Offered here is an extensive archive accumulated by heroic World War II U.S. naval aviator Lt. Norman Wiese of Iowa. Wiese was the squadron executive officer of VT-82, a TBM Avenger squadron flying from USS Bennington (CV-20), and was a highly decorated veteran who was awarded five Oak Leaf clusters, the Navy Cross, the Distinguished Flying Cross with one cluster and the Purple Heart. He took part in the U.S. Navy’s first carrier borne strike on Tokyo, was involved in air operations during the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, received a flak wound to his head after a bombing run that sank a Japanese battleship and flew over 30 combat missions. The onion skin citations for his awards are part of the collection. As one citation put it, “His skill and courage were at all times inspiring and in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.” His wartime near death experience, which entitled him to a Purple Heart, was retold in the October 20, 1945, issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Just as he released his torpedo aimed at the Japanese battleship Yamato, his Avenger was "raked and perforated four times" by enemy fire, and "an instinctive duck of his head probably saved his life as a 25-mm bullet crashed through the windshield and instrument panel, sending a splinter of shrapnel into his scalp and temporarily blinding him with a spray of gasoline from a broken fuel-pressure gauge." It was during this raid that the Yamato was sunk by U.S. carrier based bombers. Manufactured during WWII, Wiese’s “U.S. PROPERTY” marked S&W Victory Model revolver has matching serial numbers on the butt, right grip panel, cylinder, and barrel. The Pal RH-36 fighting knife has a leather sheath hand marked “J.E. Wiese” for John Edward Wiese, the son of Norman Wiese. The Case knife has a four inch blade and a leather sheath hand marked “N.A. Wiese 43 JAPAN/J.E. Wiese 68 VIET/NAM” and “Japan 43/Viet Nam 68”. An 8x10 inch photograph of Wiese in full flight gear clearly shows the Case knife secured to his parachute harness. As stated in an accompanying notarized letter submitted by John Wiese, the Case knife, Victory Model revolver and other items cataloged in this lot were Norman Wiese’s personal property. Norman presented John the Case knife when John operated a patrol boat during the Vietnam War. John wrote, “Dad felt [the knife] had brought him luck, and wanted it to bring me good luck also. I carried that knife with me, and survived the Vietnam Tet Offensive. Being as dad initialed the knife sheath (sic) with the year he flew over Japan, I decided to do the same with the time I was in Vietnam.” A copy of John’s honorable discharge papers clearly showing U.S. Navy service in Vietnam is included. Other items in this collection include the following: Flight log documenting combat experiences, service records, Elgin AN 5741-1 8-day aircraft clock, Bausch & Lomb aviator sunglass in a tin case, journal covering flight rules, flight hours, and combat tour, U.S. Navy metal uniform officer insignia, two U.S. overseas caps, VT-82 squadron book listing Wiese as the executive officer and praising Wiese’s leadership, naval identification cards, assortment of air navigation plotting instruments and Pacific Theater charts, Iwo Jima air and gunnery target photos, a large collection of fantastic Pacific Theater aerial photographs showing TBMs from Wiese’s squadron, bombing runs, and invasions; collection of personal homefront and warfront photographs, two scrapbooks, CV-20 literature, ground school ephemera, high school diploma, and reunion letters from the 1970s.

The revolver is very fine, retaining 85% original parkerized finish with the balance a mottled brown-gray patina, 90% original case colors remaining and good grips with a chip and series of dings near bottom. Mechanically excellent. The sharpened Pal and Case knives are good, and the Pal sheath has been modified for a belt loop sometime during its wartime use. A wonderful personal archive from a decorated naval aviator that will bring added dimension to any WWII collection. This archive is a testament to Wiese's meritorious accomplishments while serving his country in the Pacific Theater.