US WWII USAAF Scrapbook, Silver Star Winner, Died in Air Crash 1948
This item is listed for historical interest only. It was listed on our site previously but has been sold and is no longer available for purchase.
Sold for: $250.00

Original era photography. An emotive offering covering one Airman's life, literally from the cradle to the grave. Born in 1920, he served during WWII as a pilot flying a B-26 Marauder during 64 combat missions, piloting the same plane that he flew from the USA. His combat experiences included missions on June 6th 1944, and on another mission left the safety of his returning formation, to drop back and escort a damaged Marauder home to base, for this act he was awarded the Silver Star. He came through the war without a scratch in spite of the 450 hits (157 on one mission) his plane endured during the war. Postwar he married, settling down in Virginia as an Insurance executive, yet continued to serve his country in the Air National Guard, Washington DC. On January 18th 1948, while piloting a C-47 during a routine mission, his aircraft crashed on take-off, he being the only fatality, the remaining crew and passengers were injured but survived. The album itself is in poor condition, happily the contents have survived quite well and should for the most part be easy to remount in a better environment. The content is excellent with numerous photos of his eventful life, newspaper clippings of the tragedy, telegrams and articles of condolence. He appears to have been a remarkable individual, who knows what he could have accomplished had he escaped the accident.