February 2022 Auction Ends Thursday, February 24th, 5pm Pacific
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/24/2022
Rare personally owned archive from Robert Shumard, one of the nine men aboard the Enola Gay during the first atomic bombing on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Items owned or signed by Shumard are quite scarce, as he passed away from stem-cell leukemia in 1967, discovered to be related to his radiation exposure during his service.
Several of Shumard's military insignia are included in the lot: his 20th Air Force shoulder patch, the arm of the Air Force responsible for the operational functionality of the Manhattan Project; Air Force Master Sergeant shoulder patch; Air Force Flight Engineer Aircrew Badge, in the form of wings with propeller and radial engine; Air Force enlisted dress hat pin; Air Force collar insignia pin; Air Force name tag.
Lot also includes 20 photos, most of Shumard and his wife Eleanor, with several identified from Wendover, Utah in 1945, where the 509th Composite Group trained prior to the bombing missions. One photo measuring 7'' x 5'' shows the crew of the Enola Gay, notated as ''(1945) The crew who dropped the bomb''. Other photos show Shumard holding the hat he wore during the Enola Gay mission, working on an Air Force plane, and in military uniform (with his clipped signature below).
Other items include a postal cover twice signed by Shumard, postmarked 26 July 1945 from San Francisco, just days before the mission, and a funeral mass booklet from Shumard's funeral. Archive remains in very good to near fine condition.
Personally Owned Archive of Enola Gay Assistant Flight Engineer Robert Shumard -- Includes Military Insignia, 1945 Photos from the 509th's Training in Utah & Signed Cover Just Days Before the Mission
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