HPA Rep
Vendor
- Messages
- 855
- Location
- New Jersey
Hi Charles, if you're looking for a special VT-8 artifact, the Smithsonian museum has the M-421 cotton jacket worn by Ensign George Gay (sole survivor of VT-8) on display. It's faded, a bit dirty and quite weathered, but after his exploits at the Battle of Midway, it's amazing that the cloth jacket is still intact and in decent shape. The sight of his jacket, worn in combat during the Battle of Midway and the harrowing 30 hours adrift in the Pacific after ditching (and subsequent strafing by Japanese fighter planes!) gave me goosebumps.
Thanks, pal! I think my reaction would be like yours. I'd love to see this and shall put it on my list for this year when I'm down hitting NARA. Gay's story is incredible, and while there's some revisionism at work now that claims he couldn't have had quite the ringside seat to the entire battle as he claimed, whatever really happened, just surviving is incredible enough.