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a picture of a display of military memorabilia in a shadow boxan old book with the words henry goringer written on ittwo medals are shown on a white surface with a red, white, and blue ribbontwo medals that are on display on a tablean old book with writing on it sitting on a table next to a teddy beara notepad with a list of dates on itan old book with writing on it sitting on top of a tablean old book with writing on it sitting on top of a tablean open notebook with writing on it sitting on top of a tablean open notebook with a handwritten list of events on itan open notebook with a handwritten list of events on itan open book with a handwritten letter on it sitting on a tablean old photo of a man standing in front of an airplanean old photo of a man in uniform standing in front of an airplanean open book with writing on it sitting on a tablea plaque with a picture of a lucky bastard club on itan old document with a military seal on ita brown book with writing on it sitting on a tablean open book with a drawing of a man and a woman on itblack and white photo of a group of men in uniform posing for a picturean old photo of a man in a suit and tiea brown book with writing on it sitting on a tablean old book with writing on it sitting on top of a tablean open book with writing on it sitting on top of a tablean old book with writing on it sitting on a tablean open book with writing on it sitting on top of a tablean old book with writing on it sitting on top of a tablean open book with writing on it sitting on top of a tablea piece of paper that has been placed on a tablean old photo of two photos of a man in a pilot ' s helmetan old book with two pages of text on itan old photo of a ship on the water in a bookan open book with a piece of paper on top of itan old newspaper with a picture of a man on itan old book with a lot of pages on ita piece of paper that has been taped up on a piece of paperan open book with a picture of a group of people on itan old book with a picture of a group of menan open book with two pages of paper on itan open book with a piece of paper on top of it and a piece of paper on the bottom of itan old photo of a group of people posing for a picturea black and white photo of a man standing in front of an airplanean old photo of a man standing in front of an airplanean old black and white photo of a baseball team posing for a picturean old photo of a group of airplanes flying in formationa plaque on the wall that has a certificate on itan open book with a piece of paper on top of itan old photo of a group of men posing for a picture in a booka black and white photo of a man and a womannewspapers with a picture of a man in a suit and tie
Maître Lydie BRIOULT

Personal collection of Technical Sergeant Henry G.
See original version (French)

Sale commission
Description
Personal collection of Technical Sergeant Henry G. Goeringer, 94th Bomb Group – 8th Air Force – England (17 original photographs, documents, decorations, handwritten notes on combat missions) Sergeant Henry Goeringer was posted to the 333rd Bomb Squadron of the 94th Bomb Group as a radio operatorand gunner on a B-17F Flying Fortress, with which he flew a tour of 25 missions from the base at Bury St Edmunds in England. This threshold number for returning to the United States was subsequently raised to 30 and then to 35 missions. This collection can therefore be considered relatively early, as Goeringer completed his tour of duty even before the Normandy landings; he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 7 June 1944 (see attached document). This collection comprises a photo album, his diary with handwritten notes on his missions, his crew member’s certificate, an 8th Air Force badge (yellow-winged variant), his Distinguished Flying Cross (with an official engraving on the reverse) and his Air Medal (numbered on the reverse), both accompanied by their presentation boxes and ribbons; as well as various personal documents, including his vaccination card stating that an A-10-R type oxygen mask in a large size was issued to him on 18 August 1943. Goeringer began his missions in October 1943. In particular, he took part in ‘Big Week’ in February 1944, as well as in the two preparatory raids on Berlin on 3 and 4 March 1944, before also participating in the famous very first raid on Berlin on 6 March 1944 (the largest air battle in history), a target to which he returned three days later on 9 March 1944. His album contains his service record and several photographs of him – his nickname being ‘Hank’ – his certificate from the ‘Lucky Bastard Club’ for 25 missions, bearing the signatures of all the senior officers of the 94th BG, starting with Colonel Frederick W. Castle, who commanded the 94th BG from June 1943 to April 1944. It is accompanied by his radio operator’s certificate dated 27 February 1943, photographs of his crew at the end of their training in Texas, an identity photograph in civilian clothes intended to enable the production of false identity documents in the event of a landing in occupied Europe, a record of all his missions with comments and a transcription of the entries from his diary (next to which he added clippings from post-war historical works to document his missions in greater detail). A period copy of the 94th BG’s citation for his actions during the raid of 11 January 1944 appears in the album, preceding a photograph of Goeringer’s crew in England, in which his face is almost completely erased (perhaps from repeatedly placing his finger over it), as well as a portrait of him in his flight uniform. Press cuttings recount his return home, where he undertook a promotional tour to sell war bonds. An exceptional in-flight photograph dated 3 March 1944 shows a wave of B-17s flying at high altitude north-west of Germany, en route to Berlin before the raid was called off. This photograph bears, in the top right-hand corner, an indication of the temperature on board the aircraft (-50°). A certificate of recognition in Goeringer’s name completes the album, along with a copy of the 94th BG association’s newsletter (post-war) recounting an unusual anecdote in which Goeringer’s crew mistakenly bombed the city of Boise in Idaho instead of the designated training ground. The incident caused quite a stir at the time, even though the bombs were merely inert training rounds. Several documents relating to the awarding of decorations feature in the album, starting with a clipping from the headquarters of the 3rd Bomb Division of the 8th Air Force dated 14 March 1944 concerning his Distinguished Flying Cross, in which he was invited to receive the decoration in question. This letter was followed by a more formal document dated 7 June. A press article dated 14 April 1944 shows Goeringer standing next to a B-17 nicknamed ‘Thundermug’, identified as the aircraft to which he was assigned. An original print of this photograph is included in the album. This is followed by three additional documents awarding the Air Medal (Oak Leaf Cluster), dated 10 December 1943, 8 February 1944 and 1 March 1944, all bearing the dry seal of the 3rd Bomb Division and a note in the top left-hand corner referring to five combat missions. The album concludes with a letter of thanks from Nash-Kelvinator, a firm specialising in domestic appliances which switched to manufacturing armaments during the war, following Goeringer’s participation in a promotional tour for war bonds. A first-rate collection bearing his name. Photographs in 4x5in. (10x12.5cm) format, the standard US military size. A first-rate collection of photographs, accompanied by the historical work on the 94th Bomb Group (over 300 pages) by Harry E. Slater (numbered copy), published in 1980. This book has become difficult to find and is a remarkable source of information on the unit.
See original version (French)
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About the sale Sale of the Grégory Pons collection (Aviation and WW2 Militaria)
Auction location
Auction time 11/14/2026 at 1:30 PM
Lot description modified on 09/01/2026 at 3:01 PM
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