, two in 1951 and another in 1953. Leather is beautiful with no weak spots. Crown zipper has a fragile male side but still works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mohawkALSE Posted July 25, 2020 Share #2 Posted July 25, 2020 Nice lot. I like that patch, Blackbird carrying an aerial camera being a Recon Sqd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZPhil Posted July 25, 2020 Share #3 Posted July 25, 2020 Great grouping!! Semper Fi Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmar836 Posted July 26, 2020 Share #4 Posted July 26, 2020 Wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazelot Posted July 27, 2020 Author Share #5 Posted July 27, 2020 Thanks, yes it is an awesome grouping. It is surprising that he kept his WWII patches in Korea. I am trying to get pictures of him wearing the jacket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantomfixer Posted July 27, 2020 Share #6 Posted July 27, 2020 yes! great group and love the Bronco... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazelot Posted July 27, 2020 Author Share #7 Posted July 27, 2020 Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now