Lot 1239

Items from the U.S. Air Force Casualty Clearance Detachment

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Items from the U.S. Air Force Casualty Clearance Detachment

Estimate: $2,000 - $3,000

Starting Bid: $1,500

(0 Bids)

by Rock Island Auction Company
August 22, 2026 9:00 AM CDT
Live Auction
3600 Harwood Road
Bedford, TX, US 76021

Historic Items from the World War II U.S. Air Force Casualty Clearance Detachment, Including Patch, Correspondence, and Unit Memoir Established in Rome in 1945, the Air Force Casualty Clearance Detachment bore the grim and solemn duty of investigating the final fate of aircrews still logged as missing in action during America's air campaign in Europe; while the final release of Axis prisoners of war answered a lot of questions, there were still answers to seek. The Detachment chiefly worked in teams of four, with one officer in charge, a driver/mechanic, an interpreter, and an enlisted man trained on taking dental measurements for comparison to extant Army records. Their tasks included examining the contents of small cemeteries where friendly locals may have buried fallen airmen, examining records of allied and hostile burials and investigating potentially overlooked crash sites. In 1946, the task would be handed off to the similarly named Air Force Casualty Clearance Division. Included with the lot are a patch, a letter, and a book. The book, a small string-bound volume, contains a history of the unit, several photographs, and a unit roster. The letter, from Major D.M. Brown (commander of the unit through its tenure) to "Vazmina" (Corporal Ludwig Vazmina of LaGrange, Illinois, who joined the unit in January 1946) is dated 1947, and was included with a copy of the book; it notes that the book was a small press project made as a unit souvenir, comments on the camaraderie of the unit, and asks Corporal Vazmina to keep in touch. The patch, 4 3/4" diameter, embroidered construction, bears the unit emblem, with a skull in an aviator cap being examined with a magnifying glass and a pair of crossed shovels set on a dog-tag, a background of a bomber going down in flames, the text "AIR-FORCE-CASUALTY-CLEARANCE-DET." above and a banner reading "ONUS PROBANDI" (The Burden of Proof) below.

Manufacturer: None

Model: None

Class: Other

  • Provenance: The Putnam Green/Sycamore Collection
  • Condition: Fine overall, with wear and staining appropriate to age.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $199 $10
$200 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $25,000