Very large grouping WWII USAAF Navigator A-2 jacket, foot locker B4 bag, uniforms, etc.

[warguy]

In 33 years of collecting militaria, this has to be one of my grail finds, and remains today a highlight of my collection. It is the only grouping where I have had the honor of purchasing directly from the veteran. I was thrilled to interview and document this vets story. 

 

In 1998, a buddy of mine told me he was brokering the sale of a foot locker and uniforms that belonged to a veteran who lived in a town 30 minutes south of us. I went my friends house and was thrilled to find a footlocker with numerous uniforms, pants, socks, boots, shoes, hats etc., that all belonged to a man who was a Navigator on a B24 bomber flying out of the China Burma India theater. My buddy had met the veteran at a recent B-17 fly in at our local airport and they became acquainted. The vet had indicated he had no one in the family interested in this "stuff" so he had decided to sell. I was intent on buying the material, but then my friend showed me a photograph he had taken of the veteran at our airport. The vet was wearing one of the most beautiful A2 flight jackets I had seen.

 

I contacted the veteran that evening. His name is Bob. I told Bob I was going to buy his foot locker and the uniforms at his asking price. I then made him a very strong offer for the grouping if he would consider selling the jacket as part of the group. He said he would think about it. Bob called me the next day and agreed to the offer. He then drove to my home where I interviewed him for two hours about his experiences in WWII. I have his history well documented. He must have told me no less than a dozen times he was no hero, yet he described a close call when a piece of flak entered an ammo box he was standing on, and his shock in watching another plane crash on take off killing the whole crew. He described being attacked by Japanese fighters, and watching ground crews load their guns as they passed 5000 feet overhead. In my eyes, he most certainly was a hero. 

 

Briefly, Bob entered the Army Air Force March 10, 1942. He spent much of the next two years training, arriving in India on the 28th of May, 1944. He completed 43 missions prior to returning home. He was part of the 7th Bomb Group, 463rd Bomb Squadron in the 10th Air Force. This squadron had the distinction of flying the longest mission of the war, approximately 18 hours in the air. He had recollections of the money he carried each flight in case he was shot down. He stated the jump boots in the collection were issued after flyers were breaking their ankles bailing out. He described the heels of the boots as slanted to avoid getting tangled with the shrouds. Bob also described himself as a "real Habberdasher". He said he liked to buy top quality tailored uniforms and bullion insignia as he was very eager to look good. There were other memories he shared that I included in a biography he was kind enough to proof read and correct.

 

Everything photographed here belonged to Bob with the exception of the two 50 mission crusher caps. His caps were in extremely poor condition. All of the material (over 125 individual items) have his name neatly written inside in block letters. Most of the insignia is theater produced. The footlocker still contains numerous additional shirts, some with patches, pants, socks, rain jacket, a large assortment of his orders and squadron paperwork, etc. There is a gorgeous M43 jacket that Bob said he wore on a few missions. He said the large hip pockets were perfect to carry a sandwich or two. All metal insignia including the wings belonged to Bob and were worn wartime. The ribbon bars on the class A chocolate tunic are both his. He was awarded the DFC as well as the Air medal with oak leaf clusters. I have included some photos of actual receipts for the purchase of some of these uniforms by Bob during the war. It is a treat for a uniform collector to see these receipts!

 

The foot locker has a broken lock and Bob stated his house was broken into after the war and the burglar broke the lock off the foot locker but didn't take anything. We are all fortunate for that. 

 

A2 flight jacket

 

The A2 flight jacket in this grouping is for me the pinnacle of this collection. It is a size 40 and made by Perry Sportwear. I believe it is horsehide. It is in beautiful condition with no rips, tears, holes, etc. It has its original liner, zipper and the knits and all are in great condition. It is nicely named to Bob inside. The name tag on the outside has Bobs name in English, Chinese and Burmese. Inside is a large American flag sewn to the back and a beautiful issued Blood Chit sewn to the liner on one side. It is one of the nicest original A2's I have seen in terms of condition, etc. 

 

I have a lot of photographs to follow to give you a sense of the magnitude of this collection. I will forever be grateful to Bob for allowing me to preserve his history and service in WWII. 

 

[warguy]

More 

[warguy]

More pics

[dhcoleterracina]

Wow, wonderful grouping with a happy ending. Well done. 

[Brian Keith]

Top shelf grouping! Well Done! Excellent story and presentation.

Thanks much,

BKW

[Nack]

Super awesome.  Congrats! 

[ScottG]

Really great group Kevin! We have a real similar navigator group at the museum, it came from an 8th AF guy and like yours was really complete with all uniforms and paperwork and photos etc... Well done and thanks for posting!    Scott

[doyler]

What a super group. That checks all the boxes. 

 

I saw a group split 30 years ago. Two painted A2 jackets,several uniforms,4 crushers 3 B4 bags. 8th AF Navigator. One of the best AAF groups I had ever seen.

 

 

[Blacksmith]

Sales tax used to be 2.5%!  🤬

 

Seriously though, wow...  just wow...

 

Words really can’t describe this group, especially as it came from the veteran himself.  That time with him is priceless in its own right.  
 

There is no better caretaker for this grouping - I am glad you have it my friend.

[6th.MG.BN]

That's a fantastic vet purchased grouping and being able to interview the veteran. It doesn't get any better than that.

Thanks for sharing.

Ken

[sundance]

Congrats.  Bob's WW2 experiences will live on. Always baffling to me that it won't be long before these things are a hundred years old. 

[warguy]

Thank you all for such nice comments, I really appreciate it. You guys hit it, really the chance to meet him and interview him is the priceless part! 

[katieony]

Kevin,

 

What an outstanding group!  Thank you for sharing it and his story!

 

Mike

[manayunkman]

Outstanding group.

 

What did Bob keep? 

[Dirk]

Kevin pretty clear why this is one of your holy grails…..amazing grouping that your tied too personally after interviewing him! 

[warguy]

54 minutes ago, manayunkman said:

Outstanding group.

 

What did Bob keep? 

Thanks Dirk for your kind comments.  

 

Manaynkman,  I don't know what else Bob may have possessed, I was never in his home. I can only imagine he kept all of his medals as none of those were in this group just his ribbon bar. I suspect there may have been some photos he kept as well. I ended up with only two small photos that are poor quality. One depicts him standing in front of the tail of his plane, but again, you cannot see much detail. After this purchase, Bob moved back east to be closer to family members there and we lost touch. He wasn't exceptionally warm and fuzzy if you know what I mean, but I liked him a lot and resect admire his a lot!

[Timberwolf]

What an exceptional grouping! Awesome you got to talk with the vet about his experiences.

[T1gertank519]

This is one of the best groupings I have ever seen. It must be quite the privilege to be the caretaker of this great group. Even better that you personally knew the man who wore it all.

[Old Crow 1986]

BRAVO!  Great grouping, thanks for being Bob's caretaker.