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Two flight suits

YoungMedic

Well-Known Member
I went to an estate sale the other day on some typewriter hunting and stumbled upon these two flight suits which were not advertised at the sale. After I saw the first I began to scour a large library of books looking for any information I could find on the owner. A happened to catch the attention of a neighbor who gave me the owners name and I was able to find his obituary from 2009. I wasnt expecting to buy these but I wanted to save them from a goodwill or trash bin. Also I figured I might post them here and gain more info or knowledge about the flight suits.

Aurthur Thames Boone enlisted in the Army on January 22, 1942. He was accepted into the Army Air Corps and, after attending tactical training schools, went into combat in the 7th Air Force which took him to Midway and ended his tour at the battle of Tarawa. He served in the Pacific Theatre as a B-24 navigator based on the Island of Funafuti during the early years of the war where he survived the bombing and strafing of the island. After his tour in the Seventh Air Force, he attended flight school and was sent as a pilot to join the 305th Bomber Group of the Eighth Air Force flying B-17s in Europe. Overall he completed sixty-six missions and received numerous commendations including the Air Medal w/ 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, and American, Pacific, and European campaign medals with a total of 9 bronze battle stars. After the war ended, he took a position as personal pilot to General Ira A. Eaker, the Deputy Commanding General of the Air Force. He left active duty as a Captain and returned to the University of Florida College of Law, graduating with honors. He was a member of Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity and Theta Chi fraternity. While in Gainesville, he met his future wife, Doris Lamb, a music student at Florida State College for Women. They married in 1947 after her graduation. He practiced law in Jacksonville for fifty seven years but also remained active in the Air Force Reserve, retiring with the rank of Colonel in 1980.

021 on Flickr

022 on Flickr

023 on Flickr

024 on Flickr

025 on Flickr
 
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B-Man2

Well-Known Member
I went to an estate sale the other day on some typewriter hunting and stumbled upon these two flight suits which were not advertised at the sale. After I saw the first I began to scour a large library of books looking for any information I could find on the owner. A happened to catch the attention of a neighbor who gave me the owners name and I was able to find his obituary from 2009. I wasnt expecting to buy these but I wanted to save them from a goodwill or trash bin. Also I figured I might post them here and gain more info or knowledge about the flight suits.

Captain Aurthur Thames Boone enlisted in the Army on January 22, 1942. He was accepted into the Army Air Corps and, after attending tactical training schools, went into combat in the 7th Air Force which took him to Midway and ended his tour at the battle of Tarawa. He served in the Pacific Theatre as a B-24 navigator based on the Island of Funafuti during the early years of the war where he survived the bombing and strafing of the island. After his tour in the Seventh Air Force, he attended flight school and was sent as a pilot to join the 305th Bomber Group of the Eighth Air Force flying B-17s in Europe. Overall he completed sixty-six missions and received numerous commendations including the Air Medal w/ 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, and American, Pacific, and European campaign medals with a total of 9 bronze battle stars. After the war ended, he took a position as personal pilot to General Ira A. Eaker, the Deputy Commanding General of the Air Force. He left active duty as a Captain

021 on Flickr

022 on Flickr

023 on Flickr

024 on Flickr

025 on Flickr
 

B-Man2

Well-Known Member
I went to an estate sale the other day on some typewriter hunting and stumbled upon these two flight suits which were not advertised at the sale. After I saw the first I began to scour a large library of books looking for any information I could find on the owner. A happened to catch the attention of a neighbor who gave me the owners name and I was able to find his obituary from 2009. I wasnt expecting to buy these but I wanted to save them from a goodwill or trash bin. Also I figured I might post them here and gain more info or knowledge about the flight suits.

Captain Aurthur Thames Boone enlisted in the Army on January 22, 1942. He was accepted into the Army Air Corps and, after attending tactical training schools, went into combat in the 7th Air Force which took him to Midway and ended his tour at the battle of Tarawa. He served in the Pacific Theatre as a B-24 navigator based on the Island of Funafuti during the early years of the war where he survived the bombing and strafing of the island. After his tour in the Seventh Air Force, he attended flight school and was sent as a pilot to join the 305th Bomber Group of the Eighth Air Force flying B-17s in Europe. Overall he completed sixty-six missions and received numerous commendations including the Air Medal w/ 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, and American, Pacific, and European campaign medals with a total of 9 bronze battle stars. After the war ended, he took a position as personal pilot to General Ira A. Eaker, the Deputy Commanding General of the Air Force. He left active duty as a Captain

021 on Flickr

022 on Flickr

023 on Flickr

024 on Flickr

025 on Flickr
Great find !
Are you sure they’re both from the same person ? One is size Large the other is a size 38. Doesn’t add up ,
 

YoungMedic

Well-Known Member
Great find !
Are you sure they’re both from the same person ? One is size Large the other is a size 38. Doesn’t add up ,

I thought that was odd as well, No I am not sure of anything, they were both in the closet, the orange appeared to be wadded in a bag for ages before being hanged for sale. There is a faint marking inside the Davis flightsuit that starts with a BOO or B00 but I can not make out the whole thing
 

YoungMedic

Well-Known Member
"He left active duty as a capt " interesting that there are full bird colonel on the
AN S 31a suit .

Yes it is, I should have read the lower half of the obituary too

and returned to the University of Florida College of Law, graduating with honors. He was a member of Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity and Theta Chi fraternity. While in Gainesville, he met his future wife, Doris Lamb, a music student at Florida State College for Women. They married in 1947 after her graduation. He practiced law in Jacksonville for fifty seven years but also remained active in the Air Force Reserve, retiring with the rank of Colonel in 1980.
 

Carl

Well-Known Member
Yes it is, I should have read the lower half of the obituary too

and returned to the University of Florida College of Law, graduating with honors. He was a member of Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity and Theta Chi fraternity. While in Gainesville, he met his future wife, Doris Lamb, a music student at Florida State College for Women. They married in 1947 after her graduation. He practiced law in Jacksonville for fifty seven years but also remained active in the Air Force Reserve, retiring with the rank of Colonel in 1980.
That explains that then ! :)
 

Carl

Well-Known Member
I thought that was odd as well, No I am not sure of anything, they were both in the closet, the orange appeared to be wadded in a bag for ages before being hanged for sale. There is a faint marking inside the Davis flightsuit that starts with a BOO or B00 but I can not make out the whole thing
Could it be Boone ? ;)
 

B-Man2

Well-Known Member
Having a tough time deciphering the marks in the photo as well Tim. Is it an issue number in the upper back or a serial number?
 
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Carl

Well-Known Member
That's what I expect, but Im not sure how laundry numbers or serials were laid out, Ill see if I can get a picture and play with levels to see if it can be deciphered
Officers ASN's start O
As for laundry numbers, first letter of Surname then the last 4 digits of ASN.
So I'd think that what we see could be
B -****
 

YoungMedic

Well-Known Member
As far as the sizing disparity is concerned, if I were to take a wild guess, the AN-S looks practically unworn, I wonder if it was a retirement gesture from his unit since he would not have worn a colonel insignia while that flight suit was current, and maybe it was a leftover size at the depot in 1980 when he retired?
 
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