Sometimes you see things and know that the only possible reason these items are for sale is that the original owner has passed.
IN MEMORY OF MY SERVICE
CAPTAIN IN THE PHILIPPINES
CAPTAIN ARTHUR J. BROCKWAY
ANTI TANK COMPANY
383RD INFANTRY
96TH DIVISION
It's a set of carabao horns, the water buffalo that is the working draft animal in the Philippines. The carving was done in the Philippines, I saw similar, but much newer, work during my time there. The crossed flags are the 48 star American flag and the Philippine flag. The artwork on the horns are local scenes.
The 96th Division, The Deadeyes, made a beach landing in the Philippines and served in combat during the Philippine Campaign and then again on Okinawa. Five members of the Division received the Medal of Honor. There's a foundation with an online museum.
We had come into town to go to a museum, but it was closed that day. The local junk shop became our alternative. In Salamanca, N.Y., it was a furniture store turned into dozens of alcoves, each stocked by a hopeful seller. Antiques, books, clothes, tools, and so on. On one of the shelves was Capt. Brockway's mementos. The horns, all his patches, and his rank insignia. Echoes of a lifetime.
1 comment:
Mementos of years of honor and terror eventually reduced to unwanted antiques through the inexorable passage of time.
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