Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is an outstanding hand painted U.S. WWII canvas flight crew bag named to William A. Meyer, service number 36927906, of Hillsdale, Michigan. Although originally manufactured as an Army Air Forces flight crew luggage bag, it appears to have been used as a suitcase by an infantryman serving with the 182nd Infantry Regiment of the Americal Division. Its decoration includes a large American eagle, national shield and flags, the Americal Division and U.S. Eighth Army insignia, and Meyer’s identifying information.

The 182nd Infantry was relieved from the 26th Division and assigned to Task Force 6814 on 14 January 1942, which was later sent to Melbourne, Australia. On 6 March 1942 the men of the 182nd broke camp outside Melbourne and boarded troop trains for the docks in Melbourne. With the rest of the Task Force, the 182nd traveled to a classified destination which turned out to be New Caledonia, where they arrived on 12 March 1942. On 27 May 1942, Task Force 6814 was redesignated the Americal Division, one of only two American infantry divisions to be assigned a name instead of a number; “Americal” is a combination of the words “American” and “Caledonia.”

The bag is painted with an outstanding American eagle, shield, and flag motif on one side, with painted insignia for the Americal Division and the 8th U.S. Army to each side. The Americal Division insignia consists of four white stars representing the Southern Cross on a blue field. The U.S. Eighth Army insignia is particularly relevant to the division’s postwar service, as the Americal Division performed occupation duties in Japan under Eighth Army control after the Japanese surrender. At the top is inscribed 182 INF REGT, for the 182nd Infantry Regiment.

The other side of the bag is painted with the owner’s information:

William A. Meyer
36927906
Hillsdale
Michigan

William Alvin Meyer was born on October 15th, 1921 in Adams Township, Hillsdale County, Michigan. He lived in Hillsdale Township for most of his life. He served as Mayor of the township and was also a councilman. He passed away on November 7th, 1973 at the age of 52.

The bag is currently stuffed with foam and paper to give it form, but this will be removed to make shipping easier. There is a remnant of a paper baggage tag tied to the handle showing a location of Gaylord, Michigan. The zippers are all in working order but there is some loss of stitching on one side with more stitching likely to pop as a result. There is also heavy staining across the bag.

The named identification, 182nd Infantry designation, Americal and Eighth Army insignia, and beautiful patriotic eagle artwork give this bag considerable historical and visual interest. Its heavy staining and weakened stitching preserve evidence of use, while the personalized decoration connects a standard piece of military luggage with the Pacific service and homecoming of an individual American soldier.