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WW2 CBI Uniform


cerick1450
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I recently was given this uniform from a friend.  The original owner was KIA in 1946...  He was in the  436th Bombardment Squadron ,7th Bombardment Group.  The CBI patch I believe is theater made.  I also have never seen the enameled CBI pin back.  Are both of these rather rare?  Also the lapel pin on the left top is missing.  What should it have been?

Thank you.

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huntssurplus

Hey, love the uniform. 

Do you have a name or any other info on the original vet? Killed in 1946? Seems like most likely an accident opposed to an enemy combatant related death? Unless the date is wrong. 

 

As for the patch, I have seen similar on uniforms. I would say it is more rarer than bullion and a regular CBI patch. But CBI patches are probably the most common theater made patches out there. I'm a uniform collector, not a patch collector, but I can say the patch would definitely increase the value of the uniform. 

 

I don't think I have ever seen one of those types of pin backs either. Can't say what value would be on it alone. I can give an approximate on the uniform though. As for the missing pin, it would have been a US Army Air Force collar disc. It would have the propeller with wings on it. 

 

Now for whole uniform value, if you have anymore information on the KIA original owner, and there is markings connecting it to him inside the jacket, or some other sort of provenance, I would say it significantly increases the value of the uniform. without any provenance I would place value at $50-100. Depending on what people think of the patch or pinback, if they are extra rare. With information on the original owner, I would say it could easily double in value.

 

Hope this helps!

Hunt

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I agree with Hunt. Look inside the pocket for a makers tag, it may have his name on it. Also look for a laundry number. It will be the first initial of the last name and the last four numbers of his dog tag number. Please look inside the jacket behind the right top pocket for indications of ribbon bars or other awards.

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Well.  Thank you for the help.  I have his service number and name and have been able to confirm his service record.  This uniform was complete, but the antique dealer did not think he could sell it.  So he began to split it up.  He threw the pants in the garbage, but did photograph the name and service number that was in it.  This man has the following commendations

:

★ Air Medal

★ Purple Heart

★ World War II Victory Medal

★ American Campaign Medal

★ Army Presidential Unit Citation

★ Army Good Conduct Medal

★ Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal

And he is listed as missing in action or lost at sea in 1946.  I was disappointed that I did not get it all, but at least I have the coat.  I have never seen the enameled pin before, and was intrigued by the CBI patch.

 

 

 

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CNY Militaria

If it’s listed as 1946, that would likely be the finding of death versus the date he went missing. You’ll have to do more research to determine the latter. 

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There are a lot of variations of CBI enamel pins, many of them sell for around $30-40 I would have to see the type of pin on the back of it to know for sure where it was made. I believe that I have seen that exact type at least once before and my guess is that it is Indian made. Indian made pins tend to be the more common ones so I would say yours would probably be around $40 since it is pretty nice with no damage to the enamel. If the pin on the back is the Chinese made version I think that would make it more rare and valuable but only in the 50-60 range. I could be wrong but I have been watching DUI for a while and that is what I have observed. 

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Thank you for the help.

i did not think that the date of death may be the official date they choose, rather than the actual date of the incident.  I will see what I can find..

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Was he still in the Army when he died? The uniform has the ruptured duck meaning he was discharged.

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Well you were right..

 

This is interesting.  He was in the army.  His plane went missing during a bombing mission in may 1945.  He was officially listed as dead in May 1946.  

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That ruptured duck is a problem. A big problem. That duck was your pass to wear your uniform home even though you were no longer active military. The dead do not have that problem.

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Yup interesting.  Not sure what to make of this uniform.  I guess you have to just accept what it is and may never be able to confirm the background.  Splitting it up may be best. 
thanks to all for the assistance I always am amazed at the knowledge on this forum...

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One Idea that came to my mind is that you have never actually said that there was a name in the jacket, maybe the pants were the only thing that belonged to the individual but when he died a friend in the same unit took them and kept wearing them. If they were in the same unit they could have had similar service histories meaning similarly decorated jackets and that the jacket could still be original. I have an airforce group where 6 pieces (2 shirts, 2 jackets, 2 pants) were all named to the same guy, the only other thing that I found in that army surplus store was a pair of trousers in the exact same size that were named to a KIA airmen from the same unit. I have no idea why that pair of pants was in the group but since there were some clothing shortages during the war stuff got reused as needed. Weirder stuff has happened.  

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In as far as death. Aircrews have a date they went missing and for insurance payments a date they are declared dead if the body was not recovered. You never said if your jacket has a name or number in it. Rule of thumb is, if you went missing your buddies would sanitize your belongings and pull out things that could be used by others or pull out things that were government property. Your mom or wife would never see all the photo's of naked women you had or your Pro kits or letters from other women. As to that class "A" having a duck on it... I have no idea why that would be unless that class "A" was in such bad condition the guys grabbed another one from supply to send to your mom or wife. I would hold on to it as is and work on finding period replacement items and call that jacket attributed to.....

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Dorr's book "7th Bombardment Group/Wing, 1918-1995" lists two 436th Bombardment Squadron aircraft involved in incidents in May 1945.  B-24J 44-41172 flown by Lt. J.P Osborne was lost on a mission 3 May 1945 and B-24J 42-73246 flown by Eugene B. Williams crashed on takeoff 8 May 1945.
MACR 14453 lists the crew members of Lt. Osborne's plane.

 

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MACR page from fold3..

 

Additional documentation from a "R&R Report" dated 5 April 1946  indicates "Date presumed dead 4 May 1946...".


Does your name and service number match any of these?  


If so, note that the rank shown for the enlisted personnel is "Sgt" (Sergeant  Grade 4). This adds additional questions to the ownership of your uniform.  A posthumous promotion is a possibility but unlikely to go from Grade 4 to Master Sergeant (Grade 1).


The discharge emblem(as already pointed out) and Master Sergeant rank make it highly unlikely that this coat belonges to any of the crew member's of Lt. Osborne's aircraft.
If you have any additional information that you would post regarding the name, sevice number, or aircraft that would lead to another aircraft loss or MACR it would clarify the questions.

 

 

Larry
 

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helmetman54

Could it be that he was preparing to go home.  Had his jacket set up with theater made items in preparation?  I would not split it up..  

HM54

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Thanks to all.  I will have to take a good look at it when I get a chance and see if I can find any ID marks on the jacket..

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17 minutes ago, US82Bravo said:


MACR 14453 lists the crew members of Lt. Osborne's plane.
 

Typo on MACR number - should be 15453

 

Is the name and service number you have on the MACR?

 

Larry

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huntssurplus

My guess would be a fellow airmen liberated the pants. Look in the jacket for a laundry number, initials, or any sort of identification. I would say most likely, the jacket belonged to a different airmen, and the pants were taken. Seems to be pretty common with USAAF stuff, and was common practice. If you've ever read catch-22, it's talked about airmen raiding other airman's belongings that are shot down and taking all sorts of stuff. Similar stuff in other books done on histories of the USAAF bomber crews of WW2. Pants and uniform items were reissued all the time too, so that is always a possibility. I don't think this is the case of an extra jacket being sent home to his family. KIA families hardly ever received any "military issue" items. Usually just personal items, watches, jewelry, letters, diary's, stuff like that. Most families probably didn't care for the uniform of their lost family member as that wasn't really the personal stuff. 

 

That's what I would make of this.

Hunt

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cagedfalcon

No name, still a piece of history.

I pick these up yesterday & working on photo albums & uniform.

Not high jacking post [emoji846]d7f1f8d9f06d4bbd675636feb9b3ba6f.jpg5006d0c03204818f88ae722b50e54ddb.jpg24993893b70b166f321f44cedbc51980.jpge8720bc44f58ddf6e602868728aa4dcd.jpg

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

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Your pin looks very similar to mine.  Here is a shot of the reverse.  Also I looked at the tag inside the pocket of the jacket, and there are no intials or laundry number.  Just the inspector marking...

 

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So, the date the jacket was made coincides with the federal service stripe and the over seas bars. In my opinion this jacket belonged to one guy and one guy only. Unless your guy enlisted in 40 or 41 then its not your guy. The name on the pants has nothing to do with the jacket other than he got the pants after its owner went missing. The ribbons that were on it  should be replace. His rank could indicate a crew chief and that would make him a top turret gunner or he could have been a crew chief on a transport in the CIB. It's still a nice pick up.

 

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