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The kinds of things a WWII POW in Germany saved


KASTAUFFER
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This may look like a pile of junk to most people, but it represents what was extremelly important to Pvt Arvel Gulledge of the 410th Infantry, 103rd Division while we was being held as a POW in Stalag 7A at Moosberg. He was captured 11/30/44 in France. He kept these items with him when he was liberated and brought them home as souvenirs.

 

Much of what is here is tobacco related...... Russian cigarettes, German cigarette papers, German matches, and other stuff. The fact he prized his smokes should be no surprise! Cigarettes were " Money" in a POW camp. He must not have liked the Russian cigarettes much, because he didnt smoke them all.

 

What you see here is exactly as I found it. This group is one of the most prized in my POW collection. It is a lot scarcer than many popular items that would get a lot of attention on Ebay. I bought this lot from Gulledge's family on Ebay for $20. You also dont have to worry about this stuff being faked in Pakistan :)

 

 

pow1.jpg

 

Small hand made cigarette case. Appears to be lead or pewter.

 

pow1a.jpg

 

The items inside

 

pow3.jpg

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Absolutely amazing...

 

...and just the right person to have these. :thumbsup:

 

 

Thanks! Somtimes I think I am the only person who likes this kind of stuff!

 

Kurt

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Thanks! Somtimes I think I am the only person who likes this kind of stuff!

 

Kurt

 

Negative Kurt, I am always in awe of the POW items that you find!

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  • 2 weeks later...
Negative Kurt, I am always in awe of the POW items that you find!

 

I love that Hammelburg material you have!

 

Kurt

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Hey Kurt !!

 

To most this may seem like a pile of...well...stuff !! But I bet these few "common" items meant the world to a veteran who suffered through sometimes horrendous captivity. These few items in their possession may be what helped them maintain their sanity during a time of insanity in their lives !!

 

I have a similar grouping to a Bataan veteran who served as a commander with the Philippine Scouts. The grouping contains a number of mundain but obviously precious items he saved from his captivity. I would bet that these few "common" items contained many good and bad memories for him.

 

Thanks for showing !!

 

Vic

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Amazing pieces. To me in some ways pieces like this really allow you to time travel.

 

Of course being the sick bastard that I am, i would just HAVE to smoke one of those cigarettes. :lol:

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Thanks! Somtimes I think I am the only person who likes this kind of stuff!

 

Kurt

 

 

Wonderful Kurt,

 

many thanks for showing us.

 

I assure you you are not alone In your appreciation of pow groupings. I recently purchased a grouping to quite a well known career Naval Aviator. He was shot down on a photographic reconnaissance mission over Vietnam In 1967. Sadly there are no Items from the camp but a lot of stuff he left on the carrier which was then sent home to his wife. Also some pieces from later In his career. He wasn't realeased until 1972 :crying: .

 

Yours, Guy.

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About 15-20 years ago my father researched and wrote a book about his bomb group and his things passed to me when he died. One of the things he had never thought much about was what had happened to the POW’s. He encountered them only after the passing of 50-years as some of the ex-POW’s responded to his call for input to his book. He was challenged with how to handle their stories since their experiences were completely unknown to him.

 

In his personal experience, he flew his missions, survived, and went home…and that was that. Yes, he saw the planes going down, but in his mind they were just those who were “lost” and relegated to some distant corner of his mind. I think that is how he and others like him were able to deal with the horror into which they found themselves thrust.

 

I’ve been constantly startled to discover one fantastic story after another as I have taken time to research some of the things my father had in his accumulation from WWII. Candid group pictures like the one below often reveal a story that is not obvious from a casual viewing of the picture.

 

This picture was a happy one when it was taken about May 1945 and the war was just over. The picture was not dated and there were no names on it. However, I knew who they were from other material I had found. Little more than 2-1/2 years earlier, the Lt. Col on the left was a mid-year USMA graduate and the Lt. Col in the center was one of his classmates. Both of them had flown as command pilots for the duration of their parts in the war even though they had no more experience than those they commanded. Not shown is a third member of that same USMA class who had vanished in fireball after a rocket hit his plane on his 3rd mission.

 

The Captain on the right was shot down on his 2nd mission and spent his war in a POW camp probably valuing some of the same things shown in this thread. About 6 months after this picture was taken, the Lt. Col on the left was killed in a plane crash north of Tampa; 5-years later the Lt. Col in the center was killed while flying a B-50 off the coast of Spain; and the Captain on the right—a WWII veteran of 2-missions and a freshly liberated POW in this picture—lived to the age of 81 and retired to Hawaii.

post-3515-1256705250.jpg

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There are some further things to think about in the photo above...all 3 of the pilots were among the Group's first supply of 720 airmen. The Group flew their 257 missions in a period of 17-months, or so. Of the 720 original supply of airmen, only 220 completed full tours--about 30% of them.

 

As Lead Pilots, the USMA grads flew only 2-3 missions per month, but they were assigned to the base for the duration of the war as the others came and went. My father and his crew were assigned to the line and completed their tour in 3-months--their last mission flown on D-Day. Quite a different work load.

 

I don't know what their military awards were, but it was probably the usual DFC, 4-5 Air Medals, and the theater awards. Think about the POW for a moment...no DFC, no Air Medal, only the theater awards and perhaps a PH. The one recipient of a CMOH in this Group received the same awards as the POW plus the CMOH. No DFC, no Air Medal. He was killed on his 6th mission.

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  • 4 years later...
  • 1 month later...

 

Thanks! Somtimes I think I am the only person who likes this kind of stuff!

 

Kurt

 

I can assure You that You are NOT the only one :D

 

Best regards,

 

kindzjal

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Its hard to find complete groupings. Items like this often got thrown out because basically it became "trash" after the war. Some POWs held onto it like this guy did.

 

Kurt

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  • 2 months later...

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