Hi guys,
I posted this uniform a couple of months ago with the pictures that I was able to take at the shop with my cell phone. I ended up getting this uniform for Christmas, so I really want to clarify exactly what it is.
So, the story is that the original owner of the uniform was a member of the 'Flying Tigers', or the 1st American Volunteer Group. I don't think that the shop owner would lie about that, because he is a local dealer who deals with a lot of local veteran info. The man was supposedly a good friend of his, and he has stated that he would be able to provide contact info to the buyer. Fair enough, I will give him a call today and ask him about it.
The only thing is that there really isn't any indication that he was a member of the 'Flying Tigers'. I can only rely on whatever the vet tells me for that. After doing some research, I am inclined to think that he could have been a member of the 1st AVG who re-enlisted into the 14th USAAF after the Flying Tigers' disbandment, and then ended up in the 4th USAAF somehow. (I think that he was in the 14th first, and then got transferred to the 4th, because of the placement of the unit insignia on his jacket. I remember reading somewhere that it was acceptable to wear the insignia of a former unit on your right sleeve.)
Until I hear back from the vet, I can only try my best to figure out what his entire uniform means. He has 2 years' worth of overseas bars, so he could not have been in the 4th USAAF for very long, because they spent the entire duration of the war stateside.
So I will begin with the pictures. Here are the pants:
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