1161 INTERESTING ARCHIVE OF ALFRED "RUSTY" RESTUCCIA

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100.00USDby b******6 (50059)
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[?]Live Online Auction Starts In 2026 May 27 @ 10:00 (UTC-04:00 : AST/EDT)
Category Firearms & Military
Auction Currency USD
Start Price 100.00 USD
Estimated at 200.00 - 400.00 USD
A NOSE PAINT ARTIST SERVING WITH THE 494th BOMB GROUP, 865th BOMB SQUADRON. Rusty served in WWII with the official job of radio operator, airplane mechanic, & gunner (MOS 757) on a B-24 in the Pacific Theater. He flew on 43 missions aboard the B-24J "Innocence-A-Broad" with Crew 19. He was well know for the incredible nose art he painted on 18 planes, including 8 of which are in the Smithsonian in Washington DC. He was a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art and he was so well known amongst other pilots in Okinawa that he was tasked with painting images on planes outside of his unit. He reached the rank of Technical Sgt. and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Philippines Presidential Award for Liberation. His unit was one of the first to bomb Japan. This grouping includes copied images of Rusty and other crew members of the 865th squadron, his nose art, Kelly Kobra articles,FOIA requests for his information, copies of original paintings of 1945 Okinawa, correspondences with the navigator of Crew 19, & a large photo album detailing much of the history of the 494th Bomber Group belonging to Rusty that began this extensive research project. CONDITION: overall very good. (02-26311/ZAL). NON-GUN. $200-400.