OK, now I am scratching my head in wonder. You obviously put some dollars into this group in order to secure it (I was the bidder before your offer was accepted). My thought being that you should have an idea of what you're buying before you pull the money out of your wallet. I could very easily just keep my mouth shut, let you send the group back to Paul and then see if I can buy it cheaper, or perhaps I can allow you another point of view to provide some additional perspective.   I'm going to lay a little bit of knowledge on you and shake up some of the prevailing "collector thought" while we are at it. I've been collecting WWII airborne for almost 50 years now, and in the realm of airborne officers' numbered collar brass, I would challenge the group to show me a more complete collection. The prevailing thought is that the numbers should be affixed to the front of the bar on WWII insignia. You'll see loads of examples in the various posts of WWII numbered collar brass. Most of the Meyer examples that you see in the photos have the Meyer shield and usually "MeyerMetal" logo on the back sides of the rifles. You will also find Meyer marked brass like what is in this grouping- a different Meyer marking and the devices applied to the top of the bar. Does this make it post war? Many collectors think so, but I'm not sold on the idea. One of the pieces of brass in my collection is a pair of crossed rifles with the number 194 affixed on top of the bar. Post war, right? Except that the 194th was de-activated in 1945 and was reorganized as the 194th Armor post war. There should be no reason for 194th Infantry devices to have been made after 1945. Is it possible that they were made to deceive? That is always a possibility, but if that were the case, I would expect someone to go after a unit that had a lot more appeal than the 194th Glider Infantry.    My take on these is that the 327th Infantry brass that you have is from the 1945 timeframe. The German made numbered brass also has the numbers on top of the bars instead of being affixed to the front. Honestly, I think this was done so that the numbers were easier to read than the examples that are front mounted to the bars.    So, you need to ask yourself if you are comfortable with all of the insignia being of the same vintage (which it all is) and whether you think you could get a better deal out there than what you paid (I was far more interested in the signatures than the insignia, but it all appears to have come together).  I don't think you can find a better deal. Finally, if the seller were trying to cheat the community, it could have all been mounted on a jacket and attributed to Weatherford which would have commanded a SIGNIFICANTLY higher price tag.   Allan

Found this at the flea market Sunday.   Found in between Flint and Detroit,  Michigan.    

Yes makes sense saltwater on a ship.the grips are tight still belive or not .paint protects it over the years 

My first instinct was a corrosion resistance treatment, doping the exposed metal. 

The top helmet appears to have been repainted. Is that the one that is 'untouched'?

Well, it probably won't be seen again if it goes to a museum...

After posting the two Civil War CDVs I have in that section, I thought I would go ahead and post this as well. No backmark, so hard to say where this was taken, but I truly believe this to be a U.S. regular, as opposed to a state/national guardsmen. The fact that he's wearing the 1872 dress coat and cap (with what appears to be crossed rifles, so possibly after 1874), and an 1872 belt (which oddly is below the belt "loops" on the coat) are the clues that are leading me to this opinion. In any case, I'm thrilled to have this one in my collection. If anyone else has any CDVs or cabinet cards of indian wars era troops, feel free to post them, as I would love to see more!

If they don't want it, the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola probably would.

Thanks all for all help. Between here and the WMF I learned a lot about these Good Luck Flags. I’m going to hang onto it for a while.

This must be an older image of "Cobra King". The original Cobra King from WW2 and the relief of Bastogne is now housed at the National Museum of the United States Army.   Leigh