Guys..
My best friend, Alan Smith passed on last week..
Alan was a Vietnam veteran, Father, brother and best friend to many in the Tampa Bay area..He re-introduced me to my fascination with German WW1 and II militaria..He was the owner of the "War Shop" in Tampa and was the foremost respected authority regarding questions about nearly anything to do with WW2..He spent days when he had no customers building wooden reproductions of WWI and 2 ships and his 3 cats were his life..Alan was a person who regarded a friends feelings above his own and who would go above and beyond to make you feel better if life seemed to get the most of you at times..Alan grew up in France during the early 50's and I'll always remember his story of playing as a child in some old German armour in the woods and also, his recollections of the Vietnam war and the combat that he saw there..Alans death was a shock to many and especially me..
...I attended my first, and his last Militaria show in Maitland, Florida this year and i will always remember it..Alan purchased a Jap helmet and a very nice SA dagger which he was very proud of.. I ask my friends at Wehrmacht-Awards to all give him a big salute..I've researched many an award that he purchased with the aid of this site. He was very appreciative of that and quite amazed at the expanse of knowledge that I gained from pondering this site for many a night..
Thanks to Seba and everyone who has shared their knowledge on this site, I have learned so much from you all..
Regards,
James
My best friend, Alan Smith passed on last week..
Alan was a Vietnam veteran, Father, brother and best friend to many in the Tampa Bay area..He re-introduced me to my fascination with German WW1 and II militaria..He was the owner of the "War Shop" in Tampa and was the foremost respected authority regarding questions about nearly anything to do with WW2..He spent days when he had no customers building wooden reproductions of WWI and 2 ships and his 3 cats were his life..Alan was a person who regarded a friends feelings above his own and who would go above and beyond to make you feel better if life seemed to get the most of you at times..Alan grew up in France during the early 50's and I'll always remember his story of playing as a child in some old German armour in the woods and also, his recollections of the Vietnam war and the combat that he saw there..Alans death was a shock to many and especially me.. ...I attended my first, and his last Militaria show in Maitland, Florida this year and i will always remember it..Alan purchased a Jap helmet and a very nice SA dagger which he was very proud of.. I ask my friends at Wehrmacht-Awards to all give him a big salute..I've researched many an award that he purchased with the aid of this site. He was very appreciative of that and quite amazed at the expanse of knowledge that I gained from pondering this site for many a night..Thanks to Seba and everyone who has shared their knowledge on this site, I have learned so much from you all..
Regards,
James
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