Original U.S. WWII Stalag Luft IV POW Grouping with Western Union Telegrams, Last V-Mails Home, Insignia, and ID’d Photo of Crew - Staff Sergeant Charles A. Crosby Jr.
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Original Items. One-of-a-Kind Group. This is a lovely ephemera grouping belonging to Staff Sergeant Charles A. Crosby. During World War II, Crosby was an Aerial Gunner, namely a top turret gunner, with the 333rd Bombardment Squadron, 94th Bombardment Group. He crash-landed at Sibbersdorf on October 7th, 1944 in the B-17 #42-97333 “Dutchess”, and was captured as a Prisoner of War. He was held at the German Stalag Luft IV for about 8 months, being repatriated on June 6th, 1945.
The group includes:
- Western Union Telegram dated October 23rd, 1944, alerting Crosby’s parents that Charles was reported as Missing in Action over Germany.
- Western Union Telegram dated December 7th, 1944, alerting Crosby’s parents that Charles was reported as a Prisoner of War through the International Red Cross.
- Crosby’s Aerial Gunner wings, Sterling, butterfly pin back.
- Two of Crosby’s V-Mails in their envelopes, dated September 2nd, 1943 and September 17th, 1944. The latter is likely the final one sent before he was captured. (V-mail correspondence was on small letter sheets, 17.8 by 23.2 cm, that would go through mail censors before being photographed and transported as thumbnail-sized images in negative microfilm. Upon arrival at their destination, the negatives would be printed. The final print was 67% of the original document's size, creating a sheet 10.7 by 13.2 cm.)
- Period photograph of Crosby with his crew, with all men named. The back shows it was printed at Fonville Studio, Ardmore, Oklahoma on July 21st, 1944.
- “Squadron Bee” Class 43-33 Army Air Forces Flexible Gunnery School Program, with Crosby’s name on one of the pages.
- Crosby’s Enlisted visor cap badge, and US & AAF collar discs.
- Newspaper clipping denoting Crosby as Missing in action.
- Printed research document denoting Crosby was captured and held at Stalag Luft IV.
A fantastic POW grouping, ready for further research and display.
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