This is a really nice V-Mail letter sent to Tech Sergeant Delbert W. Webster, Radio-Operator/Gunner on the B-25 Bomber "Little Joe", in the 489th Bomb Squadron, 340th Bomb Group, 9th AAF. Letter from his Gal was written March 24th, and Webster was KIA April 25th, so it was almost certainly returned to his girlfriend marked "Undeliverable - KIA".

Excerpt from the Unit History:

"On 25 April, 1943 (Easter Sunday), at Sfax [Tunisia], the squadron suffered another blow. Major Whittington, piloting "Little Joe," a 489th plane, co-piloted by Lt. William 0. Deel, squadron Operations officer, collided in mid-air with "Old Mag Drop," piloted by F/0 J. M. Gilbert.

The planes had just taken off flying in close formation. Major Whittington was leading the formation when F /0 Gilbert's plane came upward suddenly and wrecked the tail of the lead plane. Both planes crashed to the ground and their bombs exploded.

Eleven of our squadron personnel were killed. They included: Lt. William 0. Deel, flying as co-pilot; Lt. John Allen, squadron bombardier; Lt. Lewis B. Lawter, navigator; Sgt. Hugh E. Allen, gunner; Sgt. D. W. Webster, radio-gunner. Among the members of F/0 Gilbert's crew were F/0 F. N. Balmes, co-pilot; Lt. J. W. Stetler, navigator; S/Sgt. Clarence Reed, radio-gunner, and S/Sgt. Eugene Galbreath, gunner. These were the squadron’s first combat casualties. They were given a fitting military funeral in a British cemetery in the desert."

The felt stripes were in the same estate - they may have belonged to another member of the family.

A great chance to get an authentic and personal AAF KIA memento at this price.