Grouping, Maj. Robert Clark, 669th BS, 416th BG, 9th Air Force, USAAF, D-Day, ETO
Rare genuine WWII USAAF grouping, which belonged to some Major Robert A. Clark, 669th Bomb. Squadron, 416th Bomb. Group, 9th Air Force, made up of the following elements:
- a first officer's service jacket, dark OD wool gabardine, tailored by Browning King Uniform Corp. in New York City, retaining all original buttons and the following insignia: pair of Major rank insignia, 9th Air Force shoulder sleeve insignia embroidered on felt, ribbon bar (WWII Victory Medal), Presidential Unit Citation, and three bullion Overseas Service Bars; waist belt is missing;
- a second officer's service jacket of the same type, tailored by Kahn Tailoring Co. in Indianapolis, only retaining its 9th Air Force shoulder sleeve insignia embroidered on felt; name R.A. Clark has been written in the collar and inked on the name tag sewn in the inner pocket; waist belt is still present; two front buttons have been unstitched but come in this sale;
- M1936 musette bag, made by Luce Manufacturing Co. in 1942 and showing various markings, including mention Captain, name R.A. Clark and ASN O-424713; the carrying strap, manufactured by Wm. Stanley Co. and dated 1942, shows the same ASN; luggage tags attached to the bag for repatriation are still in place;
- M1936 belt suspenders, made by Excel in 1942 and on which the above-mentioned service number has been stenciled;
- Type A-9 flying helmet, Medium, on which name R.A. Clark has been written;
- Polaroid No. 1065 flying goggles;
- T-30-M throat microphone;
- pair of M1938 canvas leggings, manufactured by Fraser Products and in which ASN O-424713 is clearly visible;
- two pilot log books used by the aforementioned officer from January 1941 to August 1942;
- lot of insignia: sterling silver pilot wings (pin is in working order), Major rank insignia hallmarked N.S. Meyer, Inc. (pin is broken), pair of 9th Air Force shoulder sleeve insignia, and a small brooch of the 'sweetheart' type in the colors of the 9th Air Force (pin in working order);
- various personal documents: official telegrams indicating that he was appointed as Flying Cadet in the Air Corps (1940), civilian pilot license (1945), photograph, cheque...
A corpus of letters and other forms, dating to the 1950s and related to his service as a Reserve Officer, completes this great homogeneous set, in good overall condition.
Robert Arthur Clark was born on August 9, 1920 in Lima, Ohio and joined the Air Corps on December 30, 1940 (ASN 16026046). He was awarded his pilot's badge on August 16, 1941 and went on to serve as a flying instructor at Craig Field, Alabama prior to deploying to Europe in February 1944. He flew 31 combat missions as an A-20 Havoc pilot with 669th Bomb. Squadron, 416th Bomb. Group, 9th Air Force — including one bombing raid on Serqueux, Normandy in the afternoon of June 6, 1944 — prior to serving as Operations Officers in 416th Bomb. Group. He was discharged on December 12, 1945 as a Major, and passed away on May 20, 1997.
https://fr.findagrave.com/memorial/211438206/robert-arthur-clark
Illustration documents not mentioned above are available in digital format only.
