LGB Pilot Bracelet Mystery

[Kropotkin]

Hello All,

 

A bit of a head scratcher I’m keen on others’ opinions on, if possible.

 

I picked up a nice LGB pilot wing bracelet the other day which is attributed to a Charles H Walters - 19091485.

 

With his number I managed to find his enlistment records (9/4/42) on NARA, which suggest he was most likely - initially at least - destined for ground crew. His occupation upon enlistment is listed as “Mechanics and repairmen, airplane” and with 1 year of high school education I doubt he was seen as potential pilot material at that point.

 

The number on the bracelet is the one he was enlisted with, so was not an officer when he had it engraved.

 

So, did he just like the pilot wing design and chose it to represent his service in the Air Corps regardless of the fact that he was enlisted ground crew? Or could he have been allowed to train as a pilot later on and be promoted to warrant officer class? Is there any way of finding out beyond his enlistment records?

 

Here is the bracelet in question:

 

[5thwingmarty]

My guess is he just liked this bracelet.  The wing is a pre-war style so not even representative of what a WWII pilot would have worn.  Is the bracelet even big enough for a man to wear?  The couple of similar bracelets that I have are too small for an average adult male to wear so I assume they were sweetheart items. 

 

You could try to get his service records from St. Louis to see if they show him ever being trained as a pilot.  I don't know how backed up they are with Covid or if any of the private researchers are able to do anything right now.

[rustywings]

With the presence of 17 stars in the upper shield, instead of the traditional, official 13 stars, I think strenghtens the opinion the bracelet was likely a sweetheart gift... 

[aznation]

This should help answer the question whether he was a pilot or not.

 

 

[aznation]

Name:  Charles Herbert Walters

Gender:  Male

Birth Date:  19 Jun 1906

Death Date:  29 Mar 1980

Enlistment Date:  4 Sep 1942

Discharge Date:  13 Sep 1945

 

[Kropotkin]

Wow! Thanks all for your comments and the insightful information on Charles Walters. Really appreciate it.

The chain is probably more for a lady’s wrist so I suppose Charles bought a design he liked to impress a girl or give to his wife.

As you can probably tell, I’m not up on these items but a follow up question: was it usual to add one’s service number to a sweetheart piece?

[aznation]

2 hours ago, Kropotkin said:

Wow! Thanks all for your comments and the insightful information on Charles Walters. Really appreciate it.

The chain is probably more for a lady’s wrist so I suppose Charles bought a design he liked to impress a girl or give to his wife.

As you can probably tell, I’m not up on these items but a follow up question: was it usual to add one’s service number to a sweetheart piece?

 

You're welcome.  Personally, I think it's a little strange for a service member to add one's service number to a sweetheart piece but I guess it's not out of the realm of possibility.  The other thing too is that even though it shows Charles to be 5' 10" tall and 150 lbs, he might've had really small wrists.  To be that tall and only 150 lbs says to me that guy was pretty skinny.  Not seeing or knowing exactly the diameter of the bracelet, it makes it harder to tell.

[Kropotkin]

Good point. I can put it around my wrist but it’s tight. I’m 6’ and around 175lbs, a little bit bigger, so it could be possible.

[rathbonemuseum.com]

Could have been he wore it as an id bracelet and not sweetheart. These were not made to represent actual pilots in the context of bracelets and such. I have seen lots of souvenirs, bracelets, photo albums etc that all AAF guys would buy that had wings on them as a general representation of being in the AAF.