PLEASE NOTE: WE ARE IN THE OFFICE Through TUESDAY 09/16,
AFTER That Date, We Will Be OUT OF THE OFFICE from WEDNESDAY 09/17 until TUESDAY OCTOBER 7th!!
Ron Will Be OUT OF THE OFFICE from WEDNESDAY 09/10 until FRIDAY OCTOBER 10th!!
So there MAY be SHIPPING DELAYS on MILITARIA Orders Placed AFTER 09/10 through 10/10!!
BUT We Will DEFINITELY Be ABLE TO SHIP Orders Placed Through TUESDAY 09/09,
And MIGHT Be ABLE TO SHIP ORDERS Placed through MONDAY 09/15, But After That we CANNOT SHIP Until TUESDAY 10/07!!
Update 09/09/25: WE ARE STILL EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WITH non-PayPal CREDIT CARD PURCHASES!!
BIG WEBSITE CHANGES are in the works and this Issue WILL BE CORRECTED sometime in OCTOBER!!
If you would like to PAY for an Artifact valued at OVER $100.00 with a CREDIT CARD, please email and I will get an invoice emailed to you ASAP!
We are HAPPY TO ACCEPT YOUR ORDERS during this time, and we will promptly SHIP MOST orders within ONE Business Day of Receipt of Payment!
And, as always, if you would like to fund your $100.00+ order through a Bank that offers ZELLE, ASK ABOUT our ZELLE DISCOUNT!!
That DISCOUNT also applies to PayPal GIFT (Fee-Free), Check, and Money Order payments!!
Thank you for visiting. We hope you will find some vintage artifacts here on our site to add to your collection.
We look forward to serving your collecting needs, Ron & Kanae
ARTIFACT:
Great circa 1951 United States Navy VC-61 Pilot and Commanding Officer Louis L. Bangs personal lighter. Made in Japan by Wellington. Born in 1919, Bangs served from 1940 to 1964 on the USS Enterprise, USS Bennington, and USS Ticonderoga. Among many achievements, his highest personal decoration is the Navy Cross presented “for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Dive Bomber in Bombing Squadron TEN (VB-10), attached to the U.S.S. ENTERPRISE (CV-6), while participating in aerial combat against the Japanese Fleet in the Marianas Islands, during the First Battle of the Philippine Sea, on 20 June 1944." - Military Times - Hall of Valor. The lighter features an enameled disc portraying a naval observer wing soaring along the skyline above an aircraft carrier. The reverse of the lighter is engraved with painted details of a Grumman F9F Panther and reads: "LOUIS L. BANGS VC-61 THE EYES OF THE FLEET"
VINTAGE:
Circa 1951
SIZE:
Approximately 2 ¼" x 1 ½"
MATERIALS / CONSTRUCTION:
Chrome plated brass, enamel, brass, felt.
ATTACHMENT:
None.
MARKINGS:
WELLINGTON "WINDPROOF" JAPAN.
ITEM NOTES:
This is from a naval aviators collection which we will be listing more of over the next few months. MEJX15 LCDEX1/15 SCJJX8/16
CONDITION:
8+ (Excellent): The lighter shows some wear mostly surface and at edges, nearly all of the enamel details remain intact.
GUARANTEE: As with all my artifacts, this piece is guaranteed to be original, as described.
