So, I attended a small auction last night in Central Pennsylvania. With some trepidation, I bid on and won a set of navigator wings. Not being a wing expert, I was skeptical that they were World War II issue as claimed by the auctioneer since they were clutch back and had no hallmark of any sort.

 

The wings were attached to a postcard that read “Ken, I enclose my bombardier wings I hope you can use them.”

 

The note was signed by “Fred A. Braemer.”

When I got home last night, I did some research on the wings and believe they are Bell Trading Post from World War II.

This morning, I decided to research Fred A. Braemer. Much than my surprise, Mr. Braemer was a navigator on the Tokyo raid in 1942 (As in 30 Seconds Over Tokyo). Even more astonishing, he was in the lead plane with Major Doolittle! 

 

I know enough to buy the item and not the story, however, these wings were not advertised as the wings of a Doolittle raider. They were actually part of a small lot of miscellaneous items and the auction was not advertised or well attended. There was very little interest in the lot and I ultimately got the wings for $10.
 

Someone please pinch me if I’m dreaming. I attach photos of the wing and the note for your opinions.

 

I really like them.  They look WW2 to me.  
And the “story” seems very plausible.  

Found a copy of the signature online - looks close - 😉the wings look period ..

Amazing find - congratulations!

That's is too cool and the "F" in both signatures leaves no doubt in my mind they are by the same hand.  Congratulations!   I would write down all the info including the address of the auctioneer and keep it with the wing. 

 

Mark D

I am guessing the "Ken" is "Capt Ken Lazier" who used to write to veterans to get stuff. A lot of his stuff was sold in Manions back in the day.

Kurt

The auctioneer said that the wings came from the Smarsh Estate. He believes the decedent was an Adam’s County , PA resident and passed a while back. Huge collector of memorabilia. 
 

Here’s a photo of the wings at the auction as found in a cardboard box with assorted unrelated items. 

 

 

Hello @gap

 

fantastic auction find and $10 is a bargain no matter what.

 

a couple of points of clarification on your wings. They are bombardier wings as shown in the photos and in Fred’s card vs what you stated in the post. The are graduation wings made by Robbins meaning they are what the Army ordered as insignia to be given upon graduation with no manufacturer mark. They have the classic short posts directly soldered to the back. You can read more about this pattern here: 

 

Yes, I typed to fast in my excitement, meant bombardier wings!

 

Thank you for identifying the maker as well! 

This is a great find! Congrats!

Here is the Consignor’s obituary.

 

 

That is pretty cool.

 

Many famous military heroes would auction off things (like wings) for charity.  Jimmy Stewart auctioned off his wings for various charity events over the years.  I had a chance to bid on one of those lots many years ago.  There is a lot of stuff (apparently) out there from Paul Tibbits IIRC.

 

My wife's uncle was a Hollywood producer of some renown and worked with Audie Murphy when he was making movies.  Mr. Murphy used to give away his medals to fans if they asked (especially if the fan was an attractive girl and he had been drinking).  So he had a steady stream of "replacement medals" from the US Government. At one point, Audie (who was trying to get a role in a Dirty Harry movie) had offered his medals to him.

 

Also, a family friend knew Jimmy Doolittle very well (and Jimmy Stewart) when he was working with the USAF Academy. He told me that Gen Doolittle would offer them all sorts of memorabilia (including his wings and medals) if they wanted them. My friends knew I had started collecting WWII wings and were going to ask him if he had anything to let me have, but sadly, he got sick and died before they had a chance. I did get a Christmas card signed by Gen Doolittle that they had kept. 

 

 

So cool you got the wings.

 

P

 

Fred A Braemer is listed as having been trained as a bombardier at McChord Air Base in Tacoma, Washington and was an enlisted bombardier.  Since the Tokyo raid occurred before bombardier wings were authorized, if these were his he picked them up sometime later.  

The Ken I referring to got most of his acquisitions in the 70s and 80s , and it’s entirely possible Mr Smarsh bought them from a dealer or from Manions himself, especially if he was a collector.