Time Capsules As Found - The Story of the Bring Back Box

[Airborne-Hunter]

Resurrecting this thread for my latest find. A lady was folding what looked like some fabric, but the colors immediately caught my eye. When I got over there, it was a Kriegs flag and when I asked about other stuff they handed me a cigar box. The flag is balled up in the upper right corner and I left the cigar box out of the photo, but this is everything someone brought back from the war. I figure it's been in a hope chest ever since because of the cedar smell. Best ABN

[USCapturephotos]

Nice finds.

Paul

[bryang]

Flag and original package and bring-back paper.  This was sent home by Corporal Vernon Shafer, of D Company, 83rd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.

 

The capture document accompanying this flag also states two bottles of perfume.

[USCapturephotos]

Love the GI info with that! If you still have the perfume bottles maybe you could regift them 😁

[Tom Kibler]

I’ll show mine, mailed home & purchased from the vets grandson.  
 

Photo of him picking up the Luft helmet at Tempelhof airport. 

[USCapturephotos]

Super grouping!

Paul

[Smokeshow]

Super cool thread! I will add some of my IJA items when I dig them out including a named helmet 

[doyler]

On 1/5/2021 at 11:42 AM, Airborne-Hunter said:

There was an estate sale when I was 13 years old down the street from me and somehow I managed to get my parents to let me skip a little bit of class on Friday to go. In the garage, there was a duffle bag of gear that I dumped out. There was a shovel cover, a shirt, some socks, a musette bag, some overseas hats, some other miscellaneous stuff and at the bottom was this hat. The first picture shows how the hat came out of the duffle bag and I remember pawing it and seeing the red interior thinking I've seen this before, but I didn't know what it was. It looked like an English driver hat, but, again, the red interior keep me thinking and being a dumb teenager I put it on my fist and started spinning it. At some point it flopped open and I realized why it seemed so familiar. In retrospect, I somewhat wish I had bought everything to keep it together, but also I think its symbolic that someone threw this in their duffle bag and that's where it sat since the end of the war. Being so young I didn't get the name of the vet or anything. Best ABN

 

 

I have a couple that could be twins to your cap. Found them at a estate auction in the early 90s

 

[Airborne-Hunter]

I've been dormant on this thread for a long time and thought it a good time for an update. Alot of things have come out since the last time I posted, most notably, I was able to find two separate bring back boxes, with contents, from two separate sellers at the same flea market a couple of weeks ago. First up is a box sent home by a medical officer attached to the 1871st Aviation Engineer Battalion. The box was found, open, in the basement of the house addressed on it. From what I can tell, it appears the vet bought the house new in 1939, moved in and then when he passed his son moved in. His son recently passed and the home was cleared out. So from the looks of it, the mailman delivered in 80 years ago and there it sat until just recently.

The box has a contents list on two sides, but several pieces listed are not present. However, there are numerous things not listed present that appear to have been sent home separately. The name Bob is the son and his notes make it evident that the invasion currency was fairly valuable to soldiers. He grabbed a bunch (11 bundles). In total a very unique bring back box that I was very excited to pick up. Rumor has it that more is coming out of this estate, but this is all for now. Best ABN

[USCapturephotos]

On 10/12/2023 at 6:21 PM, doyler said:

 

 

I have a couple that could be twins to your cap. Found them at a estate auction in the early 90s

 

I have this exact style of tropical M43 on loan from a vets family right now. Will be using it for my display in my classes soon.

Paul

[USCapturephotos]

It will be fun to get those tags translated to see if they are aircraft related, radio related or whatever. Congrats on the big find!

Paul

[katieony]

A really nice time capsule!  Thanks for sharing it.

[Airborne-Hunter]

This next one was found sitting out on a table at the flea market. It wasn't cheap, but it's pretty cool. The sellers told me a story of being at an estate sale and finding three crates. The first one had bamboo fly rods. The second one had bamboo fly rods and they assumed this one had fly rods too, but didn't open it until they had called over their fishing guy. To their surprise when they opened it, they found two swords. The APO address indicates it was mailed from Okinawa. They said it was completely sealed before they opened it indicating that it sat for the last 78 years unopened in a garage until September of 2023. One sword appears to be late war and the other appears to a family blade with a named piece of leather. I haven't translated anything but the writing on the leather seems to be similar, if not identical, to the writing on the box. Which makes me wonder if the swords were shipped from Japan to Okinawa and then an American found before it could be opened by its intended recipient and then sent to California. Towards the name of the vet, someone used a sharpie to cover it up. I haven't a clue as to why, but it is what it is. With a strong light, one can make it out still: Everett R. Clements. The vet ended up in Marysville California where he passed in 2008 at 88. His wife passed in March of this year at 97. Best ABN

[USCapturephotos]

WOW that’s incredible!

Paul

[blademan]

18 minutes ago, Airborne-Hunter said:

This next one was found sitting out on a table at the flea market. It wasn't cheap, but it's pretty cool. The sellers told me a story of being at an estate sale and finding three crates. The first one had bamboo fly rods. The second one had bamboo fly rods and they assumed this one had fly rods too, but didn't open it until they had called over their fishing guy. To their surprise when they opened it, they found two swords. The APO address indicates it was mailed from Okinawa. They said it was completely sealed before they opened it indicating that it sat for the last 78 years unopened in a garage until September of 2023. One sword appears to be late war and the other appears to a family blade with a named piece of leather. I haven't translated anything but the writing on the leather seems to be similar, if not identical, to the writing on the box. Which makes me wonder if the swords were shipped from Japan to Okinawa and then an American found before it could be opened by its intended recipient and then sent to California. Towards the name of the vet, someone used a sharpie to cover it up. I haven't a clue as to why, but it is what it is. With a strong light, one can make it out still: Everett R. Clements. The vet ended up in Marysville California where he passed in 2008 at 88. His wife passed in March of this year at 97. Best ABN

Dang! I'm going to the wrong sales. 

[flyingtigerfan]

Hi all,

Rare for me to find a bring back box these days but picked one up the other day.   Shipped home by a Brooklyn NY private with the 386th AAA Battalion.   Many of the German items were on the capture paper.  The family kept the foreign currency.   Small box of insignia etc contained a US paratrooper wing for some reason.    There are letters to the soldier as well from his family.   The badge on the RAD cap is upside down but that’s the way I found it.   Supposedly there are a couple of other German items that were removed by the family, they are looking for them.   Neat Time Capsule.  
-Rob

[USCapturephotos]

Great score! I so enjoy seeing these and even seeing the type

of box that was used to ship the souvenirs home it.

Paul

[zk4298militaria]

It ain’t much but it’s still a pretty neat little bring home box. Tellermine fuse case used by Sgt. Raymond Ruschman, wrecker truck driver, 4th Armored, to ship home a collection of silver German coins.

[Bluehawk]

On 12/29/2020 at 6:20 PM, Airborne-Hunter said:

I'll be digging more stuff out over time, but I have this one quite accessible. I don't know the exact story on this one, but a friend of mine was at an estate sale and found this one buried pretty deep in a closet and I wound up with it. Evidently, I don't think this was the box this stuff was brought home in, but it would appears to be a late 40s/50s child's clothing box likely signifying the growing importance of other things in the vet's life than the mementos contained within. I suspect it was packed away and never opened until around 2012. Best ABN

Naive question, perhaps - but, inside Germany today do these kinds of artifacts command significant prices and attract serious collectors?

[Allan H.]

12 minutes ago, Bluehawk said:

Naive question, perhaps - but, inside Germany today do these kinds of artifacts command significant prices and attract serious collectors?

Germans collecting 3rd Reich artifacts do exist and they tend to pay high prices for high quality material. That being said, owning items with nazi references or symbols is highly illegal, and being caught by the police can garner high fines and jail time. Items will be confiscated and destroyed. 

 

A good friend of mine who was stationed in Germany for a number of years and who made friends in the right circles recently told me that a lot of the 3rd Reich collectors have sold out and focused on Imperial German items. The 3rd Reich items went to the USA, Great Britain, Japan, and China!

 

Allan

[Bluehawk]

"The 3rd Reich items went to the USA, Great Britain, Japan, and China!"

 

> Thank you for the insight. I'd wondered about the question. 

 

[digi-shots]

I knew a fellow whose grandfather served on a German battleship.  His grandfather’s uniform, etc. was still stored in their basement in Germany.  The last time I spoke with him, his grandmother was still alive and he was working on getting his grandfather’s belongings.  

[Big Iron]

On 6/5/2024 at 1:53 PM, Allan H. said:

Germans collecting 3rd Reich artifacts do exist and they tend to pay high prices for high quality material. That being said, owning items with nazi references or symbols is highly illegal, and being caught by the police can garner high fines and jail time. Items will be confiscated and destroyed. 

 

A good friend of mine who was stationed in Germany for a number of years and who made friends in the right circles recently told me that a lot of the 3rd Reich collectors have sold out and focused on Imperial German items. The 3rd Reich items went to the USA, Great Britain, Japan, and China!

 

Allan

I'm sorry, but this is highly inaccurate and overly dramatic.

 

You can buy and sell 3rd Reich items in Germany. You can own them without risk of "high fines and police problems". The problem for Germans is when they OPENLY display them in a light that reflects positively on the 3rd Reich.

 

One of the biggest dealers online in 3rd Reich memorabilia is named Helmut Weitze and he has a store in Hamburg open to the public that you can walk into and purchase items out of. I know this because I did it. I bought a Gold Wound Badge as my "souvenir" of Germany on that particular trip.

 

Again, it's not illegal to own these items in Germany. You just are prohibited from flaunting them in a positive manner.

[Allan H.]

Just for clarity's sake, I want to state that I have personally seen items found in German flea markets get taken by the German Police with paper and cloth items being BURNED right out in the open. Metal badges would be stomped on or hammered into oblivion. The people with these items on their flea market tables were treated rather roughly as their items were being confiscated. These were just items sitting on tables and not being "flaunted" as Nazi symbols. 

 

Items with swastikas do indeed have a very negative connotation and any items that can be readily seen will have the offending symbols covered up. Additionally, German people in government and high-profile jobs go to great lengths to avoid any question about potential links to the Nazi party and the 3rd Reich. I am not saying that nobody in Germany collects these items, but those who do are typically very careful about letting others know about their collections, and they aren't displayed anywhere where a casual observer might happen to see them.

 

Allan

[Persian Gulf Command]

51 minutes ago, Allan H. said:

Just for clarity's sake, I want to state that I have personally seen items found in German flea markets get taken by the German Police with paper and cloth items being BURNED right out in the open. Metal badges would be stomped on or hammered into oblivion. The people with these items on their flea market tables were treated rather roughly as their items were being confiscated. These were just items sitting on tables and not being "flaunted" as Nazi symbols. 

 

Items with swastikas do indeed have a very negative connotation and any items that can be readily seen will have the offending symbols covered up. Additionally, German people in government and high-profile jobs go to great lengths to avoid any question about potential links to the Nazi party and the 3rd Reich. I am not saying that nobody in Germany collects these items, but those who do are typically very careful about letting others know about their collections, and they aren't displayed anywhere where a casual observer might happen to see them.

 

Allan

I’ve been to Hamburg, Germany  and visited two locations that sell Militaria. One in particular is a major dealer with a large setup at the SOS every year. They occupy four upper floors in the heart of the City located in an expensive shopping district. It is full of 3rd Reich items in full display. Given the prohibited nature of these items it always amazed me that this proprietor could have these items in full display.