Item Description
Original Items. One-of-a-Kind. This is the tremendous ephemera grouping of Sergeant 1st Class William Weigand Laird, 17th Balloon Company. The grouping contains many scarce documents relating to the Balloon Service of the AEF (American Expeditionary Forces) as well as a lovely souvenir book and an issue of the Arcadian Observer, the official balloon school magazine for the Balloon School in Arcadia, California.
The grouping includes:
- Application for Commission for Laird, Balloon Division. This is the first time I have ever seen this document as an AEF Researcher. It is dated November 5th, 1917 and has some great information.
- Copy of the Arcadian Observer, dated August 3rd, 1918.
- 22nd Aero Construction Company menus and roster.
- 1947 Roster of all men in the American Balloon Corps Veterans association.
- Several great original AEF documents regarding the 17th Balloon company, including their typed roster, short war record, etc. As they arrived late in France, they did not see any combat.
- “Operating a Balloon in France” book with photographs of the 10th Balloon Company in action, it is split and broken up but the photos are fantastic. This exact book originally sold for $111 on its own.
- “The Balloon Pilot Souvenir” a book about the service at Camp John Wise in San Antonio, Texas. The book is in poor condition with heavy staining across the pages. Has rosters of units, panoramic photos of units, and tons of soldier culture!
A really tremendous grouping of Balloon Service related items. Balloon items are some of the hardest to find in the entirety of the AEF. Comes ready for further research and display.
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