Auction Catalogue

10 & 11 December 2014

Starting at 10:00 AM

.

Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Washington Mayfair Hotel  London  W1J 5HE

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Lot

№ 317

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10 December 2014

Estimate: £450–£550

A Legion of Merit group of twelve named to Lieutenant-Colonel John B. Long, U.S. Army Air Force and U.S. Air Force, a prisoner-of-war of the Germans

Legion of Merit, Legionnaire, enamelled, crimp suspension; Distinguished Flying Cross, slot brooch; Purple Heart, reverse hand engraved, ‘John B. Long’, crimp brooch; Air Medal, with eight oak leaf clusters, full wrap brooch; Army Commendation Medal, crimp brooch; Air Force Commendation Medal, reverse hand engraved, ‘John B. Long’, crimp brooch; Prisoner of War Medal; American Campaign Medal; European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, with one silver and four bronze stars on ribbon; Victory Medal 1945; National Defense Service Medal; France, Croix de Guerre 1939, with bronze palm on ribbon, generally extremely fine (lot) £450-550

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Named and Attributable American Medal Groups.

View A Collection of Named and Attributable American Medal Groups

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Collection

John B. Long served in the U.S.A.A.F. and U.S.A.F. from 1942 to 1968. During WW2 he flew C47 Dakotas, firstly in the North African Campaign. He flew troop carrier and supply missions to Morocco, Libya, Algeria, and Egypt, with occasional trips to Senegal and Gold Coast. He then flew in support of the invasion of Sicily. Early in 1944 he was ordered to India and supported operations supplying troops to Burma and then over the ‘Hump’ to China. In the Summer of 1944 he returned to Sicily and was engaged in supporting allied operations in Europe. Long was shot down and reported missing in September 1944. Surviving, he was held at Stalag Luft 111 in Sagan, Poland. In January 1945, with the allied advance, he was moved to Stalag Luft 7a at Moosber, Bavaria where he was eventually liberated. After the war, as a Lieutenant-Colonel, he served as an advisor to the Cambodian Air Force, 1956-58 and as an exchange officer with the R.A.F., based at R.A.F. Hartlebury, Worcestershire, 1964-66. He retired from the Air Force on 8 October 1968.

Supported by two
original Certificates of Retirement (different signatures) contained in a ‘Department of the Air Force’ folder; with a loose miniature Legion of Merit and a mounted set of ten miniature dress medals as above (lacking Croix de Guerre); the recipient’s cap bearing his name, with metal emblem; pair of shoulder boards; riband bar; plus eight metal badges for display purposes. With a portrait photograph of the recipient in uniform and copied research.

This lot is sold as seen and is not subject to return. Please see saleroom notice on lot 280 for fuller details.