Description: FOR US BIDDERS ONLY Here's your chance to own a fantastic and unique ID'd World War II Marine USMC grouping from a combat veteran, a BAR gunner. These items are from James Gustafson of Minnesota. He was a BAR gunner with the Second Marine Division and fought for his country at Tinian and Okinawa. He also served on Saipan but the battle was over. He was with C-1-6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He wore three campaign stars, for Saipan occupation, Tinian combat, Okinawa combat. Items include:-- His service green dress tunic with all original ribbons, cord, insignia, rank stripes, ruptured duck and beautiful Second Marines patch. Jacket is not named as far as we can find but it came directly from him. -- His winter overcoat, with same rank and 2nd Marine patches. This longer coat DOES have his name inked inside.-- His Marine overseas hat. We believe it has another name inside it, its hard to read, but it came from Mr. Gustafson. -- Three copies of photos of the veteran, plus an original photo of a group of men.-- A 1990 letter from a buddy that included the group photo. Apparently, Mr. Gustafson and the others were on the Marine boxing team. -- 16 pages of copies of his military records from the National Archives. They provide his full history, have a small photo of him, and clearly say he was an automatic rifleman. We have put whiteout over some of the personal information in the ebay photos only. What you receive will not have the whiteout. We believe there should be limits on personal information put on auction sites, out of respect for our brave veterans.-- An original copy of the Second Marine Division newsletter Elder Necks, dated August 2008, which has a photo of Mr. Gustafson later in life and a story about his passing. It says "Jim grew up in a broken home in Willmar and joined the Marine Corps shortly after Pearl Harbor. He served from 1942 to 1946 with the 2nd Marine Division on Tarawa, Tinian, Saipan, Okinawa and the occupation of Japan." It later says "Jim had a big heart for children, especially those without a dad in their lives." What a great man and Marine!-- A large framed replacement medal case he had displayed in his den, showing the ribbons and medals Mr. Gustafson EARNED while in the Marines. It was displayed in his home and was sold along with the uniforms.-- A Second Marine Division plaque presented to Mr. Gustafson in 1990. It has his name on it and hung on a wall in his home and was sold with the uniforms.-- PLEASE NOTE: The shirt and tie under the jacket, AND the green belt on the jacket, were NOT Mr. Gustafson's. We used them to display the jacket properly on a mannequin. We hope you will represent this honestly too if you ever decide to part with it. I bought this all from a major Marines collector about 15 years ago. He lived in the same state as the veteran and bought it all directly from him. I have been selling my entire militaria collection recently as I have gotten old and someone else needs to take care of these historic artifacts. We are all care-takers, not keepers. This is my last grouping, which tells you how special I think it is. Add $40 for UPS ground shipping as this takes a large box to ship due to the medal case and the plaque and the weight of it a;l; (20 pounds). A signature will be required on delivery. We have gone to great lengths to describe this honestly, fairly and accurately in words and 24 photos, and ebay will take a lot of money from me as their cut, so NO REFUNDS will be accepted.
Price: 625 USD
Location: Fayetteville, Georgia
End Time: 2024-11-23T07:13:55.000Z
Shipping Cost: 40 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Conflict: WW II (1939-45)
Original/Reproduction: Original
Theme: Militaria
Region of Origin: United States