A little duct tape, a lick of paint, and it’s as good as new.  mikie

Ha! No I never did. I just kind of fumbled and stumbled my way along. And now at 67, I still have not figured it out. I too have a lifelong love of history, as most likely most of us here do. But never could figure out how I could make a good living off of it with the resources available to me.  As for archeology or paleontology, I could have really dug a career doing that.  mikie

Great find and for only eight bucks you could not go wrong.

Found a copy of the signature online - looks close - 😉the wings look period ..

I really like them.  They look WW2 to me.   And the “story” seems very plausible.  

So, I attended a small auction last night in Central Pennsylvania. With some trepidation, I bid on and won a set of navigator wings. Not being a wing expert, I was skeptical that they were World War II issue as claimed by the auctioneer since they were clutch back and had no hallmark of any sort.   The wings were attached to a postcard that read “Ken, I enclose my bombardier wings I hope you can use them.”   The note was signed by “Fred A. Braemer.” When I got home last night, I did some research on the wings and believe they are Bell Trading Post from World War II. This morning, I decided to research Fred A. Braemer. Much than my surprise, Mr. Braemer was a navigator on the Tokyo raid in 1942 (As in 30 Seconds Over Tokyo). Even more astonishing, he was in the lead plane with Major Doolittle!    I know enough to buy the item and not the story, however, these wings were not advertised as the wings of a Doolittle raider. They were actually part of a small lot of miscellaneous items and the auction was not advertised or well attended. There was very little interest in the lot and I ultimately got the wings for $10.   Someone please pinch me if I’m dreaming. I attach photos of the wing and the note for your opinions.  

Young German Prisoner near Breite Strasse in Lemgo, Germany - April 1945 LIFE Magazine Archives - William Vandivert Photographer WWP-PD    

There have always been conflicting opinions regarding this patch. Some say it is an US Army patch and others have think it is a US Navy Seabee patch. Has any recent or past research finally confirmed what this patch is? I have seen IDs of Navy 1st Construction Bn, Army Construction Bn and a Viet Nam Helicopter Bn? I appreciate any additional Info.

6 weeks to go... The official program for the 81st Anniversary of the Normandy Landings... https://www.normandie-tourisme.fr/app/uploads/2025/04/programme-d-day-festival-normandy-2025.pdf

Hi Warguy, I agree that the hat is most likely a fashion item. The way the hat is marked on the inside may someday allow us to know the manufacturer. Thanks for your thoughts!