Description:

ERNIE PYLE FRENCH BANK NOTE SIGNED ONE DAY AFTER D-DAY
(1900 - 1945) American journalist who covered the Allied campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, France and the Far East, killed at Okinawa. A fantastic "short-snorter" apparently signed by the famous journalist the same day he first stepped ashore on the beach in Normandy, one day after the invasion, June 7, 1944. The 7 1/4" x 4 1/2" 1938 Bank of France 100 franc note is distinctively signed near the center: "Ernie Pyle". The bill is also signed by four officers, including three Air Corps colonels, an Army major, and six others unidentified by us. The owner of the bill has written at top: "Property of Cleon E. Freeman Col. A.C. D+1 - 7 June 1944" The signatures of Pyle and the three colonels, including Freeman''s provenance, are all written in the same ink. Light folds, fine condition. Captain Cleon E. Freeman served in the 110th Air Corps Observation Squadron during World War II and served as a liaison officer between the Ninth Air Force and ground forces working in England. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre in 1940 and the Bronze Star Medal in 1944. He very likely went ashore in France to reconnoiter potential landing fields and facilities when he encountered Pyle.

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September 13, 2017 11:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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