Original Items: Only One Group Available. This is an interesting original U.S. WWII Army Air Forces China-Burma-India Theater blood chit and insignia grouping attributed by an old collector label to Joe J. Bogart, identified as a 14th Air Force pilot who served in China and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

The grouping contains two blood chits along with original AAF and CBI insignia. The pieces appear to have been together for some time and show substantial age and service wear.

Included is a silk U.S. flag blood chit measuring approximately 8 x 11 1/2 inches. This example has a heavy tear along the left side and shows significant age-related wear.

Also included is a larger 7 x 9 1/2 inch U.S. Army Air Forces Pacific Theater blood chit featuring the Chinese Nationalist flag. This example is numbered:

10239

It is heavily torn in multiple places and appears to be missing some material around the edges. No temple stamp is visible on the piece.

The two chits appear to have been kept together for a long period, but both are in heavily worn and damaged condition.

The group also includes an original leather Army Air Forces shoulder patch and an original China-Burma-India Theater patch, the latter retaining remnants of the surrounding uncut cloth.

A small label-maker tag accompanies the group and reads:

JOE J. BOGART 14 AF PILOT

This tag is the basis for the attribution of the grouping.

We were able to locate a period newspaper reference indicating that Joseph J. Bogart was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and that he served in China with the 14th Air Force. Beyond that, however, we currently have no documentation identifying his specific squadron, aircraft type, missions, or confirming that these exact chits and insignia were issued to or worn by him.

The 14th Air Force was formed in China in 1943 and continued the work begun by the China Air Task Force and the famed American Volunteer Group. Operating from bases across China, its aircrews carried out fighter, bomber, reconnaissance, transport, and interdiction missions against Japanese forces under extremely difficult conditions.

Blood chits were carried by many American airmen operating over China and the wider CBI Theater. Printed in Chinese and often incorporating American and Chinese national symbols, they were intended to identify a downed Allied airman and request assistance from local civilians or authorities in returning him to friendly forces.

Because these chits were often worn under clothing, sewn to jackets, carried in survival equipment, or repeatedly folded, surviving examples can show substantial wear. In this grouping, the extreme tearing and loss are consistent with long use and age, although the specific wartime history of these individual chits cannot be reconstructed.

The combination of two original blood chits, CBI and AAF insignia, and the old attribution tag makes this a compelling research grouping, particularly given the newspaper evidence connecting Joseph J. Bogart to the 14th Air Force and a Distinguished Flying Cross award.