Vintage military collection

[suntzu]

I thought I’d share my vintage military collection with a brief description of the watch and some historical context to the photos.

US Airmen amongst a bunch of pinup beauties defending the Aleutians. It was the site of the War's only action on American soil where the Japanese were kicked out after a year of fighting starting in 1942.

An old WW2 US issued Elgin from deep in my military collection. I have it on an old man, vintage twist-o-flex bracelet that it probably sat on long after the original strap wore out.

A US Marine in the Pacific Theater takes a time out in Hell from brutal combat with a moment of humanity.

Original, including strap, WW2 US Ordnance Department Bulova with the 10AK 15 jewel movement.

The desperate, terrorizing tactic of the kamikaze against US warships.

Here is one of my prize WW2 watches that I’ve owned for about 17 years; an all original, unrestored Hamilton USN BUSHIPS “canteen” watch. It was one of the first waterproof dive watches used by Navy Frogmen which later became the US Navy SEALS. I have it attached to a period correct stainless cuff bracelet made by Consolidated Razor Blade Co. Inc. of Jersey City, New Jersey. It has a cool engraving at the lug cuffs. What makes this watch unique and highly desirable is the original, thick glass crystal and solder that was used to fuse the crystal to the bezel to ensure water tightness. Then there is the original screw down crown cover attached with a little chain to the case, hence the nickname “Canteen.” Also used to help with water resistance. Finding one with BOTH these original features is a real treasure! It is powered by a manual wind Hamilton 987S with sweep seconds hacking movement housed in a Wadsworth case as evident by the W stamped in between the lugs. A real cool piece of both American horological and military history.

US armor creeping through the Ardennes in a brutal, under supplied campaign, during the frigid winter, found themselves seriously overmatched by the new enemy Tiger tank and best division. The 82nd Airborne was inserted to help hold down the outnumbered US position until the skies finally cleared on Christmas 1944 and Allied air power regained the upper hand. The Battle of the Bulge ended with 20,000 Americans dead, 40,000 injured. I was fortunate to work with a doctor who fought in this battle and was riddled with bullet wounds, played dead, rescued the next day, survived, healed, joined the Air Force and served in England under the command of the famous actor and great American patriot, Jimmy Stewart.

A fantastic, new old stock WWII Elgin A.F US Army Type A-11 on a Bonklip style ladder bracelet. I have the original strap but like this bracelet.

The 93rd Infantry Division pictured in 1943 was a segregated African American unit of the United States Army. Most of the unit was designated for labor assignments and if they did see combat, it was in a segregated unit mainly in the Pacific Theater. At the same time, the famed Tuskegee Airmen of the United States Air Force were engaging in feats that made them legendary.

Early WW2 Ordnance Department Waltham Model 10609 9 Jewel with a large Arabic radium dial and coin edge bezel. Paired with a vintage “old man” stretch bracelet common on watches back in the day after the original strap wore out.

A snapshot taken shortly after the famous flag raising photo on Iwo Jima. Marines celebrating the conquering of Mount Suribachi, the highest point on this West Pacific volcanic Hell on Earth. A short lived celebration as gruesome combat groaned on for another month as Japanese defenders fought to the death. Out of 23,000 Japanese only 216 survived. 6,800 Americans were killed and an astonishing 21,000 out of 30,000 were wounded. This 8 square mile patch of otherwise desolate nothing, was a scene of horrors that I can’t begin to fathom what it would have been like. It was strategically key to both sides; defensive for the Japanese, and offensive for the Americans as it was easy flying distance to take off and bombard the Japanese Home Islands.

A fantastic WW2 Ordnance Department 17 jewel Waltham with radium dial and cathedral hands on an original issued cloth strap. The white dial has taken on a warm ecru hue from the radium burn. The sub dial detail and cathedral hands are wonderful.

Charles “Chuck” Yeager was probably the coolest, most badass man alive during his time with an amazingly colorful career. He rose to the rank of Brigadier General over 35 years while accumulating numerous personal decorations and service medals during his service in WW2, Korea, and Vietnam. He was a standout flying ace fighter pilot in a P-51 Mustang during WW2 on the Western Front. He rose through the ranks and risked his life regularly as a test pilot for experimental aircraft for the US Air Force and NASA and was first to break the sound barrier in 1947 in the pictured X-1 “Glamorous Glennis” named after his long time wife (all the while with broken ribs). In 2012, at 89 years old, He was a co-pilot in a F-15 and broke the sound barrier again 65 years after he was first to do so. He retired in 1975 and died in 2020 at 97 years old.

Early Korea War era Waltham Type A-17 MIL-W-6433 17 jewel hack with radium dial, 24 auxiliary hour markings, 5 minute indices, and arrowed tip lollipop second hand. It was un upgrade to the A-11 of WW2 and issued to pilots.

“WE LIKE IKE!” January 1952 celebrating newly inaugurated Dwight D. Eidenhower at the White House with a military parade. He was a long serving military man dating back to WW1. He was most remembered as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during WW2. After the war, he served as Army Chief of Staff, as president of Columbia University, and as the first Supreme Commander of NATO before becoming the 34th President of the United States. He was a popular two term President, a social and political moderate, and oversaw a booming economy. On his way out he famously warned the country of the “military industrial complex;” the danger of increased government military spending and expansion with money we didn’t have through contracts with huge, influential, private manufacturers.

1961 Bulova Type A-17 MIL-W-3818A with radium dial, 24 auxiliary hour markings, 5 minute indices, and arrowed tip lollipop second hand. This 15 jewel version was general purpose for all branches of the military and the more stringent tested 17 jewel A-17A version was made for the Air Force. Mine is a slight Franken as it has the hands of an A-17A (not the correct spade hands) but everything else of an A-17. One would never know unless they examined the markings. Maybe replaced during a service? Sitting on one of my vintage “old man” stretch bracelets that often time accompanied these years after their military service.

Very early in Vietnam before the troop buildup and draft, a “US adviser,” famous Green Beret Captain Vernon Gillespie (middle) on recon in 1964 with three Montagnard troops (French for mountaineer). They were indigenous more primitive peoples of the Central Highlands of Vietnam who were trained and fought alongside US Special Forces against the Communist Viet Cong and NVA. They made for a crucial ally as the CIA established a relationship creating this irregular force. Their homeland was a strategic area to stop Viet Cong activity. The Montagnards were tough, hardcore, effective soldiers that forged a bond with US Special Forces. As an ethnic minority they were not fans of the Communist North or Vietnamese government in general facing racism, discrimination and state sponsored attempted destruction of their culture and lands going back to the 50’s. Sadly, with the chaotic end to the Vietnam War, the Montagnard were abandoned and suffered greatly with loss of land, leaders executed, people imprisoned, and punitive measures imposed on civilians. However, there is a sizeable refugee community in North Carolina to this day composed of those who escaped Vietnam. Many didn’t make it. The Montagnard continue to suffer to this day.

Quoting from the O&W website, the reference OW105 is: “one of the original O&W models, its sturdiness and reliability in extreme conditions made it the watch of choice for thousands of pilots, GIs and explorers from Honduras to Vietnam.” A very early model, I have mine on a vintage, open vent bracelet. Also from the O&W website, the Official NASA portrait of astronaut Anthony Llewellyn in 1967 shows him wearing a OW105 on a black NATO! Check it out! Pretty cool.

[suntzu]

1968 saw a growing cultural divide in the United States in large part due to US involvement in Vietnam. There were 500,000 servicemen knee deep in the “big muddy” when a totally unexpected simultaneous 41 city onslaught by the NVA and Viet Cong, known as the Tet Offensive, occurred. It failed militarily but the stunning maneuver by the North and ensuing news images and commentary galvanized antiwar sentiment at home, irreparably damaging the LBJ presidency and the confidence in General William Westmoreland, commander of United States forces. American casualties were notable as pictured here in the City of Hue in the simply named, “Battle of Hue;” a nasty, raw, grueling, month long urban Hell combat scene that saw multiple battalions of the US Army and Marines with air support, painfully fighting building by building to recapture the city. When the final mop up operations were complete, 216 Americans were killed and 1,584 wounded. A key turning point in the war in Vietnam that slogged on.

This is my reliable, rugged, vintage O&W Selectron Computer with the original extra high dome crystal and railroad style bracelet. From the O&W website: “Throughout the 1960s, space exploration dominated the aeronautical, cultural and political agendas. Its influence is evident in OW’s most iconic watches of the period…in the hands of a pilot, navigator or engineer, it was a simple, utilitarian instrument — the digital calculator of its day, or the watch with the mechanical brain”

In the winter of 1982 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on the capital’s mall. Over 58,000 names are engraved, in order of death, on the two massive 246 foot long walls each containing 72 panels of polished black marble that meet at an angle. Room has been left for those thousands of MIA’s to be added as they’re found, if ever. The walls are sunken into the ground with the earth behind them so as you walk along a wall, it starts low on the ground at your feet at only 8 inches high, but gradually grows to a towering 10 feet where it meets the other wall. The names soar above your head. It’s a very somber and sobering experience not just because of the what it stands for, but its black in color, no decorations, no ornaments, no flags, and no heroism. It’s bleak, cold and haunting in my opinion after my few visits. Maybe it’s symbolic of that war in general. Like the war, it’s design drew sharp criticism and negative reactions on both sides and a compromise was made with the addition of the amazing “Three Servicemen” sculpture with a flagpole to be placed in a nearby area.

Backdropped against the sun setting on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall is my vintage, initial version of the O&W Early Bird on the original, hard to find beads of rice bracelet. It has a nice faded Pepsi bezel and 24 hour luminous glossy black dial and was marketed to navigators, pilots and radio operators. O&W was a favorite among American soldiers whose numbers in Vietnam skyrocketed and demand for their mail order and PX exchange watches exploded. Outfitting US Servicemen in Vietnam with rugged and reliable watches defined the legacy of O&W.

[aapalileo]

What a collection!!! 

May 2, 2021 13:38:49 GMT -8 suntzu said:

I thought I’d share my vintage military collection with a brief description of the watch and some historical context to the photos.

US Airmen amongst a bunch of pinup beauties defending the Aleutians. It was the site of the War's only action on American soil where the Japanese were kicked out after a year of fighting starting in 1942.

An old WW2 US issued Elgin from deep in my military collection. I have it on an old man, vintage twist-o-flex bracelet that it probably sat on long after the original strap wore out.

A US Marine in the Pacific Theater takes a time out in Hell from brutal combat with a moment of humanity.

Original, including strap, WW2 US Ordnance Department Bulova with the 10AK 15 jewel movement.

The desperate, terrorizing tactic of the kamikaze against US warships.

Here is one of my prize WW2 watches that I’ve owned for about 17 years; an all original, unrestored Hamilton USN BUSHIPS “canteen” watch. It was one of the first waterproof dive watches used by Navy Frogmen which later became the US Navy SEALS. I have it attached to a period correct stainless cuff bracelet made by Consolidated Razor Blade Co. Inc. of Jersey City, New Jersey. It has a cool engraving at the lug cuffs. What makes this watch unique and highly desirable is the original, thick glass crystal and solder that was used to fuse the crystal to the bezel to ensure water tightness. Then there is the original screw down crown cover attached with a little chain to the case, hence the nickname “Canteen.” Also used to help with water resistance. Finding one with BOTH these original features is a real treasure! It is powered by a manual wind Hamilton 987S with sweep seconds hacking movement housed in a Wadsworth case as evident by the W stamped in between the lugs. A real cool piece of both American horological and military history.

US armor creeping through the Ardennes in a brutal, under supplied campaign, during the frigid winter, found themselves seriously overmatched by the new enemy Tiger tank and best division. The 82nd Airborne was inserted to help hold down the outnumbered US position until the skies finally cleared on Christmas 1944 and Allied air power regained the upper hand. The Battle of the Bulge ended with 20,000 Americans dead, 40,000 injured. I was fortunate to work with a doctor who fought in this battle and was riddled with bullet wounds, played dead, rescued the next day, survived, healed, joined the Air Force and served in England under the command of the famous actor and great American patriot, Jimmy Stewart.

A fantastic, new old stock WWII Elgin A.F US Army Type A-11 on a Bonklip style ladder bracelet. I have the original strap but like this bracelet.

The 93rd Infantry Division pictured in 1943 was a segregated African American unit of the United States Army. Most of the unit was designated for labor assignments and if they did see combat, it was in a segregated unit mainly in the Pacific Theater. At the same time, the famed Tuskegee Airmen of the United States Air Force were engaging in feats that made them legendary.

Early WW2 Ordnance Department Waltham Model 10609 9 Jewel with a large Arabic radium dial and coin edge bezel. Paired with a vintage “old man” stretch bracelet common on watches back in the day after the original strap wore out.

A snapshot taken shortly after the famous flag raising photo on Iwo Jima. Marines celebrating the conquering of Mount Suribachi, the highest point on this West Pacific volcanic Hell on Earth. A short lived celebration as gruesome combat groaned on for another month as Japanese defenders fought to the death. Out of 23,000 Japanese only 216 survived. 6,800 Americans were killed and an astonishing 21,000 out of 30,000 were wounded. This 8 square mile patch of otherwise desolate nothing, was a scene of horrors that I can’t begin to fathom what it would have been like. It was strategically key to both sides; defensive for the Japanese, and offensive for the Americans as it was easy flying distance to take off and bombard the Japanese Home Islands.

A fantastic WW2 Ordnance Department 17 jewel Waltham with radium dial and cathedral hands on an original issued cloth strap. The white dial has taken on a warm ecru hue from the radium burn. The sub dial detail and cathedral hands are wonderful.

Charles “Chuck” Yeager was probably the coolest, most badass man alive during his time with an amazingly colorful career. He rose to the rank of Brigadier General over 35 years while accumulating numerous personal decorations and service medals during his service in WW2, Korea, and Vietnam. He was a standout flying ace fighter pilot in a P-51 Mustang during WW2 on the Western Front. He rose through the ranks and risked his life regularly as a test pilot for experimental aircraft for the US Air Force and NASA and was first to break the sound barrier in 1947 in the pictured X-1 “Glamorous Glennis” named after his long time wife (all the while with broken ribs). In 2012, at 89 years old, He was a co-pilot in a F-15 and broke the sound barrier again 65 years after he was first to do so. He retired in 1975 and died in 2020 at 97 years old.

Early Korea War era Waltham Type A-17 MIL-W-6433 17 jewel hack with radium dial, 24 auxiliary hour markings, 5 minute indices, and arrowed tip lollipop second hand. It was un upgrade to the A-11 of WW2 and issued to pilots.

“WE LIKE IKE!” January 1952 celebrating newly inaugurated Dwight D. Eidenhower at the White House with a military parade. He was a long serving military man dating back to WW1. He was most remembered as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during WW2. After the war, he served as Army Chief of Staff, as president of Columbia University, and as the first Supreme Commander of NATO before becoming the 34th President of the United States. He was a popular two term President, a social and political moderate, and oversaw a booming economy. On his way out he famously warned the country of the “military industrial complex;” the danger of increased government military spending and expansion with money we didn’t have through contracts with huge, influential, private manufacturers.

1961 Bulova Type A-17 MIL-W-3818A with radium dial, 24 auxiliary hour markings, 5 minute indices, and arrowed tip lollipop second hand. This 15 jewel version was general purpose for all branches of the military and the more stringent tested 17 jewel A-17A version was made for the Air Force. Mine is a slight Franken as it has the hands of an A-17A (not the correct spade hands) but everything else of an A-17. One would never know unless they examined the markings. Maybe replaced during a service? Sitting on one of my vintage “old man” stretch bracelets that often time accompanied these years after their military service.

Very early in Vietnam before the troop buildup and draft, a “US adviser,” famous Green Beret Captain Vernon Gillespie (middle) on recon in 1964 with three Montagnard troops (French for mountaineer). They were indigenous more primitive peoples of the Central Highlands of Vietnam who were trained and fought alongside US Special Forces against the Communist Viet Cong and NVA. They made for a crucial ally as the CIA established a relationship creating this irregular force. Their homeland was a strategic area to stop Viet Cong activity. The Montagnards were tough, hardcore, effective soldiers that forged a bond with US Special Forces. As an ethnic minority they were not fans of the Communist North or Vietnamese government in general facing racism, discrimination and state sponsored attempted destruction of their culture and lands going back to the 50’s. Sadly, with the chaotic end to the Vietnam War, the Montagnard were abandoned and suffered greatly with loss of land, leaders executed, people imprisoned, and punitive measures imposed on civilians. However, there is a sizeable refugee community in North Carolina to this day composed of those who escaped Vietnam. Many didn’t make it. The Montagnard continue to suffer to this day.

Quoting from the O&W website, the reference OW105 is: “one of the original O&W models, its sturdiness and reliability in extreme conditions made it the watch of choice for thousands of pilots, GIs and explorers from Honduras to Vietnam.” A very early model, I have mine on a vintage, open vent bracelet. Also from the O&W website, the Official NASA portrait of astronaut Anthony Llewellyn in 1967 shows him wearing a OW105 on a black NATO! Check it out! Pretty cool.

[inboost]

suntzu - What a great read through on some exceptional watches of human history in combat. It really is a great tribute to all who have served to whom I am forever grateful.

Inboost

[scubarob99]

Amazing collection and a fantastic writeup.

Rob

[jkuenz]

Jan 10, 2022 4:49:01 GMT -8 scubarob99 said:

Amazing collection and a fantastic writeup.

Rob

...and also a great inspiration for the next "vintage-shopping-tour"!

Thanks for these excellent pictures!