ATTENTION COLLECTORS! NAMED 8TH AIR FORCE D-DAY LETTER GROUPINGThis is a fully named and ID\'d D-Day letter grouping that includes bonus information on the original owner of the D-day letter and his time during the war. This is a rare chance to own a fully ID\'d D-day letter. Photos 7-12 show the included bonus documents detailing Lt. Turner\'s service with Veteran\'s daughter\'s contact information provided to the winner of this sale to contact for more information if desired.This is your RARE chance to own 2 of the most SOUGHT-AFTER letters from World War 2, all in the SAME LISTING! The D-day letter is NAMED to 1st Lieutenant Horace Ottis Turner who was a Navigator with the 8th Air Force and flew missions on D-day. Lt. Turner flew his full 35 missions with the 8th Air Force in the ETO during WW2 and was a long-time resident of Austin, Texas. Included in this listing are scans provided to me by Lt. Turner\'s daughter from his PERSONAL journal which he kept throughout the war, outlining ALL of his 35 missions with the 8th Air Force, including his journal entries from June 5th, 6th, and 7th, 1944. The June 5th entry states \"Invasion will probably start soon\". June 6th: \"Invasion started today. Weather Bad. A great show\". and June 7th: \"Saw thousands of ships and planes. Good mission\". All 35 missions are detailed and in the veteran\'s own handwriting. August 15th, 1944 states \"I\'m sure happy. No more combat. My 35th and last combat mission!\" Also included are scans, again from the veteran\'s personal scrapbook that show photos of Lt. Turner and speak about his time overseas, including his being awared the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 4 clusters, Purple Heart, and Distinguished Unit Badge with 2 clusters. There is also a great scanned photo showing Lt. Turner in his Crusher Cap receiving a pin from a senior officer. Please be advised, the original journal is not included in this listing, only copies of the original journal. Also, the articles regarding Lt. Turner\'s awards and photo of him are also scans but obtained directly from the veteran\'s daughter. I am pleased, however, to be able to offer personal contact information for the veteran\'s daughter to the winner of the sale so that the winner can contact her to obtain more information on her father\'s time during the war. She is a pleasure to work with and wishes that her father\'s service be well-remembered by whoever wins this sale. Please be advised that a D-day letter listing recently ended which featured much of my below description VERBATIM in their item description. That description was copied by that individual from one of my previous D-day letter grouping listings and published on their listing without my permission or knowledge. The below item description is my own, original wording and applies directly to this particular listing. If you would like to use any portion of my description for your own listing, simply contact me, I would have no problems and be more than happy to consent, but please do not steal my wording to use in your own listing without my knowledge. I strive for honesty and quality listings, and much work went into the wording of this item description to ensure that the winner is well-informed on this grouping.Both the D-day letter and Farewell letter are 100% Authentic! The Farewell letter is not named to Lt. Turner, but is being included in this listing as an added bonus so that the winner can own BOTH of the most iconic letters of World War 2 in one listing. It is very rare to find these 2 letters together in one listing, but TODAY IS THE DAY! Very seldom do you see both letters being sold together. I have bought and sold a good many of these letters over the years and guarantee that both letters are ORIGINAL and AUTHENTIC. These are not modern photocopies or reprints, these are the real deal, as issued to the troops on D-day (for the D-day letter) and at the end of the war (for the farewell letter) when Eisenhower relinquished his combined command of the Allied Expeditionary Force. These are 2 of the RAREST letters of World War 2, and today you can have them both! This year marks the 70th Anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy and these letters are a lasting testimony and tribute to all those who participated. As previously mentioned, the D-day letter is named to 1st Lt. Horace Ottis Turner, with the Farewell letter not being named to Lt. Turner but included in the listing as an added bonus. Please note that photos of Lt. Turner, including the article about his decorations and returning home and copies of his journal are not originals but are photo copies of the originals and were provided to me directly from the Veteran\'s daughter when I obtained the D-day Letter from her. First is the D-day letter. This letter is perhaps one of the most inspirational messages ever to be published during World War 2. THIS is the message our great fighting men, including 1st Lt. Turner had in their hands and on their hearts as they stormed the beaches, parachuted from the sky, or went on their initial bomb run. This was the message that inspired them to press on for the cause of freedom day after day. This is the letter that was issued to the famous Band of Brothers and other paratroopers on D-day, as well as every other Allied soldier taking part in the invasion of Northern France. Reading this letter will send a chill down your spine, and owning an actual, authentic example is truly a unique and special experience. It is very possible that this letter was folded and put in Lt. Turner\'s pocket as he bombed Falaise on D-day in advance of the oncoming invasion. At the top of the letter, is hand-written: \"June 6, 1944\". The letter measures approximately 6 and 1/16 inches wide and 9 and 1/16th inches tall. The letter has been glued to a large piece of scrapbook by Lt. Turner at some point in the past 70 years. I have not attempted to detach the letter from the scrapbook paper and am unsure as to whether the letter can be removed from the paper without damage. However, the scrapbook paper could easily be trimmed away in order to frame the letter. Rest assured, this will not affect the value or rarity of this letter. When matted and framed, it would be nearly impossible to tell that the letter was affixed to a piece of scrapbook paper. The entire sheet of scrapbook paper, including the letter, will be shipped flat to prevent damage. This letter is in very good shape considering that it is 70 years old this year! The letter is printed on wartime paper bearing the appropriate micro-dot printed SHAEF logo at the top and copy of Eisenhower\'s signature. The letter has aged right along with the scrapbook paper and has darkened some over the years due to its being affixed to the scrapbook paper. Nevertheless, the letter has developed wonderful patina in its 70 year history and will look INCREDIBLE framed. The paper is still somewhat crisp and is not brittle. A small tear on the right side of the letter in the bottom crease can be seen on close review, but will be minimally noticeable when the letter is framed. On the back of the sheet of scrapbook paper, Lt. Turner pasted 2 articles detailing his 20th and 21st bombing missions. Written in pencil below each is \"20th\" and \"21st\". There is also a magazine clipping pasted on the page of a B-17 Flying Fortress with its bomb bay doors open. These articles are also great pieces of history, but I fear they would not be able to be saved should the D-day letter be cut-out and framed. Nevertheless, they are important pieces of history and further solidify the provenance of this D-day letter. Please review the photos for all condition questions and feel free to request more photos. This letter is in GREAT, BEEN-THERE CONDITION!Next up is the less well-known but EQUALLY AS DESIRABLE Eisenhower farewell letter. This letter was issued to GI\'s at the end of the war as Ike relinquished his combined command of the Allied Expeditionary Forces. As previously mentioned, this particular Farewell letter is not named to Lt. Turner. This letter is also in INCREDIBLE shape for its age! It is printed on beautiful wartime paper and has acquired a beautiful 69 year-old patina. The letter has remained folded for much of its 69 year history, as noted in the photos. There is a small knick at the top center of the letter with an approximate 1/2 inch tear that is minimally noticeable and should be impossible to see when framed. ATTENTION--THIS IS A RARER VERSION THAN MOST! I say this because when you hold this Farewell letter up to the light, the bottom-left corner reveals that this letter was printed on WATERMARKED PAPER. I have only seen one other example of the watermarked version of this letter which is retained in my personal collection. When held to the light, the words \"Nekoosa\" and \"John Ed\" become visible (photo 6). This is printed on \"Nekoosa John Edwards Bond\" paper and is one of the more rare versions that I have seen. The paper is still somewhat crisp and is not brittle. The paper of the Farewell letter does smell lightly of smoke from the previous owner. Overall, this letter is in near perfect condition. There is a small spot at the top and bottom of the back of the letter that retains a small amount of adhesive from the previous owner. While there is no overt soiling on the front of the letter, the reverse of the letter bears slightly more soiling but it DOES NOT show through to the front of the letter other than a small oil spot from the adhesive residue at the top center above the word \"Head\" and the bottom center above the \"w\" in the word \"Dwight\". These imperfections are minimally noticeable and do not decrease the value of this letter, in fact, the help to verify the age of the letter. Please see photos for reference. The letter bears the proper micro-dot printed SHAEF logo with slightly less detail than the D-day letter, a trend that I have found common in the majority of the Farewell letters. This letter measures approximately 6 inches wide by 9 and 1/16th inches tall. This letter is in BEAUTIFUL CONDITION for its age and is a must for any World War 2 collector.Overall, both of these letters are in excellent condition for their age. They are very rarely seen together, and this is your chance to own them! Photos 7-12 show the documents that will also be included in this listing regarding Lt. Turner\'s service during World War 2. Don\'t let this opportunity get away, add these letters to your collection TODAY! These letters will look great matted and framed side by side. They will quickly become the CENTERPIECE of your collection. Offered with a $0.99 starting price with ! Item will be shipped flat in a reinforced envelope to protect the full sheet of scrapbook paper that the letter is affixed to. Package will be sent with tracking information and signature confirmation via USPS. If you live outside of the U.S., Canada, or the U.K., please contact me prior to offerding to ensure that I ship to your country of origin. Happy offerding, and good luck!Please review all photos and ask questions prior to offerding. As always, buyer to determine correct period and authenticity prior to offerding. As mentioned, only the D-day letter is named to Lt. Turner. The Farewell letter is not attributed to Lt. Turner. Returns only accepted if there is a gross misrepresentation in item condition. If condition is a concern, please request more photos prior to offerding. I strive for honesty and transparency and would be happy to provide more photos. Returns will not be accepted for condition issues if more photos have not been requested prior to sale end. Sorry, but I can\'t accept returns based on buyer remorse. If you live outside of the U.S., Canada, or Great Britain, please contact me PRIOR TO offerDING to ensure that I ship to your country of origin. FREE SHIPPING with tracking will be provided within the United States only. Due to past issues with international shipping, I cannot be responsible for the item once it has left the hands of the U.S. Postal Service. Good luck, and happy offerding!
On Nov-23-14 at 20:58:47 PST, seller added the following information:
Please note that free shipping applies only to buyers within the United States. If you live outside of the United States, international shipping rates will apply -- Please contact me prior to offerding to ensure that I ship to your country of origin. Thank You, and Happy offerding!
On Nov-24-14 at 20:49:23 PST, seller added the following information:
Additional note: There is an approximate 2-inch jagged tear in the bottom-right corner of the scrapbook paper that the D-day letter is mounted on that is not visible in the photos. This does not affect the integrity of the D-day letter or the articles pasted on the back of the scrapbook paper. The scrapbook page remains in one piece. If this is a concern for you, please let me know and I will be happy to provide additional photos. Again, this does not affect the integrity of the D-day letter or the articles on the back of the scrapbook page. Happy offerding!
On Nov-25-14 at 17:40:52 PST, seller added the following information:
If you live outside of the United States and win this sale, please wait until I send you a final invoice that accounts for International Shipping rates before paying. If you do pay before I send a final invoice, no problem, I will just send you a second invoice for the difference in the price of shipping. Thanks for looking at my listing! Good luck offerding!
On Nov-27-14 at 22:29:53 PST, seller added the following information:
Please not that I do not ship to every country. There have been several buyers already from countries that I do not ship to. For some reason, the exclusion list is not blocking these offers automatically, even though they are on the exclusion list and I have it set to not allow offers from countries that I do not ship to. I assure you I don\'t mean to be rude, but I have had extensive problems in the past with international shipping to certain countries which is why I have created the exclusion list. Please Note: If you live outside of the United States, Canada, Australia, the U.K., France, Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg, or the Netherlands, contact me PRIOR TO offerDING to assure that I ship to your country of origin. I DO NOT ship to Asia, Africa, Central or South America, Mexico, Spain or Greece. Please contact me prior to offerding if you live in any of these areas. More than likely I will have no problem with shipping to your country of origin but I need to approve the offer prior to offerding. Again, I promise I don\'t mean to be difficult. With these letters being as rare as they are, none of us can afford to have them lost in shipping to countries with unreliable mail services. I apologize for any inconvenience. As mentioned earlier, I strive for honestly and openness in all my listings which is why I wanted to write this note. Thanks so much for looking at this listing, and Happy offerding!
