Boxes of Korean War Gear and Memorabilia

[hftiii]

Hello everyone,

When my father passed away a few years ago I had the bitter-sweet task of cleaning out his attic. I came across several boxes of items from his years in the service during the Korean War. Thankfully, my sisters had no interest in the militaria at all but I was excited, especially because these belonged to my father and were a part of his history. I remember seeing some the things when I was a kid but most was boxed away for over 50 years. He saved virtually everything-- photo albums, his military personnel file, letters, uniforms, shoes, ect. Although he did not talk much about his service, I know that he was a crptologist in the 581st communication Group in the USAF and was involved in psychological warfare. The main thing that he always mentioned was that it was an opportunity to see the world, and that did he. Here are a few of the items that I've come across. Thanks for your interest.

Tom

[Chopperman]

That's a great group of items he left you.
Congratulations.

[AZPhil]

My condolences on your Father's passing.
Those are some fantastic items. Something you will remember him by!
I like those throwing darts/arrow head things?????
Any story about those? How big are they?

Semper Fi
Phil

[Rakkasan187]

A time capsule well worth preserving..

Condolences on the passing of you father, but he will live on through the uniforms and items you have here..

He would be very proud of you..

Smitty

[hftiii]

Thanks for the kind words guys. He was a good father and an interesting man.

Just a few tidbits of information. AZphil, I believe that he traded for the darts (or spear points ??) with a native pygmie on one of the Philippine Islands. They are about 5 to 6 inches long and appear to be made out of flatten wire. Pretty nasty but cool. Of course, they came with a story....used against the Japanese troops, he was told. His album has photos of villages and other places that I will post when I get a chance. The handle on the butterfly knife is made out of caribou horn, based on what I've learned. He collected the bullets from a beach on Luzon that he and his buddies would visit, and I believe these came from near the craft shown in the photo. He once mentioned that guys found pistols and other items that apparently had been dropped. He said that they were warned not to hunt for souvenirs for safety considerations, but they did so nonetheless. Inland, in the jungle they came across caves, burned out tanks and aircraft, some of which still had human remains in them. He left those alone, he said, but did take pics of the outside of some of the tanks.

Anyway, thanks again for your comments and interest. I'll post more photos when I get a chance.

Tom