Show us your GI War Booty photos

[Texasuberalles]

k-98s anyone??

[Texasuberalles]

Mailing back the 'goodies' or possibly getting capture papers?

[Ammersee]

My grandfather was an airplane mechanic in the 9th AF when he decided in early 1945 to volunteer for combat. Attached to an infantry unit, likely the 7th Army, 6th Corps, he ended up in Innsbrück, Austria on the last day of the war. My grandpa is the one in the helmet.

[Ammersee]

Some of his souvernirs.

[Ammersee]

More...

[Ammersee]

And last, Reichsleiter Buch's photo album. Ammersee

[Dave C.]

My grandfather was an airplane mechanic in the 9th AF when he decided in early 1945 to volunteer for combat. Attached to an infantry unit, likely the 7th Army, 6th Corps, he ended up in Innsbrück, Austria on the last day of the war. My grandpa is the one in the helmet.

Your grandfather had great taste in war booty!!! Did he also return the bayonet in hand?

[JeremyJ]

booty

Great pics.guys!!!

I really enjoy the thread.


Regards

Jeremy

[Ammersee]

Your grandfather had great taste in war booty!!! Did he also return the bayonet in hand?

When he returned to Chicago he sold most of his stuff on Maxwell St., which was at the time a giant flea market. He used the money to buy a car and rent an apartment which in turn allowed him to find a good job. The pics I posted and a few other items are all that is left. I never saw the helmet or bayonets. The one item that I wished he would have kept was a Colt .45 Auto that must have been a battlefield pickup during WW1. It was oak leaf engraved w/ivories by a German engraver between the wars. He had to smuggle it back as it was still marked "US Property". He sold the Colt on Maxwell St. for $300 in 1946. It's probably a $5000 (or more) item today. He also smuggled out the photo album as they were subject to confiscation by the National Archives. Ammersee

[all1knew]

When he returned to Chicago he sold most of his stuff on Maxwell St., which was at the time a giant flea market. He used the money to buy a car and rent an apartment which in turn allowed him to find a good job. The pics I posted and a few other items are all that is left. I never saw the helmet or bayonets. The one item that I wished he would have kept was a Colt .45 Auto that must have been a battlefield pickup during WW1. It was oak leaf engraved w/ivories by a German engraver between the wars. He had to smuggle it back as it was still marked "US Property". He sold the Colt on Maxwell St. for $300 in 1946. It's probably a $5000 (or more) item today. He also smuggled out the photo album as they were subject to confiscation by the National Archives. Ammersee

What a cool story. I remember my Dad took me to Maxwell street about 10 years ago, which is not the original location, and it certainly didn't have anything like that

William Kramer

[Championhilz]

I have no knowledge of the Germans having intentionally set out booby trapped souvenirs, as is well documented by the Japanese in the PTO.

I can, however, relay a story told to me by a WWII U.S. veteran of the ETO. My (now deceased) veteran friend once told me about how one of the men in his unit got killed near the end of the war, when he was picking through a large pile of surrendered arms/ordinance located in the town square of a German village. The soldier wanted a P.08 (i.e. "Luger" pistol) and was sorting thru the arms cache to try to find one. The soldier, however, apparently set off a German grenade that was among the surrendered ordinance, with the resulting blast taking his life.

According to my veteran friend, after this incident the unit's officers ordered the troops to stay out of the captured weapons/ordinance piles, in an effort to prevent any more such incidents.

On veterans and war booty: I can attest for a fact (having solicited hundreds of vets for souvenirs) that a large percentage have told me that they "cared nothing about war souvenirs and just wanted to get home ASAP." Thus, I have begun to think that those vets who brought/shipped home significant amounts of war trophies were probably in the minority, with most vets only keeping a few small items and with a significant percentage of them bringing home no souvenirs.

Alan,
I have a collection of letters written by Capt. T. W. Wade, who was a doctor attached to the Medical Detachment of the 863rd Anti-Aircraft Battalion. On Aug. 20, 1944 he wrote from Normandy:

"Went on to our destination and after the usual amount of time wasting I hit for the kitchen. The cook had just found a booby trap. It was an American rifle in apparently excellent condition but it had been left in a tree and attached to the trigger of the rifle by a string was a hand grenade. I have seen some examples of what the Germans can do with booby traps and so I discreetly withdrew to a safe distance. The Major disconnected the grenade from the rifle and then withdrew the pin and threw it and ran like hell. Nothing happened. Anti-climax. It was either a dud or some ones ill conceived idea of humor but no American troops had occupied this particular field since the Germans had moved out and this battery had moved ot the field at about 4 a.m. in pitch darkness and they were in no humor to be playful - they were too tired."

[Championhilz]

Here's one of mine, a photo of a captured Type 38 Japanese Rifle. It says on the back, "Captured by Wayne Hibbard on Guadalcanal, Jap Rifle."

[historiknut]

This 71st Division soldier captured this flag after he escaped from a camp in Hungary.

[historiknut]

2

[klasterix71]

Hello,

Now, I know this thread is about GI's with souvenirs but the Germans got some too..........

Here is some members of the Fallschirmjager with some familiar flags.

William Kramer

this photto is taken in bosnia ,city Drvar during german action against partisans marshal tito and hes headquarter
in Drvar was american and british war mission ,flags was probably partisan made