Some items I acquired a few years back regarding the ejection of then LCDR Charlie Hunter's A-4E Skyhawk on the 26th day of August 1965.   https://skyhawk.org/article-unit/va81 August 26, 1965: LCdr. C. B. Hunter ejected safely when he crashed into the sea. 1518 an A-4E Skyhawk BuNo. 151100 of VA-81, piloted by LCDR C. B. Hunter crashed into the sea.  No apparent injuries to LCDR Hunter.  Position of crash Lat. 21 degrees 12’ W, Long. 66 degrees 35’ W.  1535 speed 25 knots.  1600 LTJG. LTJG. G. N. Roeseler assumed the OOD watch.  1602 LCDR Hunter recovered by helo, brought aboard and taken to Medical for completed check. USS Forrestal deck log, Thursday, 26 August 1965.    and this from https://www.chaoticsynapticactivity.com/2017/02/26/radm-charles-hunter-usn-ret-passes/ He punched out once: He was getting a mid-air refueling and he ended up with fuel in his A-4 SKYHAWK engine (and not inside the combustion system), causing the plane to begin burning up. Smoke in the cockpit stuff, so he fell back from the tanker and used the ejection seat, without noting any injuries.                                                 Some additional information on RADR Charles Bryan Hunter     Hunter, Charles Bryan Commander, U.S. Navy Attack Squadron ONE HUNDRED NINETY SIX (VA-196), U.S.S. Constellation (CVA-64) Date of Action: 30 October 1967 Citation: The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Commander [then Lieutenant Commander] Charles Bryan Hunter (NSN: 0-584531), United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism on 30 October 1967 as a pilot in Attack Squadron ONE HUNDRED NINETY-SIX (VA-196), embarked in U.S.S. CONSTELLATION (CVA-64). Exercising exceptional professional skill and sound judgment, Commander Hunter, planned and executed an extremely dangerous, single-plane, night, radar bombing attack on the strategically located and heavily defended Hanoi railroad ferry slip in North Vietnam. Although the entire Hanoi defensive effort was concentrated upon his lone bomber, he flawlessly piloted his aircraft to the target area and commenced his attack. Seconds before bomb release, six enemy surface-to-air missiles were observed to be tracking on his plane. Undaunted by this threat to his personal safety, Commander Hunter took swift and effective action to avoid the missiles and then proceeded to complete his attack, releasing all weapons in the target area with extreme accuracy. After release, he guided his plane through the intense anti-aircraft-artillery fire and four additional missiles which were fired at his aircraft. In spite of this intense enemy opposition, Commander Hunter completed his mission and was directly responsible for dealing a significant blow to the North Vietnamese logistics efforts. His indomitable perseverance and conspicuous gallantry were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.   More detailed information about this mission above: https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1969/july/hanoi-tonight#:~:text=On the night of 30,." This is their story   More about Attack Squadron 81 (Atkron 81) https://www.seaforces.org/usnair/VA/Attack-Squadron-81.htm#:~:text=Attack Squadron 81 (ATKRON 81),VA-81 'Sunliners'&text=STATUS%3A     Charles HUNTER Obituary HUNTER, Rear Adm. Charles Bryan (USN Ret.) "Charlie" 86, of Gulfport, passed away Feb. 24, 2017. Admiral Hunter was born in Jasper, FL and served for over 30 years in the United States Navy. Admiral Hunter graduated from the US Naval Academy in May 1954 and was designated a Naval Aviator in 1956. During his career he served multiple tours of duty as a pilot in Viet Nam, including Commanding Officer of Attack Squadron Eighty-Five. He also served as Commanding Officer of the USS El Paso (LKA-117) and Commanding Officer of the USS Saratoga (CV-60). After a tour assigned to US Naval Forces Europe in London, England, Admiral Hunter served as Commander Medium Attack Electronic Warfare Wing at Whidbey Island, Washington. His last duty Station was MacDill AFB, as Chief of Staff, Joint Deployment Agency. Admiral Hunter's decorations include the Navy Cross, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, and Navy Commendation Medal. Charlie is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years, Xandra; son, Bryan; and granddaughter, Laura. He was predeceased by his son, Tim. He was a longtime member of the Pasadena Yacht and Country Club. A memorial service will be held at 1 pm Saturday, March 4 at the David C. Gross Funeral Home in St. Petersburg. Interment will follow at Arlington National Cemetery. 

WW1 89th Wild West Division. Guys mostly from the Mid West. 

Same seller sold another one. 

It certainly was. There is no link (until now) between all  the single letter stamps and the makers. A couple are known.    

PT 299 Laid down 15 March 1943 by Higgins Industries, New Orleans, LA Launched 10 May 1943 Completed 26 October 1943, placed in service and assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron SIXTEEN (MTBRon 16) under the command of Lt. Comdr. Almer P. Colvin, USN   MTBRon 16 participated in the Aleutian campaign from August 1943 to May 1944. Transferred to the Southwest Pacific, the squadron had action at Mios Woendi, Dutch New Guinea; Mindoro, P.I.; and Brunei Bay, Borneo. It also based for a time at Dreger Harbor, New Guinea, and San Pedro Bay, P.I., but had no action from these bases. As part of Task Unit 70.1.4, MTBRon 16 was awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for action at Mindoro from 15 - 19 December 1944. PT's 295-301, placed in service after the squadron had departed for the Aleutians, were designated as Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron SIXTEEN B, which was commissioned as a separate command under Lt. James H. Van Sicklen, USNR   The "Pom Pom", ex-"Two Niner Niner", ex-"Lucky Lady" was placed out of service 26 November 1945 Transferred to the State Department, Foreign Liquidation Commission in May 1946   Radioman Earle H. Lightner, Jr. seated on the right of the life ring   Radioman Earle H. Lightner, Jr. on the starboard .50 cal. machine guns   Source:  Gary Lightner via navsource.org  

ANY THOUGHTS ON THIS ONE??  

Thanks and thanks for the pic of his headstone.

My grandmother who kept a lot of newspapers from the ww2 cut this out of a newspaper. Although it doesn’t list a ton of medals I thought it would be interesting to share 

Salvage Sailor, thank you for posting this. I love the pictures of the Indian troops with what looks like M1 and M1928 (Cutts Compensators) Thompsons.