Photos, letters, log book of P47 pilot killed WWII inTRASH!

[Cking]

The same sort of thing happened to me years ago. I was walking past a skip(Dumpster in American) and I noticed an old fashioned brief case. I fished it out and opened it, hoping for a wad of cash. Inside I found a medal from a soldier that had served in the first world war. I don't know his story. I don't know where he served but I do know his experiences during the first world war deserved better than land fill. It is now one of my most treasured possessions.
How many other hero's sories have ended up like this?

Rgds Cking

[Sgt13Echo]

Thank you for sharing, thank you for saving it and thank you for reminding us of the sacrafice so many made and with only one weekend away from Memorial Day, how appropriate. I feel blessed to be an American, to have served our great country and never to have experienced the horror and sadness of war first hand.

[TonyM]

While I was studying to get my B.A. in History I was full time Garbage Man; this kind of thing happens all the time. I have saved several WWII histories from the trash. Equipment, uniforms, documents, photos (even strike photos taken from a B-24 over occupied Europe), letters and various other WWII history items have been rescued by me.

Reporter Bob Greene wrote a series of stories concering Aviation Cadet George Bialis, who was killed in California on 9 June 1943 while training for the USAAF. Bialis' personal effects and letters were found in the trash on a Chicago Street in 1995. It is worth the read. I think I posted links to Bialis' story on WIX before.

Thanks for saving our history.


TM

Last edited by TonyM on Fri May 18, 2012 11:21 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[TonyM]

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=43961&start=0

There are links to the Cadet George Bialis story in this WIX thread.

TM

[carlisle1926]

Howdy All

This story really choked me up a little

Lt. Thomas E. Bullington,Jr had been assigned and flew with the 311th FS, 58th Fighter Group, 5th Air Force

http://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/p ... 75289.html

It was probably his Sister that held onto all this before she passed.

This should be put into the media, to honour those two brave men and their family. To tell their story

Lightning

I had found many letters from William Robert" Billy Bob" Bullington(Oct 10,1925) in the box as well. This was Bullington's younger brother that was at the time, black sheep of the family, according to letters from his family/parents. He past away on Sept 2, 2011 in FtWorth, TX. I suspect this is who had held on to the "box" for so long. He sounds like he would have been a fun guy to be around.
A distant relative of the family has searched ME out looking for more info on the family.

[Ken]

I know estate sale people help go through belongings and bring families money by helping to determine values. It's too bad there isn't a widely known "military estate service". They could come to your door, help you sort the items you have, determine what you have and ensure that whatever you don't wish to keep finds the proper home. Sadly, the easiest answer for many is the trash can.

[p51]

I do WW2 displays and re-enacting public events and over the years I've had several people give me what we refer to as "vet in a box" collections like this. Most often it's just a stack of patches, a few photos, maybe an O2 mask, but I've had four groupings as impressive as what's listed here. I agree it's sad that landfills have much better stuff in them than any collection, but you cant' always find the person who sees the value in something.
Don't forget, it's all relative. Some once sold me a bunch of WW2-era magazines and photos and in the bottom of the box was some paperwork and files from a motorcycle company I'd never heard of, from the 60s. I was going to throw them away until i thought of my next door neighbor at the time who was into Harleys. I took it over and asked if he would be interested, and his eyes bugged out. It really meant something to him, but nothing at all to me. I was happy to give him the stack, a real win-win situation.
You can talk about how reprehensible it is that this collection almost went to a landfill, but we all need to remember that not everyone cares about this kind of stuff.
The only benefit I can think of with shows like "Pawn stars" is that at least less stuff like this will get thrown away without checking for the value first. I suggest that much less stuff like this gets thrown away now that more people are aware of its value than ever before...

[carlisle1926]

There has been another addition to this story. Since I first posted this story, I have spoken to the daughter of Anthony Kupferer, the author of the book The 58th Fighter Group Of World War II. Kupferer was Bullington's closest friend and tent mate in the war. She sent me a copy of the book that is loaded with information and photos on the 311th fighter squadron that Bullington was in. It appears that Bullington was in fact separated from the group on April 11th 1944 and most likely shot down. He and several other P47s had flown up into cloud cover to escape Japanese "Tony" planes, and when he came out he was separated from the others and last seen with Japanese headed in the direction he had gone. His last radio transmission was him asking where the rest of the group had gone.
I was given the box at a swap meet in April by a total stranger. I was so stunned by the contents of the box that I never got the name of the man that gave the box to me. In a bazaar twist, I was recently able to track the man down---- out of the tens of thousands of visitors to the Pate Swap meet! He spoke to me on the phone and he told me that he was able to set aside a lot more things that he found and I will soon be in possession of those items. In particular there is more info on Mary Jane, the sister and her accomplishments. The story continues to unfold and the artifacts are coming out of the wood work.
I'm currently working on display cabinets made from aircraft parts to display these pieces of history in. Hopefully they will soon end up in a museum.

[Lynn Allen]

Those pictures meant a lot to someone only to end up in the trash, how sad. I came across a guy who found a hugh lot of pictures in a storage room repo, kinda link Storage Wars.

[carlisle1926]

I just finished a replica nose art piece using a DC3 engine cowling. Based on the one crude photo of Bullington's plane and the written description the Anthony Kupferer wrote in his book about his experiences in the 311th fighter group in WWII, I was able to piece together this replica. There are some differences between mine and the original. I added a bit more detail than the original piece that Kupferer painted on Bullington's "Cowtown Cyclone". The Cowtown Cyclone is slightly visible behind another P-47 "Carly" in the photo. The last photo is an artist's rendition of Kupferer's P-47 that had the same paint scheme as Bullington's "Cowtown Cyclone"
On March 2nd 2013, the folks over at Greatest Generation Aircraft at Meacham Field in FT Worth are having a fund raising auction to get their B25 back in the air. I've decided to donate this piece to help raise money and to maybe increase awareness of Bullington's sacrifice in WWII.

[Fouga23]

looks amazing!

[jrb3146]

.0If the person who found my Uncle Thomas E. Bullington's log book and other items I would be interested to see them. My father was his bother Willim R. Bullington. I was in Afghanistan when they went through my father's house. I did not know he had those items. I do have Thomas Bullington Purple Heart, his discharge papers and other items. Please advise contact info. I will be in Fort Worth the week of Nov. 30.

[bdk]

I paid a few dollars for some similar documentation at a gun show. My website for it is long dead, but it is available in the web archive wayback machine:

https://web.archive.org/web/20000523064 ... tAllee.htm

This document cache must have been sold at an estate sale after his wife's death, so it wasn't thrown out but I guess his family wasn't interested.

Here is his obituary:

William "Orval" Allee

Funeral services for William Orval Allee, a resident of Cortez, will be held Monday, April 3 at the Evans-Brown Mortuaries in Sun City, Calif., beginning at 1 p.m. Interment will follow at the Perris Valley Cemetery in Perris, Calif.

Mr. Allee was born in Hammond, Okla., on Dec. 27, 1914,the son of Elbert Allee and Nonnie (Miller) Allee. He passed away at Southwest Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, March 28, 2000, at the age of 85.

Orval graduated from Perris High School. He married Hilda Rosemyer in Riverside, Calif., on Nov. 25, 1937. They had celebrated 62 years of marriage together.

Orval worked as a carpenter and building inspector for many years in Riverside, Calif. During WWII, he served his country in the Army. Orval was a member of the Lions Club and the American Legion.

Surviving him are his wife, Hilda, of Cortez; his daughter and son-in-law, Ramona and Manson Merritt, of Cortez; grandchildren, Michael Merritt, and his wife, Priscilla, of Cortez; Rhonda Morton, of Cortez; great-grandson, Brandon Morton, of Cortez; and step great-grandchildren, Juan Padilla, of Tucson, Ariz., Rick Padilla, Ernie Padilla, and Angelina Ramsay, all of Cortez.

Orval is also survived by two sisters, Jessie Crites, of Mesa, Ariz., and Lavern Ramsey, of Concord, Calif.; and one brother, Virgil Allee, of Riverside, Calif.

Local arrangements are being made through the Ertel Funeral Home.

[Scott Rose]

If you guys want, I can create a section devoted to posting these types of items so they will be available for everyone to see.
Any interest?

[Craig59]

.0If the person who found my Uncle Thomas E. Bullington's log book and other items I would be interested to see them. My father was his bother Willim R. Bullington. I was in Afghanistan when they went through my father's house. I did not know he had those items. I do have Thomas Bullington Purple Heart, his discharge papers and other items. Please advise contact info. I will be in Fort Worth the week of Nov. 30.

At the bottom of carlisle1926’s post, you can click on Profile or PM. Clicking on Profile, it appears he has not visited the site since February 2017. He posts a website: http://www.jasonbarnettartist.com but, it is no longer active.

You might try a PM (Private Message) but, if he hasn’t visited since 2017 it’s unlikely he’ll respond. You could try posting a new subject asking members if they know how to contact Jason Barnett.

The other thing you might try is an online search of his name. If he’s still in Texas, perhaps you’ll find some contact information.

Best Wishes!