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a display of military memorabilia on display in a museuman old leather book with a picture of a boat, a plane, and other itemstwo black and white photos of a woman in a leather jacketan image of a black and blue flag with a gold star and crescentan image of a plaque with a picture of an eagle on ita black and white photo of a man in a military uniforman old black and white photo of a group of men standing in front of a housean old black and white photo of a man holding a tennis racquetan old black and white photo of a group of people on a beachan old black and white photo of a group of baseball playersblack and white photograph of a group of men in front of an airplanean old black and white photo of a group of men in uniforman old black and white photo of a man in a military uniforman old photo of a book with pictures of people on itthree men in military uniforms standing next to each otheran old book with pictures of people in the pagesblack and white photo of a man standing in front of an airplanephotograph of a black and white photo of a group of people in front of a planean old book with pictures of people in ita man standing next to an old airplane on the groundan old photo of a book with a bunch of pictures on itblack and white photo of a group of men in uniform posing for a pictureblack and white photograph of a man in a pilot ' s uniform standing in front of a planean old book with pictures of military men on itseveral airplanes flying in formation in the sky over a mountain rangean open book with pictures of a plane flying in the skythree planes flying in the sky with smoke coming out of thema lot of airplanes flying in formation in the skyseveral black and white photos of an old airplane and a manfour pictures of a plane flying in the skyan old book with pictures of airplanes on itblack and white photo of a man standing in front of an airplanea book with a picture of a man sitting in a chairan image of a us army air force identification card with a picture of a man in uniforma picture of a very old vw logo on a piece of papera brown book with a picture of a man and a woman on ita black and white photo of a group of men posing for a picturea piece of paper with a handwritten poem on itblack and white photo of a group of men posing in front of a planea close up of a piece of paper with writing on ita red cross on a piece of paper on a tablean old map of the city of san francisco, california on a piece of papera pile of old papers and old photos on a tablean open book sitting on top of a table next to a roll of papera close up of a piece of paper with a bunch of numbers on ita close up of a black and white photo of a birth certificatea close up of a piece of paper with a stamp on itan open book with a map of the world on itan old black and white photo of two men standing in front of a tenta close up of a document with a picture of an eagle on it
Premium Maître Lydie BRIOULT

Personal collection of Staff Sergeant William P.
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Estimate €700 - €1,000
Sale commission
Description
Personal collection of Staff Sergeant William P. Boydston, 464th Bomb Group – 15th Air Force – Italy (208 original photographs, photo album, press cuttings, insignia, ‘Blood Chit’ identity card) Staff Sergeant Boydston served his tour of duty as a tail gunner on a B-24 Liberator with the 779th Bomb Squadron from 16 August 1944 as part of Captain Joseph A. Shymanski’s crew, operating from Pantanella airbase. He flew 37 sorties whilst being credited with 47 missions (taking into account those counted twice due to the difficulty of the target) – two sorties were not counted as they were presumably both cancelled en route. Boydston was awarded the Air Medal on four occasions. The various award documents are contained in a folder accompanying this lot. This collection of memorabilia includes a postage stamp bearing the likenesses of Mussolini and Hitler, a cotton handkerchief printed with ‘V for Victory ’ (somewhat damaged), an Italian banknote from the American-printed ‘invasion’ series, a 15th Air Force shoulder patch, a map of Naples printed by the American Red Cross in Italy, his airman’s medical card, a Staff Sergeant’s rank insignia and his 15th Air Force identity card featuring an American eagle, a flag and a message in several languages to enable him to seek assistance from the civilian population in the event of a landing in an occupied zone. An exceptional photo album contains numerous photographs taken in flight during combat missions. A rare ‘For Valor’ certificate from the 15th and 12th Air Forces – MAAF (Mediterranean Army Air Forces). A photograph of his crew (captioned on the reverse) shows the men in flight suits standing beside their aircraft. Boydston is standing on the far right (wearing a backpack parachute). The handwritten notes taken by Boydston are completely uncensored (as is customary when this sort of information appears in correspondence sent to the United States). They recount Boydston’s combat missions. A cardboard folder contains various documents relating to Boydston and accompanies his typewritten notes dating from 3 August 1944 onwards, including the flight route he took to leave the United States and reach Italy. This is, in fact, a transcription of his personal diary, containing a wealth of information about the daily life of a pilot in a combat zone. Boydston’s ‘Combat Record 464BG’ file lists the missions he flew, indicated by crosses marked in the margins of the list of all missions carried out by the 464th BG. The unit’s typed history complements these documents with a few photographs of senior officers, Boydston’s Air Medal awards dated 11 September 1944 and 13 March 1945 (3rd OLC supplementary award of the Air Medal), the list of his missions and awards, two commendations from the 464th BG for his actions on 7 July and 23 August 1944, and finally a rare ‘For Valour’ certificate in colour, adorned with the insignia of the 12th and 15th Air Forces and the MAAF (Mediterranean Army Air Forces), indicating that Boydston flew 35 combat missions (a slight contradiction with the other documents, which credit him with 37 sorties out of 47 credited; this is not uncommon due to the administrative tasks involved). The album begins with an envelope containing a souvenir handkerchief embroidered with the 15th Air Force insignia and the inscription ‘Souvenir Italy 1944’ and several photographs of Boydston and his family in the United States, notably during the training phase in South Carolina right up to the formation of his crew with Lt. Shymanski as pilot. The photographs begin the section on Italy with a series of shots of a B-24 Liberator that had made an emergency landing whilst returning from a mission, the camps of the 464th BG airmen and Capri (a favourite destination for airmen of the 15th Air Force on leave). The photographs continue with street scenes in Bari (home to the 15th Air Force headquarters), a colourised portrait of Boydston wearing his A-2 jacket with his squadron patch, an identity photograph in civilian clothes taken from his escape kit so that he could produce false identity papers in the event of a landing in an occupied zone, and other shots of Boydston in his off-duty uniform with his comrades. All the photographs are captioned, and most are geotagged and dated, notably including the town of Cerignola, which was situated near various 15th Air Force bomber bases in southern Italy where airmen from the 464th BG would go on leave. The photographs taken in Italy show Boydston and his unit comrades wearing their A-2 leather jackets with their squadron patches, and various crews standing beside their Liberators. Several press cuttings about Boydston recount his career as his missions progressed. They reveal, in particular, that he was already married at the age of 21, that he was originally from Texas, and that he was awarded the Air Medal. The photographs also show the living conditions of the men of the 464th BG, with tents that, little by little and using locally available materials, were transformed into proper little houses with stone walls. As the winter of 1944–45 was particularly harsh, the men installed stoves for heating, and fires would occasionally break out. Upon returning from missions, some crews were surprised to find that all their belongings had been lost. Among the photographs, a B-24 named ‘Stevonovit’ had a remarkable history. It was a ‘Pathfinder’ aircraft, fitted with on-board radar in place of the belly turret, which was shot down during a mission. The aircraft’s final moments are particularly striking: a newspaper clipping from the time reports the incident and shows the aircraft, with its wing torn off, spinning in a barrel roll, leaving its crew with no chance of survival. Photographs taken during Boydston’s final mission on 5 March 1945 show a particularly large crew, comprising Lieutenant-Colonel Gooyear as pilot and two navigators in addition to the radar operator. Boydston was therefore flying a B-24 ‘Pathfinder’. The various crew members are also wearing electric-heated suits underneath their flight suits. The distinctive cuffs at the wrists indicate that he was wearing the F-3 heated suit. The photograph of Boydston standing at the foot of the aircraft clearly shows the power cable for his heated suit and one of his gloves connected to the sleeve. Boydston is also wearing a Type B-15 flight jacket. The photographs continue upon his return to the United States, where he is pictured in Miami on 20 May 1945. The album then continues with a long series of photographs (4x5 in./10 x 12.5 cm) taken in flight during combat missions, in which the 464th BG’s identification markings are clearly visible on the vertical stabilisers of the B-24s as they fly over the snow-capped peaks of the Alps. A series of three photographs shows B-24s that have retained their camouflage livery with their ‘Nose Art’ pin-up girls. One photograph also shows the radome of a B-24 Pathfinder. Press cuttings feature two striking photographs of B-24s hit by anti-aircraft fire. Various large-format photographs depict targets such as Graz, Linz and Verona. In some photographs, one can also see the barrel of the side gunner’s machine gun, through which the photograph was taken. All the photographs in this album have been pasted in. A particularly rich collection (Grégory Pons Collection)
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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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