The Ken I referring to got most of his acquisitions in the 70s and 80s , and it’s entirely possible Mr Smarsh bought them from a dealer or from Manions himself, especially if he was a collector.

I was able to obtain a few more of this sailors items that got sold before I found it. I’m definitely happy to keep it together. It has his dog tag, ribbon bar, sleeve rating, and a few more souvenirs. 

I wondered the same thing myself after seeing many interviews on Newsmax of McFarland with that great Naval backdrop.  Finally, an interviewer  asked her about the swords.    The one in the center was her father-in-law's,  a 1937 USNA grad, and the two lower ones are her daughter-in-law's and her son's, both USNA grads of I believe about 15 years ago.       

Hello! I came across this thread while researching an artifact I recovered and was blown away by the knowledge shared in this thread.   First, I am a 20+ year retired Army Master Sergeant. As I am semi-retired I started a metal detecting group called ARC: Artifact Recovery Cohort. You can find us on social media if interested.   The main point is this: I found the recovered Bell Trading Post Cuff Bracelet in a park, which was once old homes, in Northern Minnesota! It came out of the ground, as the picture shows. I was tickled to find a non-dug for sale example on eBay that shows how beautiful it is. I found the one to be beautiful in its own historic way. What I care about more than anything is recovering artifacts for new generations to admire and enjoy, like previous generations did.   Too many things from the past are non-existent nowadays....I like to recover whatever I can.   Thank you for teaching me about the Bell Trading Post!   Blessings,   David                      

Does McFarland collect or are these family swords?

General Taylor. Korea 1951  

My sister and her family visited for Easter, and my nephew found some of my spray paint (I've been working on a project) and decided to spray paint some SPAM to "make them look like army guy food" as he put it. 

Yes, I agree but it hasn't been much of a commemoration in the past few years.... From the program brochure: program of festive and cultural events including parachute demonstrations, parades of military vehicles, fireworks, concerts, reconstitutions of military camps, giant picnics, book fairs, exhibitions, dances…

Officially they were known as US Army Signal Corps RL-31 Reel Equipment. They took DR4 or DR5 Wire Drums.   Below some photos of said items from my collection