World War II Purple Heart Group
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GUEST:
This is a collection of World War II memorabilia from my husband's uncle, and he was a co-pilot on bomber planes in World War II. And this actually was up in the attic of my mother-in-law's farm where, of course, he grew up as well.
APPRAISER:
Sure.
GUEST:
I just happened to be up in the attic one day and came across this amazing collection, which eventually my husband and I inherited. It looks like he was a co-pilot on a B-17 bomber that was titled “Old Solider”.
APPRAISER:
That was the name of the plane. And "Old Soldier" had the distinction of being the first all-American crew, all-American plane to drop the first U.S. bomb on German soil. And what's interesting about this group is that it's rather complete in how it tells the story. We have a photo of the co-pilot here with his crew signed by all the members, and then there's a photo of your husband's uncle sitting at the... in the controls. You can see very clearly, "Old Soldier." And then there's a pin with this paper tag that would have been pulled from the fuse of the bomb that would have been dropped. And it clearly says, "Safety pin from first bomb to hit German territory from USA AF." The target was Wilhelmshaven, and even says the name of the plane, "Old Soldier." And it was January 27, 1943. And then the other side just has the information about how to properly use the pin. Sadly, Lieutenant Keith Bartlett, shortly after that first bomb was dropped, was killed in a mid-air collision with another plane.
GUEST:
He was.
APPRAISER:
And for that, he was awarded the Purple Heart. And this Purple Heart is engraved with his name. It's actually an early version, and this is with an enameled center. And as part of his service he was also awarded the Air Medal with the oak leaf cluster, which also has his name as Second Lieutenant Keith Bartlett, AC for Air Corps. This is what's called a short snorter.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And you would have that in your billfold and you would be asked to produce it in the bar. If you didn't-- weren't able to produce it, you had to buy the drinks.
GUEST:
(laughing) Oh, really.
APPRAISER:
And all his buddies would have signed it. Collectors who are interested in this material look for completeness, and this really ties it up so the historian or collector can really do the amount of research required. It is a real time capsule and tells quite a heroic and tragic story.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Everything together, this would be retail $3,000 to $5,000.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
It's quite an impressive group and you should be very proud of his service, and I'm really happy to have seen it.
GUEST:
We are-- thank you very much, wow. Thank you.
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