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an old photo of a man in a military uniform surrounded by military memorabiliaan old black and white photo of a group of men in front of an airplanetwo tags attached to a rope on a white surfaceseveral black and white photos of a man and a woman in front of a planetwo black and white photos of a man standing next to an airplanean old photo of a plane flying in the skyblack and white photograph of an airplane on a snowy surfacean old photo of a small plane flying above the cloudsan old photo of a plane flying in the skya picture of an old photo of a plane flying in the skya black and white photo of a plane flying above the cloudsa black and white photo of an airplane flying over the oceanfour old black and white photos of a city and mountainsfour old black and white photos of a river and mountainsfour black and white photos of a plane flying over a body of waterseveral old black and white photos of people and vehicles on a walltwo black and white photos of a couple of people and a planean old black and white photo of two men standing in front of a planeseveral old black and white photos of a man in a pilot ' s uniforma black and white photo of a tent with writing on itan old black and white photo of an aerial view of a cityan old black and white photo of an aerial view of a cityan old black and white photo of a mountain with snow on itan old black and white photo of a plane flying over a mountainan old black and white photo of a plane flying over a riveran old black and white photo of a map of a cityan old black and white photo of an aerial view of a cityan old black and white photo of an aerial view of a citytwo open books on a table with a white backgrounda paper with a picture of a man and a picture of a womanan old sheet of paper with a list of items on top of ita close up of an old document with numbers on itan old photo of a man and woman posing for a picturea close up of a piece of paper with a label on itseveral black and white photos of a man smoking a pipe in front of a group of menan old black and white photo of a man and a woman posing for a picturea piece of paper with a list on it sitting on top of a tablea close up of a piece of paper on a blue surfacetwo old papers are sitting on top of each other on a tablea close up of a piece of paper on a blue surfacea piece of paper with writing on it sitting on top of a tablea close up of a piece of paper with a list on itseveral black and white photos of a group of men standing in front of an airplaneblack and white photo of a group of men standing in front of an airplaneseveral old black and white photos of military vehicles and planesseveral black and white photos of a plane on a runwayfour black and white photos of a plane on a tarmactwo black and white photos of a woman standing in front of an airplaneseveral old photos of people are sitting on a table
Premium Maître Lydie BRIOULT

Personal collection of Lieutenant James W.
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Estimate €300 - €500
Sale commission
Description
Personal collection of Lieutenant James W. Miller, 450th Bomb Group – 15th Air Force – Italy (79 original WW2 photographs + 34 original Korean War photographs) Lieutenant Miller was posted to two squadrons: the 720th and 721st Bomb Squadrons of the 450th Bomb Group as a bombardier on the B-24 Liberator, during which time he was credited with 49 combat missions (comprising 36 sorties) operating from Manduria airbase in Italy. Miller continued his career in the US Air Force after the war and took part in the Korean War with the 98th Bomb Group, with which he flew several combat missions from the very first months of the conflict. He was awarded six Air Medals (suggesting he flew around thirty missions). The second part of this lot comprises a collection of original photographs taken during the Korean War from Yokota Air Base in Japan. The Second World War section comprises a small imitation-leather wallet containing a photograph of Miller and his fiancée, a standard-issue 15th Air Force shoulder insignia, a post-war woven insignia of the 450th BG (presumably obtained at a veterans’ reunion), his pair of military dog tags, 4x5in prints-10 x 12.5 cm, a few smaller-format contact sheets and large-format prints of photographs taken during missions, annotated by analysts from the unit’s intelligence section. In Miller’s crew photograph, he can be recognised standing, second from the right. The in-flight photographs are of excellent quality and show B-24s of the 450th BG with early markings on their vertical stabilisers, a B-24 Pathfinder fitted with an H2X radome in place of its belly turret, the P-51 escort fighters, and aerial photographs of Rome showing the Colosseum and the Vatican. The bombing photographs are dated 27 May 1944 (the railway bridge at Ferrara in Italy), 26 August 1944 (the river ferry area at Giurgiu in Romania), 13 August 1944 (artillery positions at Hyères – Giens Peninsula, in preparation for the D-Day landings in Provence two days later), 20 February 1945 (ship anchorage area at Fiume in Italy), 29 December 1944 (Brenner Pass railway junction in Italy), 22 August 1944 (Lobau oil storage facility in Austria), 3 August 1944 (the railway bridge at Ora in Italy). A document dated 24 June 1944 lists the crew members, including Miller; Lt. Harry Rothman was his co-pilot. Another document dated 24 August records the award of the Air Medal to Miller; it can therefore be assumed that he began his combat missions during August 1944. Another document dated 25 September 1944 mentions the award of Miller’s first Air Medal, with the second awarded on 20 November 1944. A document dated 28 March 1945 mentions Miller’s promotion to the rank of Captain. Photographs relating to the Korean War show a crew standing at the foot of a B-29, the nose of which is decorated with the insignia of the 98th Bomb Group. The men are lined up in flight gear with their parachutes laid out at their feet; the photographs then show the B-29’s cargo hold being loaded, dated 26 and 27 September 1950 (among the first missions of the Korean War). A few photographs were taken from both sides of the B-29, revealing its ‘SMUGGLEBUNNY’ nose art; one of which, taken in flight, bears the inscription ‘3 SEPT’ in grease pencil (presumably 3 September 1950), followed by a series of around 15 photographs of the unit’s B-29 nose art, which precedes a rare series of propaganda leaflets intended for dropping over North Korea, including several safe-conduct passes bearing the UN emblem. (Grégory Pons Collection) (complete photo file available on request)
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About the sale Sale of the Grégory Pons collection and miscellaneous items (Aviation and WW2 Militaria)
Auction location
Auction time 11/14/2026 at 1:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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