December 14-17, 2021 Collectible Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/15/2021
Very nice pre-World War II-World War II US Navy photo album grouping ID'd to Richard L. Marley. The album starts with photos and ephemera from Marley as a child, and his footsteps through life are traced through his high school years when he was part of the Highlander Cadets. The album then transitions into his military service and comes to an end with wartime photos and documents. The album is interesting, as there are photos in the start of a young Marley in children's US Navy uniforms and the album ends with Marley in his World War II uniform and flight gear. There are approximately 64 pages in the album, most of the photos and ephemera are of a young Marley, photos of him as a child and documents pertaining to his cadet service. The latter half of the album is smaller but contains great content including photos of Marley and his squadron, crew photos, and documents from his time in the service. Marley was part of VC-41, and served as an ACM2 on TBM avenger bombers. The squadron started out with FM-1 and FM-2 Wildcats and later transitioned to TBM-1 and TBM-3E Avengers based on the escort Carriers USS Corregidor and USS Makin Island flying hunter killer missions in the Pacific Theater. It appears that Marley worked for United Airlines after the war, as there is various ephemera and photos of United Airlines Douglas DC-4 aircraft. The lot also includes the book "The Escort Carrier in Action" and a framed blood chit that was carried by Marley during the war. Most importantly, there is a desirable VC-41 jacket cloth flight jacket patch that measures 5" x 6 - 1/2". The wartime photos and documents are more quality than quantity, and this album grouping is an interesting time capsule that chronicles a young man with a passion for naval aviation who achieved his goals and served in World War II. CONDITION: The frame of the blood chit is broken in one corner. The album is nicely constructed and most documents and photos are clear and well preserved.
Item Dimensions: 15" X 12" X 4"