2019 Pomona Show in Pictures

[stonemint]

& another random table:

[TWS]

One of my favorite dealers table: Walter Dudgeon

Walter is a good guy. He goes to a crazy amount of shows. I just spoke with him at our little San Antonio show last month.

[stonemint]

Walter is a good guy. He goes to a crazy amount of shows. I just spoke with him at our little San Antonio show last month.

Todd, I agree 100%--he always has the best insignia selection of any dealer I know.
The crazy thing is that he lives only 10 minutes north of me, but the only time I see him is at shows in Louisville, Pomona, etc--he is away almost every weekend!

[HoundsTooth]

Granted relics are crisscrossing the globe daily, but you have to remember that American G.I.'s were extremely souvenir hungry and brought back tons and tons of this stuff to the U.S. in 1945 and even into the Allied occupation years.
I have no clear idea of the percentages of WWII militaria brought into the U.S. through collector purchasing (well after the war) versus the amount brought back by G.I.'s , but the G.I.'s certainly brought back/mailed back a tremendous amount. That's really how WWII militaria collecting got it's "jump start" over here.

In the book 'Blood Red Snow' by Gunter Koschorrek - at the very end in 1945 he is in hospital. The American GIs would come in to the hospital to exchange cigarettes for any medals they could get. Some GIs were very keen to grab a souvenir, the rarer the better.
The author sold all of his for cigarettes. By that stage he was in a bad way and i think he just wanted to forget the war.

nick

[stonemint]

My good friend, advanced collector Vic P, scored this mint HJ cap marked to an Adolf Hitler Schule:

[Chopperman]

Great photos Chris. Thanks for posting them.

[stonemint]

This was a first--an HJ Overseas cap in winter-weight wool with carmine (not red) piping:

[TWS]

In the book 'Blood Red Snow' by Gunter Koschorrek - at the very end in 1945 he is in hospital. The American GIs would come in to the hospital to exchange cigarettes for any medals they could get. Some GIs were very keen to grab a souvenir, the rarer the better.
The author sold all of his for cigarettes. By that stage he was in a bad way and i think he just wanted to forget the war.

nick

Yes sir. I have the book and I remember that part.

[rbminis]

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on that M41 tunic on the left in this photo.
I have a photo of my father wearing one very similar.
Ralph.