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Signatures on this item | |
*The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare. | |
Name | Info |
Colonel Archie G Donahue USMC (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 | Archie Donahue was born in Casper, Wyoming in 1917. He attended schools in Wyoming until 1934 when his family moved to Texas. He had his first airplane ride at the age of eight and the flying bug bit him. Archie completed three years of engineering studies at the University of Texas before joining the Navy as an Aviation Cadet. During his training Archie was stationed at Kansas City, Jacksonville, and finally Corpus Christi. He requested a transfer to the Marine Corps, and upon his graduation he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in February of 1942. After a short posting to Norfolk, Archie was assigned to VMF-112, which was nicknamed the 'Wolfpack.' The squadron was sent to Guadacanal in September where they commenced combat missions flying the Grumman F4F Wildcat. Archie would soon transition to the state-of-the-art F4U-1 Corsair. Between September 1942 and June of 1943 Archie was credited with nine aerial victories. One of these was achieved in the Wildcat with the balance attained while piloting the Corsair. On May 13, 1943 Archic would down five A6M3 Zeros during a single mission. In June of 1943 VMF-112 returned to the States, and the squadron was disbanded. Serving as a flight officer at El Toro Air Station in California, Archie was given the assignment of carrier qualifying VMF-451. In February of 1945 VMF-451 began combat operations flying from the deck of the USS Bunker Hill. For the next three months Donahue and his squdroninates flew numerous missions in support of the landings at lwo Jima and Okinawa, as well as strikes at the Japanese mainland, and in the process earning the nickname 'Angels of Okinawa.' On April 12, 1945 Donahue was once again credited with five victories during a fierce aerial battle over Okinawa. On May 11 th Archie's flight of 16 Corsairs had just returned to the carrier, and as the pilots completed their debriefing the Bunker Hill was hit by two Kamikaze aircraft, setting off a huge fire and killing 346. The Bunker Hill had to be withdrawn from action. Donahue returned to the States where he was made Commander of a squadron at El Toro. He was later transferred to Quantico, a large Marine base near Washington, DC. Archie flew a total of 215 combat missions during WWII including 56 from the deck of the Bunker Hill. He was credited with a total of 14 confirmed aerial victories. He had more than 4000 flying hours in military aircraft and 110 successful carrier landings. Although he never crashed an airplane, Archie was reported killed during aerial gunnery training when a student made a beautiful run and cut the tail off Archie's plane about five feet behind his head. Archie is a recipient of the Navy Cross, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, and five Air Medals. Archie has also been an active participant in the Confederate Air Force, and in 1990 he piloted an SBD with an unusual pilot, Saburo Sakai, the high scoring Japanese ace who was shot down in WWII by the rear gunner of a SBD. Following his retirement from military service in 1958 Archie began a long and successful career in real estate development. Archie lives in Texas with his wife Mary. They have five children and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. Sadly, he passed away on 30th July 2007. |
Lieutenant Colonel A Roger Conant (deceased) *Signature Value : £55 | Enlisting in the U.S. Navy, Roger Conant received his wings as a Marine pilot in 1942. Assigned to VMF 215 he flew the Chance Vought F4U Corsair on well over 100 combat missions, mostly in the air battles over Rabaul and the Solomon Islands where he downed a total of 6 Japanese Mitsubishi Zeros. He was on his return to the Pacific theater as a night fighter pilot on the day war ended. Later he served again in Korea. Retiring from the Marine Corps as a Lt. Col., he then began work as a test pilot for Douglas Aircraft (McDonnell Douglas, now Boeing). Roger Conant USMC(R) passed away on March 10, 2007. |
Lieutenant Colonel John F Bolt (deceased) *Signature Value : £55 | John Bolt is one of only seven American aces to shoot down 5 or more enemy aircraft in both WWII and Korea. He was also the only Marine Corps ace in Korea. Commissioned in 1942, he joined VMF-214 in 1943. Flying the F4U Corsair, John Bolt downed six Zekes in just 90 days from September to December 1943 to become and ace. He also saw action in the last few weeks of the war with VMF-472. Returning to combat duty in the Korean War he served a tour with the Marines before flying a tour with the Air Force where he shot down six Mig15s. John F Bolt passed away on 8th December 2004. |
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth A Walsh (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 | Ken Walsh was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 24th 1916. On December 15th 1933, Kenneth Walsh joined the Marines, becoming a mechanic and radioman. In April 1937 he received his wings while still a Private, but was promoted to Corporal immediately after. Ken Walsh achieved an impressive 21 victories in his 104 combat missions. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for two separate actions in August 1943 when, overwhelmingly outnumbered, he destroyed 7 enemy aircraft before being shot down himself. He scored his final victory on 22nd June 1945 over Okinawa. Walsh remained in the Marine Corps for a full career, flying transports in Korea and retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in February 1962. He was the 4th highest scoring Marine Corps fighter Ace of World War Two. Sadly he passed away on 30th July 1998. |
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