One of my Better Craigslist Finds
Article about: Hi All, Craigslist has been pretty good to me. Between ads posted by others or others contacting me through a want ad I have running. In any case, here is my most recent find. All came from
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Now onto some of the better items -
First, a Purple Heart named to Sgt. Stephen Shumski. Sgt. Shumski was the sellers great uncle.
Shumski enlisted in 1941, served in the 133rd Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division. Sadly, Sgt. Shumski made the ultimate sacrifice and was killed in action on February 4th, 1944 during the battle of Monte Cassino.
Included with the group is the Purple Heart with coffin case, the burial flag from Shumski's funeral, Shumski's original Obit, several photos of Shumski during his time in service and lastly, the most compelling piece, a handwritten letter from one of Shumski's platoon mates, Don, sent to his Brother, Bill.
The letter reveals the circumstances of Sgt. Shumski's death, which was the result of a concussion blast. In all likelihood, Sgt. Shumski was sleeping when the shell hit and died without pain.
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Last item is an untouched, Vietnam helmet, used by the sellers uncle. It's salty as hell, but leaves no doubt as to it's authenticity (at least for me). I'm waiting for the seller to send more info so I can research his uncle's service.
The front has a Captain rank insignia drawn on, left side has short timers marks counting down 40 days and the right side reads, "Death Before Dishonor".
Liner is an AB liner with the A-yokes cut and cover is a long flap Mitchell, so an early model. The cover is stuck to the liner so I didn't even want to attempt to pull it out to see the date. Based on the "Death Before Dishonor" motto and the AB liner (feedback from another collector), it's possible the seller's uncle was a Marine.
Even if not, a great, period piece, nonetheless.
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Great finds. Keep it up.
Cheers, Mads
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great items, I love things with some provenance, make the items so much more interesting and a lasting memorial to its former owners,
John.
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Amazing finds indeed,luv the nam lid and fb shell................Jake.
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