Friday, August 31, 2012

WWII USN Radioman 1st Class USS Sanborn

One item I was trying to locate was a WWII Navy Jumper with Amphibious Patch of a sailor was participated in the Battle Of Iwo Jima. That was a tough request as patched Navy Jumper are not found that often. I was fortunate enough to locate this jumper of a sailor on the USS Sanborn (APA-139). The USS Sanborn felt the battle first hand with many of its landing force were killed on the beach and with another Sanborn sailor earning a Silver Star for actions at Iwo Jima.

WWII USMC Shirt Pea Green

While the shorts are often seen for sale it is the pea green shirts that are very difficult to locate for the collection. According to the list of items that go into the field transport pack three shirts are suppose to be in the pack but finding even one is extremely difficult. This was a nice example that appeared recently.

WWII USMC Sergeant 1st Marine Division

This Marine was in the 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division was transported on the USN ships USS McCawley and the USS Fuller and participated in the Battle of Guadalcanal. He's listed on the Rosters through 1958 so he had a long career.

Monday, August 27, 2012

WWII USMC Staff Sergeant FMF-Pac Artillery

Another Iwo Jima service coat located! This one belongs to a Marine who was a cook in C Company, 2nd 155mm Howitzer Battalion which landed on Iwo Jima on the first day of battle. What is the historical significance of their particular landing? They were the only company of their battalion to land successfully and get in position in support of the 28th Marines on the first few days of the battle. Also the ship they landed with LST 779 was the ship that provided the second flag for the historic Iwo Jima flag raising. This will be the first FMF-Pac patched uniform I have ever purchased for my collection as somebody stripped the patches off the uniform and will need to be restored. Looking forward to learning more about this Marine.

Friday, August 24, 2012

WWII USN Corpsman PhM 1st Class

This was a legit WWII USN Corpsman forest green coat that was listed a few weeks back. The name in the jacket matched up with the WWII Rosters to a Corpsman that was based at El Toro in Southern California and later went overseas for some time. Like the 5th Marine Division jackets these tend to made up or faked as they tend to go for a lot. A beautiful coat that every WWII USMC collector should have as part of their collection.

WWII USMC IDed Army Canteen

One would think that there would be lots of Militaria in Japan due to the nine year occupation as well as the USA presence there post war. But WWII Militaria hardly shows up there on auction sites and such. Here was one I missed part of a lot of canteens, a USMC ided Army WWII Canteen. Wish I could have picked it up!

Japanese Sands Of Iwo Jima Poster すごい!

I was checking out the Japanese websites and I came across this dramatic poster of the Japanese release of The Sands Of Iwo Jima. As much as I am researcher of Iwo Jima and fan of John Wayne I am not a particular fan of the film. If only if was as dramatic as this poster!