Beschreibung:

Standard WWII issue A-2 flight jacket of dark brown horsehide, the left shoulder with leather CBI [China Burma India] patch of composite construction; the right shoulder with beautiful and rare theater-made embroidered cloth 14th Army Air Force "Flying Tiger" patch with leather surround. The left breast with brown leather name tab stamped: W.V. Tascher with Chinese translation in white characters above; handsome multi-element 491st "Ringer" Bomb Squadron leather patch below. Leather lieutenant's bars on shoulder epaulettes. Two patch pockets on front. Original brown knit cuffs and waistband. Interior with standard brown cotton lining, left side with Chinese silk "blood chit", the right with American Flag "blood chit" numbered 5410. Neck with intact black and yellow contract label reading: Type-A-2/DrawingNo.30-1415/A.C.No.W33-038AC-1761 /Property/Air Force U.S. Army/ Bronco Mfg. Co./New York, N.Y. Size 38. Sold together with the following memorabilia belonging to Lt. Tascher. 1) Pair of pinback pilots wings stamped Sterling and inscribed: Lt. W.V. Tascher/0-7653443 2) Pair of rare Chinese gold-plated pinback pilots wings with domed blue and white enamel star center [given to Tascher by a friend during the war]. 3) Tascher's theater-made flying scarf of white silk, embroidered with a "Flying Tiger" and 491st Squadron patch. 4) CBI souvenir theater-made cigarette case with engraved image of India and Burma on front [mint condition]. 5) nickel silver pocket compass. 6) Tascher's personal "short-snorter" made up of 24 different foreign notes, taped together end-to-end and containing signatures of over 100 pilots and friends acquired while flying from U.S. to China and back during the war. 7) U.S. Army issue emergency signal mirror in original box. 8) finely crafted theater-made aluminum cigarette lighter inscribed to Tascher and engraved with 491st Bomb Squadron and "Flying Tigers" insignias [given to Tascher by his gunner and reportedly made from metal from a downed aircraft]. 9) Two thick bundles of Chinese escape currency carried by Tascher on missions [$500 value in 1944]. 10) Two souvenir handkerchiefs, embroidered with Christmas and New Years motifs, made in Kumming and dated 1944 [mailed to his mother and grandmother, December 1944]. 11) Two paper leaflets announcing to the Chinese a reward for aiding assistance to downed allied pilots. 12) 10 assorted photos of Tascher, crew and aircraft taken during WWII [some are modern copies]. 13) Army Air Force pocket medical advice pamphlet [stained with mud from air crash when Tascher was shot down in China]. 14) Another metal signal mirror. 15) Nine different U.S. Army Air Force theater newspapers titled The Chinese Lantern, published to give airmen and troops news of the war. 16) Brass oval belt buckle marked: Bengal Police 1944 Dacca, India [in 1944 Tascher and his crew often played soccer with the local police personnel. One policeman wanted to trade souvenirs and he traded his 50 mission "crush" cap to him for his official belt buckle]. 17) Tascher's Distinguished Unit ribbon with brass frame. 18) Tascher's numbered China Memorial Medal and accompanying ribbon bar [#9147]. These were awarded to American servicemen who served at least 30 days in service of the National Chinese government. Condition: All items are excellent with light age wear present. Note: Lt. William V. Tascher was assigned to the China-Burma-India theater from November, 1944 to November, 1945. He was a B-25 pilot in the 491st Bomb Squadron, 341st Bomb Group, 14th Army Air Force, Yangkai, China. He was shot down on June 3rd, 1945 and crashlanded in a rice paddy. All the crew survived but some were wounded. Tascher and his crew walked to a nearby river, purchased a boat and were finally repatriated and cared for. A couple of weeks later Tascher was back on flight status until the war ended.