WW II Bond Posters

found these Beauties at an Estate sell for 5 buck each , I know they are not really Tiki but they would look killer in a tiki/sea side bar.. it was kind of odd i was the only guy there everyone else was older women fighting over quilts and dolls i snuck in and laid my 20 bones down and left they are original 1944 and dead mint,..

Nice snag. Original bond posters go for some serious money depending on the subject and artist. A well spent twenty bucks. That Iwo Jima is the best of the bunch.

"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

[ Edited by: uncle trav 2009-11-30 11:28 ]

The Iwo Jima poster is cool...so are the others. The last surviving member
of the flag raising party was John Bradley, who was a funeral home director in
Antigo, Wis (Conga's hometown). The flag raising image was even more iconic here
than elsewhere, always featured in funeral home calendars, and the original
mock up for the Iwo Jima monument is on display at the funeral home. I know...
who cares?

Hey thats way cool.. and Yes i Care. My Grandfather "H.I Adams" was on the hill when they raised the flag
the 2nd time and took the picture .you can see him in the Wide shot or on the color stills .he is on the right holding a B.A.R Machine gun, He was wounded the next day I think everyone should care or at least respect them.. when Papa past away 5 years ago. He was buried with honors and i got his Flag that covered his coffin, its in my display case along with his Medals..

I'm sure eveyone on here has some story of there family in the Armed Forces.. feel free to share any war really, just to show respect to them

I have a group of items that are from a belly gunner on a B-24. He was KIA on 11/24/44. I have all of his files and mementos even his medals and the flag given to his parents and the telegram telling his folks the news of his death. Sad stuff. Fast forward from when I found the items about fifteen years. I started getting a feeling that having theses items without a story was just having a bunch of stuff. I started to dig and dig. Talked with the Army archives the National Archives and finally with the historian with the 460th Bomb Group. Long story short the rest of the crew made it out of the plane as it was going down. Only Alvin didn't make it out. I was able to talk with the copilot V.O. Hall on a number of occasions. The crew was taken prisoner by the Germans and VO never knew what happened to his buddy. I was able to tell him that Alvin was found with the downed plane by the Germans and buried at the crash site. VO said that closure for over fifty years of wondering. With some of the information I was able to find the crash-site now has a small memorial placed there by V.O. Hall on a visit to Austria. VO and the rest of his crew are now with thier buddy Alvin again. The stories of these men tell are moving fast from a chat about old memories to things only read in books. The story of this one crew goes on and on and it is one of only thousands. Didn't mean to derail the thread just thought I'd pass it along. Thanks.

Trav, that's an awesome story. You just gave me goosebumps. I've started a tribute wall, in the hallway, leading into my lounge. It bothered me to find photos of servicemen for sale at flea markets & swap meets, so I decided to give them a place of honor, in my home.

Hey guys This is great.. I myself started finding old picture's and WW II stuff at junk sells and so on.. I felt the same way.People were just forgetting them....please share.. share all you want, I met a guy at the coffee shop ,he had a WWII Vet hat on and i asked him where he was .He told me he Built the road to Burma in the Sea Bees.. man they had it ruff, told me all about the Snakes and bugs he had to fight let alone the Jap's ,just to build a road..i bought his coffee for him, and thanked him for his Service
since then we have become good friends and i just love to hear his story, he is 81 and proud to be an American..He told me about an Hawaiian Boob bar in Singapore..man it was a hoot

[ Edited by: The Witch Doctor 2009-12-02 06:16 ]

Great Thread, I look forward to reading more stories and thoughts.

Our chances of learning from the greatest generation are quickly running out. Each and every one a hero who deserves their memories to be held with respect, dignity and honor.

As for you Uncle Trav, as usual you are too modest. You have an excellent reputation here on TC as an Urban Archeologist, but I was excited to see you put Alvins story here. For you are also a fine historian. With the hundreds of hours of research you did basically pre internet, I know the level of commitment you made to not only preserve his story but to end it. Because of you and you alone, the surviving members of his crew finally knew his fate. And because of you, those crew members traveled back to a foreign country and placed a fitting permanent memorial to his memory.

Alvin could not have had a better memory keeper. You do your big sister proud.

Sissy

I'm right with you on this. I sure do relate to wanting to give those pictures, etc. a place of honor and to keep those memories alive. I've always had a real fascination and awe with that era and the amazing people who gave so much to defend and protect us (as so many do today as well). The 'back-story' of my basement bar is of a fictional 1940's bar and I have a spot that will be dedicated to that time and those people (been collecting stuff for years). My Great Uncle served in the Pacific and fought through the islands (until being seriously injured on Saipan). He was a wonderful and very humble man.

Twice in the last few years at my workplace (a software company in Redmond), a veterans group has invited Buck Compton to speak on Memorial Day. He was one of the men depicted in Band of Brothers and lives locally. He is one of the most humble men I have ever met and his whole life story is amazing (played college baseball before the war as a team mate and friend of Jackie Robinson, After the war-became a cop/detective, later became a prosecutor and subsequently prosecuted Sirhan-Sirhan for the assassination of Robert Kennedy, and later became a Circuit Court of Appeals Judge. I proudly and humbly hang his autographed picture in my house.

Really makes me personally happy to know there are others out there who feel the same way.

[ Edited by: Mr. Pupu Pants 2009-12-03 10:28 ]