WW2 - Capture Items

Great pieces of History!!! Have two 10" by 12" rubber life raft pieces from the U-546 that was Captained by "Kapitanleutinant Paul Just. After sinking the US Destroyer Escort Frederick C. Davie, the U-546 was chased down by several Destroyers and was sunk on 24 April 1945 by depth charges. The sub lost 26 men, but 33 survived to be picked up by the US Destroyers that sunk it. Captain Paul Just and four other crewmen were picked up by USS Keith and later interned in Boston, Mass. Captain survived the war and died in Germany in 1990. These pieces were taken by a sailor on the USS Keith, names and a brief description were written in ink on one of the pieces. Look this up online, as it is fantastic reading. I'm also including a copy of a picture that I got off the internet of the raft just before capture.

A neat little German soldier's single blade pocket knife that measures 7" overall length with the blade out. The blade measures approx. 3 1/4" long and I can't make out the maker because of surface rust and dirt. On the handle is the number 65. I do not try to clean them up, but would rather the new owner do that. This was found inside of a pony fur backpack, along with the tobacco and the flashlight.

Right out of the woodwork, nice looking Japanese Army Parade Sword with "Maru Ni Mokkou" Mon on back side of sword grip. The sword is in decent shape with just a little wear on the blade, but still bright. The scabbard has some plating loss all over and a couple of dents toward the bottom. The handle is nice with most all the wire wrap around the grip. These swords with the Mon's are getting harder to acquire.

This is the small lapel pin of the "Yoke & Arrow" Order from the Spanish Civil War. It was established by General Franco on Oct. 1, 1937 as an award to both civilian and military persons for aid to the cause. It was further confirmed by a decree of 27 Jan. 1943 by leaders of the Falangist Movement in Spain. It measures approx. 7/8 inches long and they are quite hard to find. Sorry for the crappy pics, will try to get better ones.

Established in 1927 the "Battle For Births" was for increasing the population in Italy with thought of war, possibly in the horizon. Mussolini established the Mothers Medal on March 3, 1939, with one bow for five children and an additional bow for each subsequent child after that. The medal is hard enough to find, but the document is much rarer. This mother produced 14 children for her country and that alone is a feat! There is a translation in English on the reverse. When do you see these!!