What are your thoughts about this lighter?

No idea how I managed to miss that one, thank you!

Hi all! I'm new to the forum and I came across this after finding a post by user Belleauwood from some time ago now while looking for information about the Lafayette Flying Corps medal (he had posted this Original Lafayette Escadrille Medal thread here in 2012). Anyway, I had started this journey while beginning to research my family history and trying to find more information about two Great Uncles of mine, Albert Edward Germain and Harwood Hobbs Thompson, both of whom lost their lives in the service in WWII and Korea respectively. I have learned a lot about each since (though still missing one piece about what exact unit my Uncle Albert was attached to (as a forward observer) when he was KIA on Peleliu, Sept 23, 1944 if anyone has any idea how to help find that needle in the haystack, I'd be extatic!). Anyway, in speaking with my father more about Albert, I then also learned that my Great Great Uncle (my Great Grandmothers brother) was Warren Tucker Hobbs who flew with the Lafayette Flying Corps and was killed when his plane was downed over Ypres in June of 1918 and I had another project to start. So now I am trying to do some more research on him, and I have learned a lot, but WWI information seems much harder to come by. I do know he is interred at the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial in France and I do have some family records including a few pictures and many many transcribed letters that Warren had written home while serving in France that someone on the Hobbs/Beamis side of the family had compiled many years ago (neat project). Anyway, just looking to learn whatever else I could and thought this might be a good place to say hi and start out!  

Nice! That's one uniform item that's eluded me so far.....     Mark sends

Our latest acquisition is another Goodwill find, this time the complete Dress Greens of Captain Oliver William Kabry. A native of Florida, he graduated with the Class of 1998 from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. His first assignment was at Fort Hood, Texas, and then with the 1st Battalion of the 66th Armor Regiment when they were reassigned to the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson Colorado. They are equipped with the M1 Abrams main battle tank. The First Battalion has participated in combat operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom and in Operation Enduring Freedom.   1-66 Armor deployed to Iraq in 2003-2004, 2005-2006, and in 2008-2009; the third deployment to Iraq was the last deployment of 1-66 while stationed at Fort Hood TX, before relocating to Fort Carson, Colorado, and joining the 4th Infantry Division. 1-66 Armor subsequently deployed to Afghanistan in 2010-2011, as part of the Surge in the volatile Arghandab River Valley west of Kandahar City in RC-South.   Mark sends

JCB:          What bothers me is that the ring on this particular example is integral to the pendant. All other low-serial-numbered (early) DFCs that I've seen on this forum have the ring soldered on. I'd always figured that that was the technology of the day.          I don't have access to Call of Duty right now but how do the examples in the book - especially #194 - have the ring attached?  And how does the font compare?  Is there a hallmark on #194 ?         ( Makes me think that I should carry the book with me at all times! ) .....   Jim T               You can see how the separate ring is recessed forward from the back face of the medal; you can even pretty clearly see the break in the ring in this example.    (photo from National Air & Space Museum)  .

Great looking display! Congrats

Added custom decals to my jet with my dad’s rank, name, and call sign “Rummy.”

if its sharpie acetone will remove it. I know there are pens sold that people touch up aluminum receivers and scope bodies etc   The bayonet would have been parkerized originally. 

Nice find aactionjim!