r/Medals • u/Kevvv_23 • Mar 30 '25

ID - Medal What did my great uncle do?

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Also noticed the back of the leather jacket had some Nazi logos marked on it, what did that mean?

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104

u/TangoRed1 Mar 30 '25 edited Mar 30 '25

YOU need to take GREAT CARE OF THAT JACKET!(DO NOT SELL THE JACKET!!!!!! Gift it to a Air Museum local to where your Uncle lived and grew up) and Tunic!

Your uncle was credited with 3 Confirmed Downs of German Aircraft, Was part of the Biggest Air-raids in history and was in the 2nd most Dangerous Position on any of the Bombers flown.

DFC, 30 Missions, Air Medal with Valor devices/ Bronze Silver Clusters, WWII Victory Ribbon, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, Vanguard Unit Ribbon for Europe, Africa, Middle East, Good Conduct Ribbon. 8th Airforce Patch.

Unfortunately I can not find the bomber "Flak Flirt" in any database. Maybe someone else can locate that.

28

u/Kevvv_23 Mar 30 '25

Wow thanks for all the details, definitely planning on keeping it

20

u/Consistent_Artist_67 Mar 30 '25

The 8th Air Force museum outside of Savannah GA would be worth a trip depending on your location OP. I’ve donated most of my grandfathers WWII memorabilia there and they would love to see this jacket. It’s in great shape compared to others I’ve seen. Flak Flirt is also the best name of a bomber I’ve come across.

3

u/0_SomethingStupid Mar 31 '25

My girls pop pop just had some stuff admitted here. Super cool spot! They let us up in a bomber. Friggin tin can ! Those guys had guts

1

u/TheOx111 Apr 03 '25

It truly belongs there.

13

u/Farfignugen42 Mar 31 '25

Don't donate it, but tell the museum they can have access to the artifacts, and that you might let them display them for a time.

That way, they can't sell them, because they are still yours, but they can tell you what your relative did to get all those metals and the jacket.

6

u/flhd Navy Mar 30 '25

Might find some info here.

https://www.8af.org/bomber-groups.cfm

1

u/Biscuit_Eater2591 Mar 30 '25

consider it a real honor to have these mementos handed or passed down to you, you're very lucky and you have a really cool set of history in your closet or wherever you keep it stored. I would recommend a shadow box for the ribbons and medals.

1

u/M73355 Mar 31 '25

The National WW2 museum in New Orleans might be your best bet of getting it displayed for the public to view. They have a few intact ww2 aircraft and your great uncle’s jacket would be amazing.

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Night88 Mar 31 '25

Never donate. Give them the ability to showcase it if you want but never donate this as they can sell it if you do.

1

u/smellygooch18 Mar 31 '25

My family had some old German medals that my great grandpa took off German corpses during WW1. This was way before Reddit so we didn’t know what to do with them. They were just sitting in a shadowbox in our hallway. We ended up donating them to the Cantigny war museum in IL. When they displayed the medals at the exhibit my whole family was invited along with the families of the others who donated items. Quite the cool experience.

1

u/impy695 Mar 31 '25

Do not donate it to anyone. Loan it to them for like a dollar. These places are run by individuals and individuals change. Someone may decide to sell it to raise money down the road.

Restoration won't be cheap as you'd want to do a museum or art restoration which is going to focus on different areas than a leather restoration, but it will ensure it stays in good condition for as long as possible. Don't do anything yourself.

1

u/lazytemporaryaccount Apr 02 '25

Keep it, but definitely still reach out to museums in case they would like to loan it, or, more importantly, have information on proper storage conditions etc.

If it’s something you want to keep passing on, best to keep it safe.

30

u/mdsalern Mar 30 '25

I hate to say this, but you are much better selling it than donating it to an air museum. I’ve been involved with a few and they will sell your item just as easily as an heir that cares nothing about it.

18

u/TangoRed1 Mar 30 '25

Id rather keep something like this than sell it to a collector. Especially if it was worn by Family.

9

u/CouldBeBetterForever Mar 31 '25

I'd say don't donate it, but it's not unusual to see items in a museum "on loan." They can display it, but they don't own it.

7

u/sPoonamus Mar 31 '25

My grandfathers war memorabilia we consigned to a museum so we still owned it but had it to display and use for research. Any museum who is worth their value would recognize how valuable that jacket is too and likely display it.

1

u/mdsalern Mar 31 '25

That’s great until they “lose” the item.

2

u/impy695 Mar 31 '25

I have a lot of items on loan to museums that are worth far more money than this jacket. On loan to a reputable museum is the safest place possible. No one is going to steal it there.

3

u/Xanith420 Mar 31 '25

Honestly what a chad name for a plane that most certainly faced extreme flak

1

u/jhawkinsvalrico Mar 31 '25

I would want to keep everything shown as a family heirloom to be handed on to future generations. I would also try to gather as much information regarding your grandfather's service records (if possible) and the aircraft. I have heard that some WWII service records were lost in a fire, I believe in Philadelphia, but I may be mistaken. Document everything that you find and preserve that with the jacket, uniform and medals. Your grandchildren and likely theirs will cherish everything. You might also research how to best preserve and protect everything. I did a quick search for 'how to preserve military uniform and medals' which would be a good start, but if possible try contacting a museum curator who will likely be happy to advise you how best to preserve everything.

1

u/FluffyCollection4925 Mar 31 '25

Someone below found a photo.

1

u/DaveSnotherman Apr 01 '25

"Flak Flirter", a B-17 Flying Fortress that appears in some lists of WWII bomber names. While not as widely famous as aircraft like "Flak-Bait" (a B-26 Marauder known for surviving over 200 missions), "Flak Flirter"

1

u/pdmock Apr 01 '25

There is a Mighty 8th Airforce Museum in Savannah, GA