Original U.S. WWII B-17 “Fuddy Duddy” Bombardier Distinguished Flying Cross Recipient Charles Gage with Disney’s Elmer Fudd Painted A2 Flight Jacket, Officer Jacket, Certificates, & Binder of Ephemera - 708th Bomb Squadron, 447th Bomb Group
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Original Grouping. One-of-a-Kind. This is a phenomenal A2 Flight Jacket & uniform grouping of Bombardier Charles R. Gage of the B-17 42-97400 / Fuddy Duddy, 708th Bombardment Squadron, 447th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. The group includes Gage’s A2 Flight jacket which is painted on the back with the B-17’s nose are, Fuddy Duddy, as well as his officer’s uniform with his ribbon bar, a history of the 447th Bombardment Group, as well as printouts of summaries of every combat mission Gage flew on. There’s also original photographs of Gage with his crew and of his B-17 and an entire binder with tons of ephemera relating to Gage’s service. Gage was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his work overseas. He completed 35 Combat Missions.
Gage’s DFC citation reads:
“CHARLES R. GAGE, O-757656, 1st Lieutenant, Army Air Forces, United States.
For extraordinary achievement while serving as bombardier on many high altitude heavy bombardment missions against the enemy over Germany and German occupied Continental Europe, during a period ending 15 October 1944, Lieutenant Gage, by the expert use of his bombsight, contributed in a large measure to the destruction of many vital enemy military objectives. The determination and courage displayed by Lieutenant Gage during many hours of combat reflect the highest credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States.”
The highlight of this group is of course the fantastic A2 Jacket, which is in fair but worn shape overall. There are two small rectangular patches missing from the front of the jacket, which may have been a name tag and his pilot’s wings, but of this we cannot be sure. His initials are painted faintly on the front left of the jacket, C.R.G.. The back of the jacket features a large gorgeous painting of Disney character Elmer Fudd, or Fuddy Duddy, the mascot of his B-17. The interior of the jacket still retains the original tag, and there is a laundry number stenciled below the tag, H7656. There are small leather Lieutenant’s bars stitched to the shoulders.
The rest of this spectacular grouping consists of the following:
- Gage’s officer’s jacket with 8th Air Force and US Army Air Forces patches on the shoulders, 1st Lieutenant’s bars on the boards, US & Air Corps collar insignia, and one bullion overseas stripe on the left cuff. Gage’s bullion Bombardier wings are stitched onto a blue fabric which has been stitched above the left breast pocket. Below this is Gage’s ribbon bar, with the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters (One cluster has fallen off), European/African/Middle Eastern campaign medal with three campaign stars, and the French Croix de Guerre with an Oak Leaf Cluster. There is a Presidential Unit Citation with an oak leaf cluster above the right breast pocket. The bottom plastic button is broken but otherwise the uniform is in great condition and a great example.
- Framed Photograph of Gage in his uniform, colorized. Frame is 8¾ x 10¾”.
- Framed Photographs of Gage & his crew, and a photograph of the artwork on the side of their B-17. At the bottom of the frame is a list of the 35 Combat missions Gage flew on. WOW! What a phenomenal addition to this group. Measures 10 x 12½”.
- Gage’s framed certificate for the “Lucky Bastards Club”. This is a fantastic hand-written certificate given to Charles on November 9th, 1944, for “sallying forth and returning no less than 35 times.” What a phenomenal piece of soldier culture! Measures 8¾ x 10¾”.
- Pictorial History of the 447th Bombardment Group (H). Nametag for Charles Gage on the interior cover. Measures 8 x 11”.
- Printouts of every combat mission Gage flew in and a magazine that features Fuddy Duddy on the cover from 1989.
- A large binder containing a ton of original documents including Gage’s Army Honorable Discharge certificate, Official restricted HQ 8th Air Force documents, his 1st Lt. promotion certificate, his DFC citation in the general orders, Army Service Forces certificate announcing his return home, the Officer’s mess menu on the USAT George Washington, a “performance of combat crew personnel” sheet that lists his decorations awarded, his Army Separation Qualification Record, two of his Air Medal award certificates, his ID Card from when he was a Captain, a booklet of Squadron duties of an AAF officer, several newspaper clippings, a 1943-Dated map of El Paso, Texas, and a folder of official documents from 1949 when he was with the 10th Air Force with documents of his service history in 1945. There is an unbelievable amount of information in this binder!
Charles Richard Gage was born on September 8th, 1920 in Atlanta, Georgia. He first enlisted in the Army on November 24th, 1942, at Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. He was commissioned as an officer and served overseas from August 27th, 1944, until July 11th, 1945. During this time, he completed 35 Combat Missions, being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters and the recommendation of a 4th. He was discharged on December 3rd, 1945, and rejoined later, serving with the 10th Air Force in 1949. He married Patricia Wray in Flint, Michigan on November 16th, 1963. He remained in Flint for the rest of his life, passing away there on August 22nd, 1989, at the age of 68.
At the end of World War II B-17 Flying Fortress, “Fuddy Duddy,” was used as a VIP transport in the Pacific and once carried General Dwight D. Eisenhower who later became the 34th President of the United States. In civilian life, it worked as a fire bomber and was occasionally used for motion picture filming, flying on screen in movies such as the 1962 Steve McQueen movie, “The War Lover” and the 1970 blockbuster, “Tora Tora Tora.”
This is a fantastic grouping of a historic Painted A-2 Flight Jacket with unquestionable provenance and documented history! Groupings like this do not turn up often! Ready for further research and display!
Approximate Measurements:
Collar to shoulder: 10.5"
Shoulder to sleeve: 23.5”
Shoulder to shoulder: 17”
Chest width: 20”
Waist width: 18.5"
Hip width: 24”
Front length: 32.5"
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