What do you own, not have modeled, but the things you actually own that are real artifacts of the past. It can be a vehicle or aircraft, or it can be any thing that’s from the past.
For me, I’ve got:
1: A 3’ by 5’ map in Japanesse, it’s on Rice paper and trimmed with gold thread
2: A invasion map of Ie Shima (a island off the coast of Japan). It shows anti aircraft locations, airfields, sleeping billets, anti invasion batteries, etc.
3: A Japanesse Banzai sword given to me by the man who took it from the Japanesse General on Luzon. The sword is wrapped in leather, it has a leather guard for the handle, the handle has a long cord that is tied to the handle, and it has the name written on the scabbard “MOUTH OF THE RIVER” in Japanesse and it’s sharp clear into the handle. The sword was handed to me by Earl P. Littleton who was ordered to the Japanesse HQ and who took the general to the surrender ceremonys.
A large data placard taken from a C-46 and a six-foot red canvass RBF flag I took off of a FOD cover in the bomb bay of a B-47E. I was going to make a guitar strap out of it, but never got around to it. Also, I took the cover off the radar screen. They had interchangable covers with maps scribed into them for navigation and target location. This one had the state of Texas on it, with the rivers and other landmarks scribed into the plexiglass.
TOM
I have my great-grandfather’s helmet from WWI…I believe he was in the French calvary…it is hard to tell from looking at the helmet…but it is pretty interesting.
I have a set og dog tags that I carry around. They were from a friend that was involved in the pacific campaign. I did not know it until after he passed away. He never mentioned it and we discovered the tags when cleaning out his house. I kind of keep them as a reminder that there are many more like him that will never tell their story.
1915-production SMLE with bayonet;
1945-production 1903 Springfield;
1920-something production Colt 1911
1927-vintage U.S. Army dress sabre
gas mask of unkown vintage
1945-vintage U.S.G.I. machete
1940-something vintage ashtray made from the base of a 155mm artillery round casing and several .50-caliber MG rounds (no, I don’t smoke, but my Grandfather did and used this thing daily.)
I have my grangfather’s WW I helmet, “leggings” - at least that’s what my Dad told me they were, they wrapped around the lower legs of the pants, and I believe his machete that he had.I tell you the helmet seems like a cast iron skillet it’s so heavy.
WW2 American Helmet
WW2 British Helmet
WW2 practice bomb
East German Cap
East German Canteen
Shrapnell
Two machine gun ammo boxes
54 cal. machine gun casing
10 sand bags
Canadian Army Trench kit
20mm Gatling Gun shell
Numerous 303 british shells
Machine gun ammo links
illumination flare
new and old Canadian Camo paints
Brass knuckels (non military, but still a weapon)
Canadian Army Feild rations
two Cadanian Field Telephones (with about 100ft of cable)
One british 1960’s Field telephone
Trench shovel
This should be most of it…[:0]
I collect stuff like that, so I’m kinda crazy for it[:p][:p]
I’m in the process of putting together complete Army Aviator kits from 1917 to the present. Right now I’ve got a complete 9th AF P-47 pilot kit, complete 1970 AH-1G pilot kit, Desert Storm AH-64A pilot kit (minus the IHADSS helmet, but those go for $15K!). Working on the WWI aviator and Korean War now.
I’ve got a bunch of infantry and First Special Service Force stuff too, but I’m a Living Historian. As for rifles, I’ve got a 1941 production M-1903, a 1918 production M-1917, a 1942 production M-1 and a 1943 production M-1903A3.
I have a bayonet that says 1907 on the blade, with the scabbard. it came from my grandmothers garage, i have no idea who it belonged to or where its from.
What you have are called Puttees.
They were wrapped around the top of the boot and usually finished around 2 to 3 inches above the ankle.
I still had them in the RAF until the new combat boots were issued in 1988 and very happily binned them, as they were a complete pain to put on.
While serving , I used a lot of equipment dating back to just after the Korean war, well, lets face it , that was the last time the RAF bought any new kit !
Man oh man, what is the statute of limitations on this stuff being considered stolen? I mean the more recent vintage? I guess I can go up to the Vietnam era without going to jail.
1 US Army cavalry hat band (the corded kind with the tassles) that my grandfather wore when he rode with Pershing against Pancho Villa, his puttees, also his soldier’s guide to France from WW I. My great uncle’s kilt from when he served in the Black Watch in WW I.
Two Japanese flags- one silk with rising sun and prayer, the other a rayed ceremonial with gold fringe. A set of Japanese field binoculars with case. These my grandfather brought back from WW II. My brother has the samurai sword with scabbard and some other stuff.
A Springfield Armory M 1 Garand, an M 1 carbine bayonet and scabbard, a 30-06 round that I found on the invasion beach on Guam back in 1979,
Everything else is Vietnam era stuff like my uniforms, my dad’s poncho liner, a set of his jungle fatigues and boots (complete with red mud stains), a lensatic compass, binoculars with range and airburst sights, and so many little odds and ends that I can’t recalll them all.
I have two Japanese silk flags my father brought home from WWII. Not the “rising sun” flags, just white with red circle. One has writing I would like to get translated.
emo07
I have a huge collection of U.S. World War 2 shoulder patches. Mainly Army/Army Air Corp. I have the patch for almost every Army, Corp, and Divison that was involved on all fronts as well many Department patches.
7.65mm Mauser, British bayonet, US Army canteen and web belts, various piece of neutralized ammo, M-1 carbine, Japanese officers dagger.
Oh yeah - lots of paper script (money) from just about every country - short snorter!
well my family has my grandfathers Ike Jacket (from when he served in the Philapenes in 1945-1947 he is desceased now BTW he is my fathers father) right now we have my moms fathers Mauser that he got in France as a war trophy which is now sitting in a local museum and it is a very old Mauser the date stamped on the reciever housing says 1891. My dad has several pieces from a Scud missile that he got during the first Gulf war plus hundereds of patches given to him by members of the Kuwati Air Force Saudi Air Force and the RAF. While I have a M17A2 gas mask and unused filters which are Gulf War Vintage plus a 25mm shell casing and a M16 30 round magazine my brother sort of filched from the Army plus I also have a Steel Pot helmet and liner that were Canadian Army surplus but were originally US surplus which were sold to the Canadian armed forces when our units went to the Kevlar helmet.
I have:
Helmets from each of the following combatant nations in WW II:
Germany, Russia, Italy, The United States, France, and Britain Mk. II and Mk.III.
I also have a 1943 Canadian battledress jacket, along with the complete Pattern 38 web gear, Lee Enfield Bayonet, canteen and entrenching tool ( all dated pre-1945). I just need the right battledress trousers, boots and puttees and I’ll have the full kit. I also have a few 1944 first aid dressings to tuck up under the camo netting on the helmet. I keep everything in my class room so my students can “see” some history up close.
Enfield No.1 Mk III w/ Bayo
Enfield No.1 Mk III grenadiers rifle with cup projector (throws a tennis ball 150 yards at approx 150 fps, great for running the dog)
Enfield No.4 Mk 1 W/ Bayo
Enfield No.2 revolver
Webly Nk.VI revolver
1943 production Mi Carbine w/ Bayo
Mk 4 Long lever Martini-Henry (.577-450) (try finding ammo for that at less than $4.00 per round)
1871 Mauser in .43 Mauser
British PIAT
on to the Militaria
large collection of British adn commonwealth Regimental Cap Badges
not quite so large collection of US army Collar Discs adn Branch of Service insignia
about a dozen US Navy silk escape maps from the PTO, and one british one of Malaysia (WWII or just after)
WS-19 radio out of a Canadian Sherman (prod 1943)
several sets of Pattern 37 web kit
Brit Airborne helmet
5 war dated broadarrow marked jerry cans (hopefully there is an British Airborne Recce Jeep in my future somewhere, I have been collecting bits and bobs for it for years!)
I know it is not something that I own, but I have to mention it: I once held in my hands a George Medal from the 1st Marine Division. The Goerge Medal was made up by the division on its departure from Guadalcanal, and hung on a strip of fabric cut from Marine Utilities. only about 800-1000 were made before the die wore out, quite an interesting piece.
How about paper?
about 4 shelf-feet of books about WWII printed durning WWII
a copy of portions of the operations order for the first phase of the Invasion of Japan (I strongly suspect that this is one of the few copies not in a government archinve of this document)(off the top of my head I forget the name of the operation)
AB64 for some corporal in one of the Guards regiments
A very intersting French book on the use of artillery in the 1600s published in the late 1600s. Desperately needs rebinding, which I might get to someday when the bench is clear of models!
