Saturday, March 20, 2010

Julien Modica: Endorsement Removed

I no longer endorse Mr. Modica for any office. Sadly, he conned me personally when I went for a visit this summer. I do not trust him.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Robert Law Collection: Royal Canadian Navy World War Two



Robert Law, standing at right, with crewmates.









This collection of World War Two items belonged to a young Canadian sailor from Edmonton, Alberta Canada by the name of Robert Law, who was the father of a colleague of mine at work. The colleague went up to Canada this year for her mother's funeral and brought back and donated her dad's WWII items to me to share with everyone for historical purposes, so here they are.
Law served as an Officers' Steward on a Royal Canadian vessel that I assumed was named the H.M.C.S. Naden during the war. However, further reseach indicates that H.M.C.S. Naden was a training area in Esquimault, British Columbia. Therefore, I am assuming he must have served on one of the following ships: the H.M.C.S. Chaudiere (destroyer), the destroyer H.M.C.S. Gatineau, of the H.M.C.S. Chilliwack, a corvette. The blue manual was his guide to preparing and serving meals for the officers on board ship. The newspaper clipping is from the Daily Telegraph and Morning Post, London, and tells of the sinking of a German U-Boat by the group of ships with which the Naden was sailing. Dated June 1, 1944. The U-Boat was sunk by the H.M.C.S. St. Catharines and its escorts. Ships named as being involved in this action include the H.M.C.S. Gatineau, the corvette H.M.C.S. Chilliwack, the H.M.S. Icarus, the H.M.C.S. Chaudiere, the corvette H.M.S. Fennel, and the corvette H.M.S. Kenilworth Castle.
Also interesting is Law's large collection of pin-up photos, most from the MGM studios. This collection includes large 8 by 10s as well as numerous 5 by 7s of various movie starlets at the time of the war. I have never seen so many pinups in such good condition, and I photographed and posted all of them because they are of great historical interest to readers.

Enjoy this collection, and thanks to Barbara Sweetland for donating them to me to share with historians everywhere.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

50-mission Officer's Crusher










I found this excellent, near-mint WWII-era officer's crusher cap at Deseret Industries for $5.00 last week. The officer's crusher was so named because it could be 'crushed'. The stiffener was removed from the top of the hat so that the wearer could fit the ear phones over the top in flight. The flight model had a single-layer leather bill that allowed the hat to be literally folded in two and carried in a pocket, though few did so. The officer's model is different from the enlisted man's model. The main difference, other than quality, is that the officer model has a cloth knit band around the base of the hat, and also has a larger eagle device.

My hat was manufactured by Knox, New York. It is named to Jay M. Strong and has his Army serial number as well. Haven't found out anything about this gentleman yet. The hat is near-mint, appears to have been worn only a few times. The ear phones on the hat did not come with the hat.