Lot 324

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Description:


Massive collection of documents and photographs from the military service of Staff Sergeant Iving Schmitt, 517th Signal Company, 101st Armored Division, who served as a paratrooper during the Battle of the Bulge, Bastogne, Holland, and the Normandy invasion, and later transferred to the U.S. Air Force until his retirement in 1966. This lot contains hundreds of documents, mostly post-war military records, detailing Schmitt's lengthy career in the service, yet notably includes a war-date handwritten poem titled "The Yank", written supposedly by foreign girls about U.S. servicemen, and a scan of the last page of Schmitt's typewritten World War II diary, reading in part: "May 9 1945...I was chief of the advanced echelon that left Miesbach for the Berchtesgaden area...May 27 1945...Made a trip to Hitlers hideout today. It is really beautiful up there...You can see Hitlers tearoom from out camp...living in the barracks that the SS Troops formerly occupied...May 31 1945...put in for a Bronz Star today. I read what I did to deserve it. It all seems unreal to me now...June 6 1945...Read prayers for all the men in the company who were killed in Normandie, Holland and Bastogne also for the battle of Austria. Just a year ago today I jumped into Normandie...June 17 1945...have 99 points...will be leaving the div. for home in a few days...Received the Presidential Citation for Normandie and the Cluster for Bastogne...This concludes the diary; Now going into civilian life". The enormous collection also contains certificates of appointments, Honorable Discharges, retirement, and many more, including one certificate making Schmitt a "Brother Blue Nose" for crossing the Arctic Circle and another naming him an "Ice Worm of the Ice Cap" for serving 365 days on the Greenland Ice Cap. The archive also includes 37 original b/w photographs of various sizes, sent to his beloved throughout his time abroad, mostly routine content showing Schmitt and his fellow soldiers, yet also includes four images that were supposedly taken near Hitler's hideout at Berchtesgaden, an image of German POW's holding their rifles, captioned on the reverse "...Here's the Sun of a Bitches That got me into this...", an image of Schmitt in his gas mask, and a photograph of Schmitt riding a horse that "...used to belong to a German officer". Condition varies, yet generally very good. An exhaustive grouping, detailing an American paratrooper's two-decade long career!

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July 14, 2020 11:00 AM EDT
Chesapeake City, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000