Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is a gorgeous piece of POW Trench Art made by Lieutenant Frederick Vallarelli, 579th Bomb Squadron, 392nd Bomb Group, while he was imprisoned at Stalag 17 during World War II. Shot down on his 15th mission by anti-aircraft fire while piloting a Liberator bomber and taken prisoner by the Germans in Holland, Vallarelli spent 9 months in captivity in creative effort as a composer and arranger of songs. An attached newspaper article describes his time imprisoned in detail.

The trench art, which is mounted on a 6 x 15” wooden board, is a wooden bomb held up by four large caliber rounds, likely .50 Caliber, and surrounded by other cartridges of various sizes. A small plaque on the wooden bomb reads:

SOUVENIR
OF
WORLD WAR
II
579TH BOMB. SQD.
392ND BOMB GRP.
ENGLAND

A note on the bottom of the piece reads that Vallerelli made this piece while imprisoned at Stalag 17, written by his aunt, Ethel Lusito Hedrick. The piece ie roughly 6” high.

Frederick Vallerelli wrote several songs while in captivity and was part of a traveling POW band that raised funds for the Red Cross and YMCA after the war. This is a tremendous piece worthy of further research! Comes ready for further research and display.

The 579th Bombardment Squadron was first established in January 1943. After training with Consolidated B-24 Liberators in the United States, the squadron deployed to the European Theater of Operations, where it participated in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. The squadron was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for its actions in an attack on Gotha, Germany in February 1944. Following V-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States and was inactivated.

Totally inert, cannot be converted to an explosive device, not available for export. This item is completely legal within the USA. International Military Antiques, Inc observes all Federal, State and Local laws. Everything for sale on ima-usa.com is completely legal to own, trade, transport and sell within the United States of America.

All deactivated ordnance sold by IMA, Inc is engineered to be inoperable according to guidelines provided by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF).