Winter 2021 Militaria & Collectibles Auction
Lot 121A:
Description
One of the most incredible WWII Army Air Force groups we have ever handled. This archive is to radioman and gunner, Technical Sergeant Robert G. Hartford, 91st Bomb Group, 8th Army Air Force in WWII in early 1944 leading up to D-Day. Once he finished his 30 missions over Europe, he signed on for a second tour in the Pacific and flew the Hump.The highlight is a very, very detailed daily journal he kept of every mission he flew on, filled out by hand after each one. He details bombs dropped, rounds fired at enemy aircraft and the results (he hit a number of enemy fighters), targets, weather, planes lost around him, crewmembers wounded, etc. In one entry, he notes that it is difficult to explain in words what he saw. As he approaches the end of his tour, his entries grow more dim, with daily prayers asking for his survival until the next day, and in some ways appearing to lose some hope. His last entry noted that he was dunked underwater for finishing his tour. Only a sample of the entries are shown, but this is the most detailed account of aerial combat we have ever seen. The group also includes pieces from a scrapbook he disassembled. Includes bullion patches, English made bullion early radioman blue backed combat crew wings, sterling wings and pins, theater made ribbon bars, paperwork booklets, documents, some photos, a piece of the seat of his B-17, and more.
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