First all, thanks for this forum. I'm beginning to read and learn. Dad was in WW2, stationed in Japan. He wouldn't discuss the war with me and has now passed. I have a few things of his, including his tags and mess kit. There is, however, one strange item that I can't figure out. Is it permissible to post a picture here in case someone can give some background? Thanks, bd
Go for it, BD. We would also be interested in seeing his service number etc as it might help you learn about his service history.
more Thanks for the info on getting the pictures. Maybe folks can see the entire album but there's nothing there except more pics of this thing and a postcard. Dad's portrait is painted on a hankie. There's a "5" on the shoulder patch. The strange item is 1 1/4" long. There doesn't seem to be any way to open it. There IS, however, that silver tab on the top. I have pulled at it but it doesn't want to come out. I am afraid to pull too hard. It is in a wooden box with soft padding. No writing or identifying marks except for this design lightly engraved and going about half way around the thing. Thanks for inviting me to share more. Right now the household is asleep and if I climb upstairs to get his tags I'll wake the whole batch up and my quiet time will be over. I'll do that later. Dad said only, about his military experience, that someone messed up and was told to dig a hole, He did so and the guy threw in a cigarette butt, told him to cover it up and then told him to dig it up and find the butt! He also said that they kept the troops happy by bringing shiploads of beer and cigs. He told my sister that he did clerical work, no fighting, and that he almost married a Japanese woman. Grandma kept every letter that he ever sent home. There must be hundreds of them. I have started to read them and see, not the dad I knew, but a young, lonely man. Brings up lots of emotion to see this part of him. To be honest, he had an alcohol problem and by the time I was old enough to have real questions, he wasn't rational enough to share. OK, I've rambled on long enough. Thank you all for being able to share your experiences. Your efforts and risks are unlike no others I've heard. My (uneducated) opinion is that WW2 was a REAL war. You were fighting for your own country and gave all. Take care, beagle
There's a "5" on the shoulder patch To my eye it represents the 5th US Air Force - typing this into wiki gives a nice image of the patch about half-way down and info like this - "Headquarters Fifth Air Force was re-staffed at Brisbane, Australia on 18 September 1942 and placed under the command of Major General George Kenney. United States Army Air Forces units in Australia, including Fifth Air Force, were eventually reinforced and re-organised following their initial defeats in the Philippines and the East Indies. At the time that Kenney had arrived, Fifth Air Force was equipped with three fighter groups and 5 bombardment groups." and "Shortly after World War II ended in August, Fifth Air Force relocated to Irumagawa Air Base, Japan, about September 25, 1945 as part of the Allied occupation forces. The command remained in Japan until December 1, 1950 performing occupation duties." Unfortunately I know next to nothing on USAAF history etc and I've got no guesses on what the little amber looking item is... Looking at the locations for the 5th and it's subordinate groups your father may have spent some time in Australia. Maybe you could load up his details to this thread, his full name and service number would be a good start. Also, if you already have a bunch of info on his service history then list what bits you are missing. Once I have his details I might do a quick search of some of the Aussie databases, you never know what you might find on some of those.......
Welcome to the forum. Is it possible for you to get some better shots of the item? I can't really make out details from the shot you have. Any idea on material?
