Early 1960's TWA Pilot Hat Badge of Captain George Cole Toop

ARTIFACT: Early 1960's TWA Pilot hat badge of Captain George Cole Toop. Badge depicts a globe that beneath reads: TWA in red enamel atop a small garland of leaves. In August 1973, Arabs attacked an airport in Athens Greece just as TWA pilot George C. Toop and passengers were preparing to depart for America. During the initial moments of the attack, Captain Toop with the help of airport personnel gathered as many passengers as possible and escorted them safely into an office near the plane. Toop made the difficult decision to take off amidst the pistol and grenade attack and arrived in New York with only seven of the 79 passengers scheduled to board the flight. In total nearly fifty people died and many more were injured in Athens that day.

Below are links to additional pieces which belonged to Early TWA Pilot, WWII Civilian Air Transport Command (India China Division) Sr. Pilot, and Later TWA Captain George Cole Toop.

VINTAGE: Circa Early 1960's

SIZE: Approximately 2" x 1 7/8"

MATERIALS / CONSTRUCTION: Gilt brass and red enamel.

ATTACHMENT: Single screw post with disc backing and stabilizer pin.

MARKINGS: None.

ITEM NOTES: This is from an airlines collection which we will be listing more of over the next few months. MBEX12 LAAEX1/15 SAAEX6/17

CONDITION: 8+ (Excellent): Badge shows minor wear, stabilizer pin in bent, nearly all of the gilt and enamel details remain intact.