I've posted some pictures of this one before, but I finally brought it home to my collection instead of it rotting away in my parent's cedar chest at their house. My grandfather was in the headquarters battery of the 283rd Field Artillery Battalion during WWII. They were in-theater a month after D-Day and helped dig the allies out of the hedgerows and start marching towards victory. He served in Normandy, Holland, Belgium, and crossed the Rhine 10 times. They were considered "theater artillery" which meant they got passed around to whoever needed them at that time. They served under five separate armies and 8 divisions in the war. Most notably, they were with the 42nd for the liberation of Dachau where my grandfather, having a camera supplied by battalion HQ, documented what he saw there. We have many of those pictures in our possession today. While working on the battalion aerial observation plane just outside of Nuremberg, he had a Luftwaffe pilot come up to him and surrender thinking he was a commissioned officer since he had been in and out of the cockpit wearing a light flight-suit (he was qualified to fly the plane and sometimes did if the normal pilot was unable to do so when needed). Instead, he was surrendering to a mere T-4 sergeant. My grandfather brought home the pilot's flight suits, pilot's cap with throat mics, parachute (which got made into a wedding dress) binoculars, and the Luger. Luckily, my grandmother saved all his papers from the war after he died, which was well before I was born. He also earned a bronze star and was attached to the 3rd Infantry Division when they took Berchtesgaden. He had a hell of an experience in the war for sure! Anyway, here she is. The holster needs some cleaning and restoration. Mawkie, if you would be so kind as to PM me the info for your guy, I'd appreciate it.
