Newly arrived, straight from the US, this is a group of items that have been exchanged between a couple during the Second World War. The grouping comprises;
1. A period silk hankerchief bearing an image of Nelson's Column, with the words 'Greetings from London'. This kind of item would have been bought by the soldier in England and sent home to relatives and sweethearts,
2. A period 9th Air Force patch,
3. A single Corporal stripe,
4. A small compact, with U.S. Army Eagle emblem to front, having come loose, but otherwise compact is in excellent order,
5. What appears to once been a pin back badge bearing the image of lady presumably the object of this soldier's affections.
6. Two Western Union telegrams, one communicating the death of 'mother' to a Miss Jeannie Boyce and the other 1948 dated to a Mrs Thalmann.
I believe this to have been sent from Carl F Thalmann to his wife. Carl was born in 1915 and enlisted 4 March 1942 under s/n 32223345. Before the war he was a cutlery salesman in Richmond, New York. Whilst the later telegram to 'Mrs C F Thalmann' is 1948 dated, Carl is recorded as being separated in 1950 and then divorced from Jeanne Thalmann in 1953. It does seem to be confirmed on Ancestry than Jeanne Thalmann was previously Jeanne Boyce, the name on the other telegram. Carl's mother died 26 October 1946 and we note the date of 27 Oct on this other telegram. It seems highly likely therefore that the lady pictured on the badge is Jeanne.
Carl died 31 January 2000. Given the contents of the group, I would suspect this group to have come from Jeanne's side.