Historic 3rd Army Ike Jacket Grouping
Just a few days ago I managed to track down and buy quite an amazing uniform grouping. What makes this group really cool 'not considering it's history' is that I bought it directly from the son of the veteran. The son told me he's getting on in years and would like to see these items go to a good home. He also mentioned how he offered these items to other members in his family, but none of them expressed any interest in them.
The man who wore this uniform is "Walter Klement" his ASN is 37798643 and he served with the 3rd army in the 508th military police battalion. Walter didn't get to see combat as he arrived in Germany in the immediate post war period, but he did witness some very historic events. Shortly after buying this vet's uniform items I was told by the son that he also had a military scrap book that belonged to his father. The scrap book is stunning to say the least. It's packed full of photos, some of which include gruesome scenes from the infamous Dachau concentration camp. After talking with the son a bit I found out he wanted to keep the scrap book in the family, which is a decision I fully respect and understand. The son recognized the passion I have for this type of history so he sent me the scrap book in the mail on the sole condition that I send it back to him. The book arrived today and it's contents are jaw dropping. This veteran pretty much documented every aspect of his service. Everything from his initial training, time spent in Germany, and even when he was getting on the boat to head back home.
The son of the vet gave me permission to make copies of the scrapbook, so right now I'm in the process of photo copying each page. My end goal is to make a replica of his real scrap book by creating a book out of all the copies I make. Towards the back of the scrap book I found multiple newspaper articles that detail what Walter experienced while in Germany. In some of the articles Walter was actually interviewed about what he witnessed. Going off of the newspaper articles it states Walter was the staff sergeant in charge of a contingent from the 508th. His MP unit provided security and witnesses for the hanging of German war criminals at Landsberg prison. These were 28 German war criminals who were found guilty at trials held at the Dachau concentration camp. Walter states in his interviews that he actually witnessed these executions first hand. In addition to this he also mentions how he got to speak with master sergeant John C. Woods, who is best known for preforming the hangings for the Nuremburg trials. Lastly, I also read a part where Walter mentions how he got to go inside Hitler's former jail cell where he wrote Mein Kampf.
As I was looking through the scrap book I noticed a loose envelope that was placed on the last page. It was filled with photos that are duplicates of ones already stuck to the scrap book. Since these were duplicates I asked the son If I could possibly buy them from him, and he told me he would be fine with that. They're around 15 photos or so and the majority of them are printed on German Agfa paper. So I'm happy to say that in the end I managed to get some original photos with this group.
Without a doubt this has got to be one of the most historic Ike jackets I've added to my collection, and I'm extremely happy to share it with everyone here on the forum.
On a side note, the graphic photos I mentioned from Dachau are copies that Walter obtained from a man who took the originals. He mentions this in his newspaper interview. Since they're already well known photos and given the graphic nature of them I'm not going to show them here. It does appear though that Walter did in fact take some of his own photos when he got to see Dachau first hand. They're not graphic but they certainly make a statement. Photos of the gas chambers, ovens, and so on.
Here are the items I was able to purchase
Here are a few photos of Walter's scrap book
.
by paulscoot
Bookmarks