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POW GROUPING CATERPILLER CLUB STALAG LUFT III (GREAT ESCAPE!)

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POW GROUPING CATERPILLER CLUB STALAG LUFT III (GREAT ESCAPE!)

(230+ photos in the links at the bottom of the page)

This is a huge lot, all pertaining to USAAF B-17G Navigator Bill Sharkey, POW, Caterpillar Club, 15th AF, 301st Bombardment Group (Heavy), 32nd Bomb Squadron. There is so much to this grouping that I took 236 photos (all accessible in the links below), before deciding that you get the general idea. Enough stuff here to publish a book about it. You can also find many references to Sharkey on the Internet.

Lt. Sharkey's plane took off from Lucera, Italy on July 26th, 1944 on a mission to target the Neudorf Aircraft Facility in Austria. It was attacked by enemy aircraft and was seen to explode in a mid-air collision with another B-17. Sharkey was one of three survivors. He was imprisoned in Stalag Luft III along with many British fliers. He was liberated on April 29th, 1945.

"A Wartime Log for British Prisoners" - Sharkey kept a very detailed journal in a logbook handed out to British prisoners in their Red Cross parcels. It gives a timeline of camp events that affected him, names/addresses of fellow prisoners, rations received, lists of favorite foods, a detailed recorded of a betting pool on when the war would end, with a $10 prize. Also, some very nice artwork, including a proposed Unit Crest/Squadron Patch design for the internees at Stalag Luft III. Also, added after he was liberated, is his Photo ID from the Camp Kommandant's Office, a 6 1/2" x 8 1/2" Escape Map, carefully drawn in pencil on a highly-folded piece of scrap paper, showing the railway lines, roads and rivers in the area, as well as another scrap of paper with numbers on it which must have had some significance.

Hansons Auctioneers in England offered a similar Stalag Luft III Journal at auction on March 22, 2019, calling it "the only such diary believed to have survived" (perhaps a tad of sales hyperbole). I don't know what it went for.

I read the journal, but much of the writing is so faint and tiny it took squinting through a magnifying glass (for my eyes, at least) to get through it. So, I photographed each page, adjusting the size and contrast. This will make it easier for the new owner to research without excessive handling of the book (buyer will receive the images of each page of the journal, without the embossed watermark).

Portrait Pictures of Sharkey in uniform, some colorized, a full photo of the crew as well as several individual photos of aircrew members (most are named on the back).

Full-sized Sterling Navigator Wings - puddle-soldered clutch-back, both US Army Dog Tags, Crash Bracelet with Name and ASN, AAF "Pinwheel" Patch, Distinguished Flying Cross Ribbon, Aviation Cadet Sweetheart Pin, other Insignia.

Prisoner of War Dog Tag - Stalag 3d

Professionally-framed Medal Grouping - ETO Campaign (Crimp Brooch), American Campaign (Crimp Brooch), Purple Heart (Crimp Brooch), Prisoner of War (Crimp Brooch), Distinguished Flying Cross (Slot Brooch), Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster (Wrap Brooch). The DFC and Air Medal are period-engraved. There is a wartime letter to Sharkey's mother that he was awarded the DFC and Air Medal with OLC, and arrangements would be made for her to receive them, plus, a photo of her receiving them at a ceremony. There is a letter to Sharkey stating that his wounding in action could not be verified due to lack of witness statements, so Purple Heart was a private purchase. The other three medals were ordered from the government post war. There are a few sets of General Orders authorizing his wartime awards.

Framed Caterpillar Club Certificate dated July 26, 1944.

Modern Xerox copy of Accident Report dated August 28, 1944 (no post war interviews with the three surviving crew members attached, though).

Docs printed from ancestry research sites - enlistment record, narrated account regarding the incident (midair collision with another B-17), etc.

Many Kriegsgefangener Letters and Post Cards to and from Sharkey and his fiance, Mary Swan as well as his mother, Mae Lyman. "We live 8 men to a room in a regular wooden barracks." Some letters have been redacted by censors (see photos).

Prisoners of War Bulletin - twelve bulletins form the American Red Cross

Gefangenen Gazette - articles from a Stalag Luft III Prisoner Newspaper produced by American prisoners, as reprinted and distributed to relatives of POW's by the American Red Cross. I couldn't find out much about this very scarce publication.

Booklet from Ellington Field in Burlington, Texas, plus a great letter from Sharkey to his fiance written on a Navigator's Log Sheet.

Wartime newspaper article with a large photo of Sharkey Swing Dancing! (like something straight out of a movie).

Several portrait Photo ID's with other identity documents.

Photo Album with many photos of Sharkey in uniform, plus the great photo of Sharkey's Mother receiving an Air Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross from USAAF Major/Lt. Colonel. I see now that many of the military-themed photos have names on the back. The photo of Sharkey's mother receiving his medals has details written on the back. Also, some of the photos of his family have Sharkey's name and Prisoner Number written on the back, so they may be ones he received in letters sent to him while a prisoner.