SIGNED B-17 FLYING FORTRESS HATCH HONORING WWII AIRMEN

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress life raft door hatch, approx. 43 x 19 1/2 in., signed by numerous World War II veterans representing several branches of Allied air service during the Currahee Military Weekend held 2–3 October 2009 in Toccoa, Georgia, as indicated by an event sticker affixed to the metal.

A visually striking and highly evocative relic of the Second World War, this life raft door hatch from a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bears a remarkable assemblage of signatures from veterans of different units and air forces. The object was signed during the Currahee Military Weekend in Toccoa, Georgia, a setting of particular resonance in American military history. Several of the signers are said to have served in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, the famed unit originally formed at Camp Toccoa, whose training grounds remain inseparably associated with the story of the regiment. The 506th would go on to distinguish itself in some of the defining campaigns of the European theater, including the D-Day landings, Operation Market Garden, and the Battle of the Bulge.

The hatch itself comes from the legendary Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, among the most iconic aircraft of the war. Developed in the 1930s, the B-17 became one of the principal heavy bombers employed by the U.S. Army Air Forces and dropped more bombs than any other American aircraft during World War II. Designed for high-altitude, long-range strategic bombing and protected by formidable defensive armament, it became a central instrument of the daylight bombing campaign over Europe. As both an artifact of wartime aviation and a commemorative object bearing the signatures of those who served, this piece unites material history with living memory in an especially compelling way.

Signatures from top to bottom, left to right: 

1. Ira A. Morehart, Co. G, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division

2. Henry S. Smith, served on the USS Albemarle, Davison & Hank

3. Sgt. James Elbert "Jake" McNiece, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division 

4. Edward D. Shames, Co. E, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division 

5. Reed Pelfrey, Co. H, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division 

6. Mario Patruno, Co. F, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division 

7. S/Sgt Leonard Riley, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division 

8. Syble Doyle, 1st Marine Division

9. Carl Beck, Co. H, 3rd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment

10. Frederick A. Bahlau, 3rd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division

11. Emory B. Ashurst, 2nd Marine Division

12. [ind.], 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airbone Division

13. Lt. R. E. Martin, 822nd M.P.G. Combat

14. Tom Kennedy, Co. G, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division

15. Johnny LaCount, 1st Armored Division

16. Harvey "Mack" Abbott, 1st Marine Division

17. Robert Parks, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division

18. Romie Boilla

19. Robert E. Wright, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division

A similar piece signed by several of the same men previously sold at Alexander Historical Auctions (see Lot 564). 

Note: This lot cannot be packaged and shipped in-house. Successful bidders winning items marked as being packaged and shipped by a third-party service are responsible for paying the third party directly. We are happy to offer complimentary drop-off service to local third-party packing/shipping companies in Columbus, Ohio. 

[World War II, WWII,  FDR, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt,Dwight D. Eisenhower, Adolf Hitler, Allied, Axis, George S. Patton, Air Force]