Description:

ERNEST HEMINGWAY
(1899 - 1961) American writer, a Nobel prize winner and author of For Whom the Bell Tolls, A Farewell to Arms, The Old Man and the Sea, and other classic novels. A superb signed Hemingway item directly tying him to the most exciting (and harrowing) day of his life, June 6, 1944 - D-Day - when Hemingway would step ashore bloody Omaha Beach in the seventh wave of the attack. We offer a fifty French franc "invasion" note, printed in the U.S. and given to American servicemen for use upon their arrival in France following the invasion. Hemingway has signed the face of the note: "Ernest Hemingway Fox Green Beach June 6, 1944". Ink has lightened considerably but remains legible. Following a brief stint in the employ of the FBI attempting to spot German submarine activity aboard his yacht "Pilar", Hemingway hungered for more action in America's ongoing war. Obtaining a position with Collier's as a war correspondent, he was aboard the transport USS DOROTHEA L. DIX when he met sailor John A. Galligan for whom he signed this banknote. A copy of Galligan's June 5-6 diary entries record how the vessel sailed on June 5 at 5:00 PM with "famous" author Hemingway aboard, the dead and wounded being brought onboard, and mention that the vessel left the area on June 6 at 2000 having unloaded all of her cargo. Included with the lot is a notarized letter from Galligan's son-in-law describing the note and its association with his father-in-law, copies of the diary entries, a photo of Galligan's gravesite, and some research material. After the event, Hemingway would always mention "...how we took Fox Green..." although his actual role in any combat is unknown..

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May 9, 2012 11:00 AM EDT
Stamford, CT, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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