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WWII M-41 Field Jacket worn by a POW in Stalag Luft III

KASTAUFFER

By KASTAUFFER,
in PRISONERS OF WAR / P.O.W.'S

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KASTAUFFER

KASTAUFFER

Posted
Posted

This is may look like a ratty WWII US Army field jacket to most people , but to me it is priceless . It is a very worn and torn M-41 field jacket worn by 2nd Lt John W. Bryant of the 445th Bomb Group , 8th AAF as a POW in Stalag Luft III . He was the Bombardier of a B-24 shot down on 4/22/44 . The plane crashed in Belgium. There is a website dedicated to the plane and its crew that does an excellent job of telling the story :

 

http://www.freewebs.com/b24liberator/index.htm

 

After evading capture for a while 2nd Lt Byant was sent to Stalag Luft III in Sagan Germany.

 

This jacket came with an extensive pile of paperwork, POW mail , and ephemera from his estate sale and was sold on Ebay. There is a tag written in his own very shakey hand stating this was the jacket he wore as a POW in Stalag Luft III .

 

Here are a few shots of some of the items in the group including the jacket.

 

 

POW.JPG

POW1.JPG

POW2.JPG

POW3.JPG

 

John is the 1st man on the left in the back row.

 

Foto_20crew.jpg

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CNY Militaria

CNY Militaria

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Wow! Now that is a RARE piece! I wonder why he kept it after returning to the States? He muct have been very attached to his POW belongings.

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KASTAUFFER

KASTAUFFER

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Wow! Now that is a RARE piece! I wonder why he kept it after returning to the States? He muct have been very attached to his POW belongings.

 

 

That was very common with returning POW's to keep their stuff. It was as valuable as gold to them in the camp and after they were liberated, could not bear to part with it. This is the first jacket like this I have seen that a POW kept however.

 

After going through the website I posted above , I found a pic of Bryant holding the jacket I now own with the caption " John W. Bryant - His original jacket when captured " .

 

 

Bryant%20en%20originele%20jas.jpg

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Jim Baker

Jim Baker

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Kurt,

 

That is a super grouping. Reading that letter to his family is really touching. It would be hard not to know what was going on.

 

Congrats on a very nice piece of history.

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bobgee

bobgee

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Kurt,

 

That is a super grouping. Reading that letter to his family is really touching. It would be hard not to know what was going on.

 

Congrats on a very nice piece of history.

 

Hi Kurt

Glad you got some of his stuff. Apparently there were a number of buyers at the estate sale and his stuff got scattered. Some items sold at the Ft. Worth Militaria show a couple weeks ago. His Lager I.D. tag was sold separtely for $35.00. I met him about 30 years ago at a gun show in Dallas.

He was quite an interesting and funny guy. We did some trading and I ended up with a Nazi Political Leader's uniform which he got after he was liberated. He told me he wanted to see some of Germany and so he hooked up with the armored unit that liberated Luft III and spent about 30 days with them (the fighting was still going on!). He told me that one of the stunts the GIs pulled was to dress him up in the Nazi uniform and tell some frauleins that they were going to execute him unless they got a little 'friendly'. He just cowered in a corner remaining silent. Apparently it worked! But for you the 'piece de resistance' is attached. He sent me a copy of his Kriegie card. I am not aware if the original was sold at the sale. Unfortunately the copying technology back then was not very good. I copied this at 600 dpi and it's the best I could do. Enjoy!!! Bob

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bobgee

bobgee

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Hi Kurt

Glad you got some of his stuff. Apparently there were a number of buyers at the estate sale and his stuff got scattered. Some items sold at the Ft. Worth Militaria show a couple weeks ago. His Lager I.D. tag was sold separtely for $35.00. I met him about 30 years ago at a gun show in Dallas.

He was quite an interesting and funny guy. We did some trading and I ended up with a Nazi Political Leader's uniform which he got after he was liberated. He told me he wanted to see some of Germany and so he hooked up with the armored unit that liberated Luft III and spent about 30 days with them (the fighting was still going on!). He told me that one of the stunts the GIs pulled was to dress him up in the Nazi uniform and tell some frauleins that they were going to execute him unless they got a little 'friendly'. He just cowered in a corner remaining silent. Apparently it worked! But for you the 'piece de resistance' is attached. He sent me a copy of his Kriegie card. I am not aware if the original was sold at the sale. Unfortunately the copying technology back then was not very good. I copied this at 600 dpi and it's the best I could do. Enjoy!!! Bob

Kurt....Having trouble with the size. Will keep trying. Hmmmm...Looks like he's wearing an M-41 in his camp picture!

Bob

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KASTAUFFER

KASTAUFFER

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Thanks Bob! It shows you how small of a world this is . Sounds like he was one heck of a guy .

 

I know of one other person who has some of his material and am trying to get it now. It would be nice to know who got his Stalag ID tag. $35 was a steal.

 

I appreciate the shot of his Stalag Barracks ID card. You are right, that sure looks like an M-41 he is wearing thumbsup.gif

 

Kurt

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KASTAUFFER

KASTAUFFER

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That is a fascinating piece, Kurt!

 

Thanks! I am working on some more of his stuff. If I get it, I will post it.

 

Kurt

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  • 2 months later...
KASTAUFFER

KASTAUFFER

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Hi Kurt

Glad you got some of his stuff. Apparently there were a number of buyers at the estate sale and his stuff got scattered. Some items sold at the Ft. Worth Militaria show a couple weeks ago. His Lager I.D. tag was sold separtely for $35.00. I met him about 30 years ago at a gun show in Dallas.

He was quite an interesting and funny guy. We did some trading and I ended up with a Nazi Political Leader's uniform which he got after he was liberated. He told me he wanted to see some of Germany and so he hooked up with the armored unit that liberated Luft III and spent about 30 days with them (the fighting was still going on!). He told me that one of the stunts the GIs pulled was to dress him up in the Nazi uniform and tell some frauleins that they were going to execute him unless they got a little 'friendly'. He just cowered in a corner remaining silent. Apparently it worked! But for you the 'piece de resistance' is attached. He sent me a copy of his Kriegie card. I am not aware if the original was sold at the sale. Unfortunately the copying technology back then was not very good. I copied this at 600 dpi and it's the best I could do. Enjoy!!! Bob

 

I was able to track down his POW ID tag from Stalag Luft III and buy it! Thanks for the tip Bob thumbsup.gif

 

Kurt

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  • 3 months later...
KASTAUFFER

KASTAUFFER

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Here is the POW tag he wore in Stalag Luft 3. The number on it matches his POW ID # on his mail and the card.

 

Bryant.JPG

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pmshindy

pmshindy

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thanks Kurt for showing this fantastic piece of History.

 

You do such great work keeping these stories alive.

 

pmshindy

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  • 1 year later...
vicjoy1945

vicjoy1945

Posted
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Hey Kurt !!

 

Nice grouping !!

 

As you know, I have a grouping to a WWII Pacific POW who was captured at Bataan, survived the Death March, and ultimately survived the war. He was a career soldier. In the grouping are a pair of skivvies that I believe he wore in the camp as they have his POW number inked onto them !! I also have some of his items that he used in the camp along with his POW tag as well. They all camp in a laundry bag...I think its safe to say these guys kept this stuff !!

 

Again !! Really nice grouping !!

 

Vic

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bobgee

bobgee

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Kurt - Nice to Jack Bryant pop up again. Below is a a little better digitized copy of his Lager Card with technolgy I didn't have 2 years ago. Enjoy! Will I see you at OMSA in Grand Rapids in August? Best ----Bob

 

 

Jack_Bryant_POW_Lager_Card.jpg

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kammo-man

kammo-man

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This is one of the best things I have seen on this forum to date .

 

What a great rounded piece of history .

 

 

Thanks for sharing with us .

 

owen

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Sgt. Boghots

Sgt. Boghots

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Congratulations, Kurt and thanks for posting the group !

 

You've always been way smarter than the average bear, and diligent !! - Great work chasing all of this down.

 

Best regards,

Paul

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KASTAUFFER

KASTAUFFER

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Kurt - Nice to Jack Bryant pop up again. Below is a a little better digitized copy of his Lager Card with technolgy I didn't have 2 years ago. Enjoy! Will I see you at OMSA in Grand Rapids in August? Best ----Bob

Jack_Bryant_POW_Lager_Card.jpg

 

Thanks for the new and improved scan Bob!

 

I wish I could make it to OMSA this year!

 

Kurt

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