Combat Art Two Wars Apart | American Artifact Episode 212

Added: 2026-05-14

[00:00:26]We're in my office at the Gettsburg Museum of History. annex building. And uh we've been highlighting some items that are going to be featured in the new museum that we're currently building right now. And uh these are items that aren't currently on display and they're new or at least fairly new to the museum. So we kind of call this what's new at the museum. We want to tease you and give you some glimpses as to what is going to be featured in the new part of the museum. and we're asking for your help to help build this with some donations and uh every little bit helps.

[00:01:02]But I'm going to go over a few things.

[00:01:04]We're going to we're going to do another dive into some soldier artwork which is um myself and JD's favorite subject. I think we've done a lot of these and some of the most interesting artifacts I think have that personal touch placed on by a soldier or a marine or an airman.

[00:01:23]But we're going to start with this painted jacket. This is a World War II jacket. Um it's an Eighth Air Force guy.

[00:01:31]Um it's Homesick Angel. And uh it belonged to a guy named Leo Feder who was um on a bomber. And uh I'm going to turn it around for a second here. You got that that really great artwork here.

[00:01:44]And on the front it has um his his wings here, his name, and a little lucky symbol here. It's like a fourleaf clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clo clover and it has a lieutenant bar on on the shoulders. But uh this is a private purchase. This isn't an issued A2 jacket. It it is a private purchase but also came with some other items from this guy. His dog tags, his his uh ID card, and some wings. And there's another box of miscellaneous um insignia. There's one of his cap insignas. and um some some other wings in there. So, this all came together and I love painted A2s. We did a whole video on some of the other ones we had at the museum, but we just got this one, so we wanted to show it to you today. Uh so, we have a helmet, a nice fixed bale uh 34th Division helmet, and it also says Africa and Italy there, which is very unusual. And um I I guess it was probably painted with the insignia and then this was added maybe after the war or during occupation, but it has the liner here. Very salty looking. The straps are very worn. Um this is what I like to see on a helmet. I mean, a lot of people want mint condition, but I like stuff that was actually worn and used. And and this this was looks to me like a combat used helmet to me. and and just, you know, you can see the wear on on the chin strap and the the the extreme wear and almost greasiness here from taking it on and off. And um it just it just has that real salty combat used look to me. Um this is really interesting. This is a trophy helmet and we've featured trophy helmets before.

[00:03:40]This is an M42 German helmet. And it has the various places this guy was Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, France, it says England, and it has 193 194. And so this is um a glider unit that was part of the 17th Airborne. And um so this is a glider guy and it has um it has uh the name B. Taylor, Dead Man's Ridge, which is Battle the Bulge. And it looks like it has the size in here. Um, it's a little hard to read. Um, but this just fell out of the liner. And, uh, this was in there. It's a little paratrooper wing. I don't know why that was in there. I hadn't noticed that before cuz this is pretty new. But, it's a great trophy helmet. Um, good paint on there and very, very interesting painting. Um, airborne trophy hel helmets are are are pretty rare and um you know 17th airborne I've only ever seen a few of them. So, uh, this was this was a great piece and we got this from a friend who used to go to a lot of the reunions and, um, he was actually a doctor who treated some of these guys later in life. And, um, he he got this from one from the the guy on the helmet, but uh, he's had it for several years and, um, I believe he got it in the 80s maybe, but this is a a vet obtained helmet, but this was all he got. But the it's in remarkable condition. You know, the liner is real nice in this one. And um we don't know when the paint was done, if it was done immediately after the occupation or maybe a little bit later during their reunions, but it is an very interesting helmet.

[00:05:33]>> Since we were talking about helmet art, I thought we would throw this one in as well. And I think that this might be one of the first artifacts that we have shown that is connected to operation desert storm. So this is a helmet that was decorated by a guy who apparently was in the first cavalry division. Down here you see it says HHC uh second brigade. So that is headquarters and headquarters company of the second brigade. And then all over this thing, well, it's marked up with uh different important dates and and people that this guy served with. So, it says air attack 16th of January of 91. Then shows where it was at. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, uh first team Fort Hood. And then up here, uh we've got a little bit of a typo. Or maybe the guy was just trying to be funny. Maybe this was some kind of an inside joke. U it says Operation Desert Strom and then also Shield and then crossed out here uh it says the the Elite Force been crossed out there and then some of the the guys who were in the uh this Elite Force uh Big G Chief, Big Daddy Kane, uh Teddy L. All right. So, those are a few nicknames of guys. And then if we again turn it around, got an American flag. And then it says uh DEFAC crew. And I think DEFAC stands for dining facility. And then you have these names right here. So if you were watching and you were in the first cavalry division and uh maybe maybe you knew some of these guys if you were in this company. Uh, so staff sergeant Robbie and Wright and Rodriguez. All right. So maybe, I don't know, maybe these are guys who just liked to eat at the dining facility. And then right here, as we turn the helmet all the way around, says Gday, 23rd of February, 91.

[00:07:44]So Gay is the day that the ground campaign began uh began in Operation Desert Storm. I I think that technically it began on the 24th, but maybe they were maybe they were getting geared up on the 23rd. But yeah, there's a little artifact from Operation Desert Storm.

[00:08:06]Another type of uh soldier art is P art.

[00:08:11]And this is really interesting. Um German prisoners that were held in in the US would make things like this. We have a few of them in our collection.

[00:08:19]And um you know they they would carve them. You know they had plenty of time on their hands and they would give them to guards and or trade them to guards at the at the prison camps for like cigarettes or other favors or food. And this says 1943 and it says Huntsville. And I assume that's um probably Huntsville, Alabama.

[00:08:43]I think there was a P camp down there.

[00:08:45]But, you know, you have the the Luftwaffa version of the close combat badge and um or I'm sorry, the the Luftwaffa ground c combat ba badge is what that is. And um these are really really interesting and I've see this repeated a lot. We have a few of them.

[00:09:06]they would make their badges, you know, they weren't allowed to have badges, but um I guess they were still proud of them and for whatever reason they thought the guards would want to have something like this um one of their badges. Now, Huntsville is is wonderful and um we have some from some other P camps in the US. I've been looking for a Gettysburg one for a long time. I know of one out there and I the guy who has it will not part with it, but um if you ever find one like this that has or something similar that has Gettysburg and has a a German symbol like this, let us know cuz we know there's at least one out there.

[00:09:45]That means there's probably more. There was somebody making them at the camp, but we just haven't been able to locate them or anything else from the Gettysburg P camp. And just in case you don't know, uh, our Gettysburg battlefield was used as a P camp in 19 in the late 1940s for German prisoners.

[00:10:05]And, uh, they were held out there. It was near where Pickicket's charge was.

[00:10:09]And they they just had some, uh, wire fence and some, uh, really cheaply made barrack buildings that they threw up out there. And, um, they used them for labor around here. So, that's that's pretty neat. And uh like I said, we're looking for one that says Gettsburg on it. We would love to find that. And wrapping up here, this is not really soldier art, but then again, it is cuz it's painted.

[00:10:32]But um he was in the um 16th infantry um which was a regiment of the Big Red One.

[00:10:40]And so they that's an Omaha Beach D-Day unit. Although this guy, we researched him. He didn't join. He was a later war replacement. So he didn't make it there till October 20th of 1944.

[00:10:54]Um so he wasn't in D-Day, but he was one of those men who replaced the many many casualties that happened during D-Day.

[00:11:02]And he mailed this home and and we really liked it cuz it was Pennsylvania guy, too. Um he's uh he's a Pennsylvania guy. And this did have stamps on it.

[00:11:14]It's really neat. Um, I don't know if this got wet because there's a little bit of um warping here, but both the the the whatever this label was, this might have been um some kind of a customs label. I'm not really sure. And the stamps, you can see the ghost of them here and the the um cancellation. Um it it it had fallen off, but luckily he painted his name on here and address and everything. And so the these were used to mail back souvenirs. So he probably found some flags or some whatever and sent it back to uh I guess his father here back in Pennsylvania. So we love these two. These are really cool. We have a whole bunch of them in our collection. We featured them in other videos. But also like if besides the Gettysburg P thing, if you find one of those, we'd really like you to help us out with building the new museum. You can you can bring or have a donation sent to us by check to our address 219 Baltimore Street, Gettsburg, Pennsylvania 17325 and that's the Gettysburg Museum of History Foundation. Or you can go to our website www.gettisburg gettsburg museum ofhistory.com/foundation.

[00:12:28]And there's uh um directions for uh donating by PayPal or a credit card. And we really appreciate your help so we can bring all this stuff to you and for free. You know, we're going to keep the museum free. So when you and your family or you and your student group comes here, you can get in all 50 of them if you want for free. So uh thank you Hey, hey,