Completed A-2! (RoughWear 27752 from Eastman Leather)

Talon884 said:

He was a member of the 82nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 71st TRG in the South Pacific, flying P-39's then onto P-51's / F-6's. He joined the 82nd in early '45 in New guinea and made the trek up the Philippines and finally to Ie Shima (small Island off of Okinawa) and was one of the first fighter outfits able to reach Japan, their unit did the recon for Nagasaki.

One of the first original members father was friends with Walt Disney, after being told that the 82nd would fly photo recon, bomb and strafe Walt came up with the squadron patch, Binoculars and Camera for the Photo Recon, Bomb under the arm for bombing and the Tommy Gun for strafing.

Thank you to "Trotsky" on this site for his post that led me to Johnny Signor who replicated the Squadron Patch for me, he does great work! (an original and his work below)


Thank you for posting this history and the pics - all of it is fabulous! There's so much to like here: awesome portrait-type image with the six-shooter in a shoulder rig and what appears to be an Australian-made 5th AF SSI, P-51 bearing ID stripes, squadron mates, original unit insignia, and the memorial to the man. So, did your grandfather serve in the National Guard, too?

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Talon884 said:

Yes he did, He enlisted in the Texas National Guard while going to college in 1939, Texas 133rd Artillery, 39th Infantry (Left side of the case) then joined the Air Cadets in 1940 (Right side of case) and was commissioned in the USAAF in 1942 and Retired in 1966 (Center of display case)

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Talon884 said:

He was a member of the 82nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 71st TRG in the South Pacific, flying P-39's then onto P-51's / F-6's. He joined the 82nd in early '45 in New guinea and made the trek up the Philippines and finally to Ie Shima (small Island off of Okinawa) and was one of the first fighter outfits able to reach Japan, their unit did the recon for Nagasaki.

One of the first original members father was friends with Walt Disney, after being told that the 82nd would fly photo recon, bomb and strafe Walt came up with the squadron patch, Binoculars and Camera for the Photo Recon, Bomb under the arm for bombing and the Tommy Gun for strafing.

Thank you to "Trotsky" on this site for his post that led me to Johnny Signor who replicated the Squadron Patch for me, he does great work! (an original and his work below)



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