From History to Your Hands

Defeating the Axis in WWII required more than courage alone. It demanded youth, certainty, friendship, and years that could never be reclaimed. Many of those who returned carried home small fragments of a world consumed by fire.  These quiet witnesses testified that the ordeal had been real, that the long darkness had finally passed, and that beyond the silence of the guns lay a future waiting to be written by those who had endured.  

Today these relics are tangible links to the service of those who risked everything to make sure that the dark future they once represented was extinguished and a new one started in its place.  Our ‘Spoils of Victory’ auction features over 325 lots of historical memorabilia from a world at war.  Among them are a number of pieces that are doubly special because through provenance, oral tradition, and in several cases just meticulous record-keeping, families and collectors alike have maintained the bond between the artifacts and the veterans who served. As such, those pieces are more than just examples – they continue the historical legacy of the individual.

Allied highlights: Jedburgh wings from Arie Bestebreurtje of Operation Market Garden fame, named M2 paratrooper helmet, a very scarce camouflaged M1942 jump jacket to 509th PIR officer, submarine escape Momsen Lung, 4th Ranger Bn. / 1st Special Service Force / 474th Infantry NCO’s Ike, Japanese-American 11th Airborne officer’s trunk group, B-24 painted A-2 flight jacket, and an M1A1 ‘Bazooka’ rocket launcher.

Axis highlights: a Luftwaffe regimental standarte, U-1227 Capt. Friedrich Altmeier’s photo album, medals & decorations, a diver-recovered Kriegsmarine Enigma, chained SS dagger, double-decal SS helmet, U-3024 Captain’s commissioning book, as well as buckles, swords, flags, armbands, insignias, badges, and helmets.  Japanese items include rifles, swords, flags, hats, bayonets, and more.