Lt. Shuler 362nd FG 377th FG

[AsatheAce]

I wanted to share my first experience as a “contacting the family”. This was Asa Shuler a fighter pilot in the 362nd FG 377th FS. He was killed on his 22nd mission strafing a elephant tank when he collided with it on his third pass March 18 1945. I bought his 4 pocket tunic off of eBay in 2020 from ironically a questionable source of Militaria that puts out a lot of fakes. I was extremely lucky as the jacket wasn’t faked and was ID’D correctly.

 

I did some digging and found a niece of his living in California. I reached out to her and left a message but received a phone call later that day. She was beyond thrilled to hear the news of her uncle’s uniform coming to light as he was a delight in the family and the poster child of the family. We talked a lot regularly and she got me copies of all the letters he wrote home. She put me in contact with a gentleman in France that had inquired about Asa through her mother in the 80s which was a sister to Asa. I reached out to that gentleman and he informed me that he had a English tailored dress jacket to Shuler as well as one of his caps and bracelets. He offered to sale them back to me to put his things back together. I of course obliged and purchased what he had to put Asa’s things back together. About six months later Asa’s niece mentioned that she and her husband were coming across the US visiting friends and wanted to meet so she could see her uncle’s things. I was hoping this day would come and was totally fine with it. 
 

She and her husband visited and we had a great time. It was almost closure getting to see her uncles uniforms since she was born 10 days before he crashed. 
 

fast forward another year and I tied the knot with my girlfriend getting married earlier this year. We invited her and her husband to our wedding which was a honor to have them present since I treated her like family having her uncles possessions. I thought this story was a delight from start to finish. I thought the greatest aspect was the family never pressured me into giving his things up. They were so impressed with my hard work and care in preserving Asa’s memory that having his things didn’t bother them. I still talk and have a relationship with his niece and her husband. They are just the nicest people and treat me like a son since they have no kids of their own. They sent us a really nice Christmas card this year and last year. They even bought me some new power tools for DIY projects as a house warming gift when my wife and I bought our first home together. 

[Big Iron]

Great story and display. How do you plan to hide the shirts that hang below the jackets? I have this same display issue as my two mannequins are just torsos.

 

I like the room full of dark officer's uniforms. They look great! 👍🏻