| Clarence "Larry" S. Page Jr. WWII Flight Instructor/Pilot SN# T-67176 |
| A group photograph showing 25 civilian flight instructors and an Army Air Corps sergeant (Sgt. Brown). Mr. Page is standing in the back row, third from the left. The back of the photograph has hand written names identifying the pilots pictured, they include from left to right, back row first: Sgt. Brown, unreadable, Mr. Page, Lloyd McFadden, William B. Snow, Hall, B. Valentine, Dick Conwell, Hanna., Brez., Steinmeier, Ed Pendergrass, Taylor, DoSchwein, Reash, LaVan, Lasky, Sheffield, unreadable, Walles, Delaney, Simmons, Shank and unreadable. If anyone has any information about any of the men shown in the photograph, I would enjoy hearing from you. |
| Another identification card photograph of Mr. Page. |
A 555th AAF Base unit gate pass, which had been issued to Mr. Page's wife, Dorothy
Page. As indicated on the pass, Mrs. Page was able to come and go as she pleased,
with no restrictions on her entry or exit of any of the secured gates on base.
Page. As indicated on the pass, Mrs. Page was able to come and go as she pleased,
with no restrictions on her entry or exit of any of the secured gates on base.
The front and back sides of Mr. Page's Civil Aeronautics Administration identification card.
| This page shows a small grouping of items that once belonged to WWII pilot and flight instructor, Clarence "Larry" S. Page Jr. Though little is known right now about his overall career, the items of wings, insignia, book and paper related items which once belonged to him, showed an adventurous career both in military and civilian aviation. As more information regarding the history of Mr. Page develops, the information will be added and this page will be updated. This page was created as a tribute to Mr. Page and his accomplishments during his career in the aviation field, both military and civilian. If anyone has any additional information or photos regarding Mr. Page, I would appreciate hearing from you and adding to this story. A special thank you to P. Mahaffey for caring for and preserving these items over so many years. |
| A clutch back version of the standard issue Army Air Corps wings, marked "sterling" on the reverse side. |
A CAA (Civil Aeronautics Administration) War Training Service Pilot wing, marked "sterling" and "patent pending" on the reverse side.
| A Darr Aero Tech sterling instructor wing of Albany, Georgia. Darr Aero Tech was a civilian contractor which was utilized to train both Army Air Corps and Royal Air Force pilot recruits in primary flight training. |
A CAA War Training Service uniform and collar
insignia device.
insignia device.
A clutch back version of the Service Pilot wing, marked "sterling" on the reverse
side.
side.
Two pin back versions of the smaller, 2 inch, Service Pilot wing, each marked
"sterling" and "Amico" on the reverse side.
"sterling" and "Amico" on the reverse side.
A bullion version of the Service Pilot wing.
A view of all four Service Pilot wings
within the Page grouping.
within the Page grouping.
| A pin back, 3 inch wing from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department Aero Bureau. The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department Aero Bureau was started in 1931. It is believed that this wing is a pre-WWII wing. If anyone has any additional information concerning this particular wing, I would enjoy hearing from you. |
| Two visor cap devices used by Mr. Page during his career. The top device is a Flight or Warrant Officers eagle cap device. The lower device is an Officers service cap eagle device. Both devices are in excellent condition and complete with the attachment hardware on the reverse. |
| Above left: A large, 4 inch diameter patch relating to the Air Transport Command. Above right: three well worn Air Transport Command insignia, along with a small sweetheart pin related to the Air Transport Command. |
A number of books and magazines from Mr. Page's career, all of which were published prior to 1945.
| A photograph showing several bullion items related to Mr. Page's grouping. Notice the beautiful blue of the flight officer's rank insignia. |
| Mr. Page's dogtag and a religious token, still attached to the dogtag chain. |
| Right: The above shown Air Transport Command sweetheart pin, along with a second sweetheart pin, showing USA and the officer's rank insignia. No doubt these were proudly worn by Mrs. Page. |
| This page shows a portion of the overall grouping which related to Mr. Page and his aviation career. Items not shown are basic Army Air Corps insignia, An "E" production award, several pieces of quartermaster insignia and Mr. Page's ruptured duck insignia. |
| A small button hole lapel device found in Mr. Page's grouping which reads: "Tri-State Aviation Corp." The Tri-State Aviation Corp was started in 1937 by Dr. Lytle Schuyler Adams. The company home offices were located in Wheeling, West Virginia. Tri-State was designed as an air express system for department stores. The planned operation was for quick package delivery. The company would later become All American Aviation and would later evolve into US Airways. The history of Tri-State and the companies it evolved into, and their inventions, could fill many pages. An interesting side note is that Dr. Adams was the inventor of "bat-bombs", an idea which was tested during WWII in which thousands of bats would be dropped over Japanese cities, each one carrying a small incendiary device. This in itself is an interesting tale of wartime innovation and ingenuity. |
| Left: The fascinating advertisement shown to the left was found in one of the books belonging to Mr. Page. In the book, "Know Your War Planes", printed by the Coca-Cola company in 1943, this ad appears showing an American pilot sharing a Coca-Cola with a Chinese soldier, "making friends over a Coke!" |