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LOT 467
Grouping of War Trophies
and Issued Items from
a Decorated World War II/Korean War Airborne Artillery
Observer and Pearl Harbor Survivor - Per the consignor, the
items in this lot were acquired from Major Lee R. Stickler, which
includes a narrative from Stickler himself. Having been called
up for active service following his graduation from Oregon
State University in 1940, Stickler was originally posted to a field
artillery outfit at Fort Ord for a one year stretch, but instead
“got volunteered” to extend his service for a deployment to
Hawaii; in doing so, he missed most of his unit being federalized
and deployed to the Philippines, where many of them would
meet their end in either the Japanese invasion or in the following
Bataan Death March. While in Hawaii he dodged some bullets of
a more literal variety, having been staying in the Schofield Barracks
on December 7th, 1941, which came under fire due to its proximity
to Wheeler Airfield. While not the best place to be, it certainly wasn’t
the worst; at 2:30 that morning he was dropping off some friends at their
ships, and declined an offer to sleep on board instead of going all the way back to
his barracks. Shortly after this, he would be tapped for flight training, which led him to the role of airborne observer/liaison that he would hold for the remainder of his military career. A very hazardous duty, typically involving being exposed to both ground fire and enemy aircraft while flying a small, unarmed, single engine aircraft at low altitudes on the wrong side of the line of battle, Stickler’s luck held up. While serving in Europe he saw many sights, including spotting concentration/POW camps from the air, meeting a counterpart from the Nazi side who took his spotter plane all the way from the Eastern Front to American lines so he wouldn’t end up in Soviet hands, watched a Russian officer summarily execute his driver for denting the fender on a lend-lease Jeep, and nearly
got blown up when a minefield was explosively cleared while he was flying overhead; Stickler was fine, his plane needed a lot of work afterwards. Later, he would see further action in Korea, earning the Silver Star. Having survived many hazards in his career,
he settled down to civilian life in 1963, passing on in 2012. The group includes many photocopied documents related to Stickler, some by his own hand, as well as a number of photographs. Three German dress daggers are included, one each for the Heer (WKC, with sliver portapee and green/silver hanger), Luftwaffe (Ernst Pack/Siegfried, with hanger), and SA (RZM M7/2, with hanger). A 5 1/2 inch wide patch for the 158th Liaison Squadron is also included, along with a booklet, “The 158th Liaison Squadron in the
E.T.O.”, a patch for the 7th Corps and
one for an unidentified unit, two leather
Captain rank tabs, three sets of
Liaison pilot wings (one silver,
one silver bullion, one white
thread), two brass collar tabs
for the 34th Artillery, a leather
“L.R. STICKLER” name patch and
a Bulova type A-11 wristwatch.
CONDITION: Very good overall.
The daggers show some light
wear and spotting overall, with
the Luftwaffe dagger showing
some tearing/fraying of the
hanger. The uniform items
show mild wear appropriate to age and use. Provenance: The Putnam Green/Sycamore Collection. Estimate: 6,500 - 9,500
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