I knew I wasn’t going to purchase it, however I picked it up and began analyzing it anyway. It is one thing of a routine for us watch-obsessed to feign simply sufficient curiosity in an effort to snag a second to hunt for a small element in a watch that may fascinate us, however in fact we do not act too lest the vendor senses our pleasure. However this vendor latched on to me for an additional cause. He was excited that I used to be not solely well mannered sufficient to face out within the June warmth and hearken to his tales, however sufficient to genuinely respect them.
And boy did he have some good ones. As a collector, I loved listening to how yearly he drives an actual Jeep that was used within the filming of the TV present M*A*S*H, down the principle road of his small city in Pennsylvania to a lot fanfare from the area people. He went from that to the twisted story of Martin James Monti, a disturbingly recounting of a WWII traitor; Monti was an American airman who stole a F-5E Lightning (a reconnaissance model of the P-38) and piloted it to Milan the place he handed it over to German forces and instantly surrendered, solely later to grow to be an SS propaganda specialist. One way or the other after surrendering to the US after an Allied victory, he was allowed to re-enlist within the Military Air Pressure and later honorably discharged in 1948. I didn’t realize it on the time, however I’d find yourself spending hours listening to extra tales like this, analyzing watches between the tales.
Issued WWII watches on the market.
I think this particular atmosphere was one of many solely locations he may discover individuals who shared his ardour for gathering previous army issues, so it is no shock he had lots to speak about. It was WWII Weekend in Studying, Pennsylvania. The pageant is billed as the most important WWII reenactment within the nation. I used to be there to see the number of planes flown by the Mid-Atlanitc Air Museum, together with a P-51D Mustang dubbed “KWITCHERBITCHIN,” however I ended up with a bonus lesson on the fascinating tradition of WWII reenactors. One tidbit I discovered from the WWII militaria seller I used to be chatting with was that they didn’t like “personal buy” watches and as a substitute principally bought solely real A-11 and Military Ordnance Dept. watches, although it is well-known that many troopers used their very own watches in the course of the battle. It was a necessary piece of substances, and to some it simply did not matter the place it got here from so long as that they had a functioning wristwatch.
Paradoxically some personal buy watches had been technically superior to the overall difficulty watches the federal government with which the federal government provided troopers. However a part of the reenactment tradition, as I discovered, is ensuring each little final little bit of the outfit was interval appropriate. One reenactor even went so far as to feign a transatlantic accent whereas chatting with me. I did not hassle telling him that most individuals of the time did not truly communicate like that. The watch was additionally an vital a part of the get-up, and the seller that I had been chatting with was there to promote real WWII watches to reenactors as a part of their equipment. He had a whole lot of them, categorized by what department of service might have used them. Solely the watch I had in my hand was not a army issued wristwatch. As an alternative it was a civilian market Hamilton, with a typical ’30s roman numeral dial – maybe that is why it hadn’t been bought to any one of many hundreds of reenactors current.
A reenactor sporting an issued watch.
P-51D Mustang at WWII Weekend
Historical past is not one thing we solely examine in textbooks; in some instances we will contact it. We are able to run our fingers by means of the sand at Omaha seaside in Normandy the place as many as 12,00zero Allied troopers died; on the 9/11 Memorial Museum in NYC we will really feel the coolness of the metal I-beams that had been plucked from the rubble and placed on show. There’s one thing very highly effective concerning the tactile ritual of feeling an object with some historical past behind it. Listening to or studying about vital historic occasions is one factor, however truly holding a chunk of historical past in your fingers is one other. On this particular case, I used to be strapping historical past on my wrist. I used to be making an attempt on what seemed like a ’30s or ’40s Hamilton, and I flipped it over to try the caseback. Casebacks of this period are normally devoid of any attention-grabbing particulars; most had been completely sterile in look. However this watch had an exquisite private engraving.
Lt. G.C. Fullenkamp / Greatest Needs / From Your / Fed. Mach. & Welder Co. Mates
The engraving should have taken unimaginable care to get proper, with triangular serifs and small capitals. I used to be drawn in as a result of it symbolized a time when individuals nonetheless made issues with their fingers. Casebacks right this moment are designed and laid out on a pc, with engravings normally finished by laser; when it is finished by hand it is much less sterile, and the best way letters join and circulation is way extra thought of.
However then, I obtained to questioning concerning the man behind the engraving. Had Lt. G.C. Fullenkamp been drafted? Was this a watch gifted to him from his work buddies to ship him off to battle? Extra importantly, did he ever get the possibility to come back again house?
I instantly obtained the sense that this was not my watch. It wasn’t even the vendor’s. I wasn’t completely certain that I ought to have been dealing with it. Even when I did determine to purchase it, it could by no means actually belong to me. It was actually etched in metallic, proper there on the caseback, to whom this watch belonged. Lt. G.C. Fullenkamp was the rightful proprietor. It was haunting to assume that this watch had more than likely been worn by a person who fought and maybe, died for his nation.
I ended up shopping for it with the intention of getting it again to the place it belonged. I did not know the place to begin, and I knew Lt. G.C. Fullenkamp was more than likely not with us, however perhaps he had sons or daughters, and even grandchildren who had been alive.
So I got down to discover them.
A fast Google led me to Leonard Fullenkamp, a retired soldier who had served as a professor on the Military Conflict Faculty in Carlisle along with holding command positions with the famed 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, the 2nd Ranger Battalion, the 42nd Discipline Artillery Brigade, and the 25th Division. He had devoted his life to serving our nation; I had a hunch that he would perceive how vital it was to get this watch again to somebody who additionally discovered it significant.
I used to be even hoping it was his father’s, and even grandfather’s watch; it appeared possible that it could have been the case. There aren’t many Fullenkamps in the USA.
But it surely wasn’t. The Fullenkamps, as Mr. Fullenkamp defined, cut up once they got here to America. There have been two branches – one in Pennsylvania, and one other in Ohio. Our dialog did slim down the search space, nevertheless. And immediately issues began so as to add up. Fed. Mach. & Welder Co. was the abreviation for Federal Machine & Welder Firm, positioned in Warren, Ohio. I discovered an article printed within the Cincinnati Enquirer dated April sixth, 1937 asserting that “4 New York males had acquired substantial curiosity within the concern.” These grasping New Yorkers. Earlier in 1920, a guide titled The Iron Age Catalouge of American Exports asserted that Federal Machine & Welder Firm was the most important producer of electrical welders within the nation. I surmise that at the very least just a few of the workers had been very considerate. In any case, pals of Lt. Fullenkamp related to Federal Machine & Welder Firm had purchased what was on the time a fairly good watch, with an engraved dedication, no much less.
Lt. Fullenkamp’s identify additionally seems in a 1935 version of The Military and Navy Journal, however sadly the precise doc proved very troublesome to get my fingers on. Eradicating it from some dusty shelf in some dusty basement was more durable than anticipated, so I’ve not but been capable of determine in what capability Lt. Fullenkamp served.
I referred to as each fashionable Fullenkamp within the cellphone guide, however it led to a useless finish. What I did be taught, nevertheless, is how one thing wonderful occurs while you choose up the cellphone and begin dialing strangers asking for assist with an odd mission that takes a while to elucidate. Extra individuals are prepared to take outing of their day to speak to a man who has a loopy concept a couple of watch than I had anticipated. One fellow even provided to go to the county information workplace in Ohio.
When you occur to know any Fullenkamps that hint their roots again to Ohio, please attain out within the feedback.
Once I purchased the watch I requested the vendor if he had any others with related engravings. About half a 12 months later I obtained an e mail invitation to go to the vendor at his house in rural Pennsylvania to take a look at just a few extra watches. I obliged. We spent the higher a part of a whole day chatting, and I left with three extra watches.
The tales behind these engraved watches fascinated me, and in an odd method I felt I used to be doing my small half by making an attempt to reunite these watches with the households of service members who sacrificed a lot. The watch nerd in me fetishized these items for the tales engraved – and scratched – within the metallic, however I additionally knew that to the households of the boys whose names had been on the casebacks that the importance merely transcends any watch-related curiosity. It was by no means completely a horological pursuit of mine, as a substitute it was about leveraging my ardour for wristwatches to get these items again the place they belonged. The watch is extra significant to the relative of a service member than it’s to a collector.
The subsequent watch was a lot more durable to decode. I am going to skip proper to it: This watch hasn’t made it again to any surviving member of the family but. Engraved within the caseback is the next message:
To / Pike Beall / From / Co-Staff / Edgewood Arsenal / 1942
Civilians and troopers labored at Edgewood Arsenal in the course of the thick of WWII. It is unsure what Mr. Beall’s position was, nevertheless.
There are just a few pockets of Bealls within the northeast nook of Maryland, however none of them that I had contacted had any kin named Pike. Given the character of what went on at Edgewood Arsenal, I would not be shocked if Mr. Beall had gone darkish after placing in his time working there. He might have had zero involvement within the soiled work, however given the date stamped within the caseback it places Mr. Beall squarely in the course of some darkish instances on the Arsenal. The New Yorker ran a round-up in 2012 on the shadowy operations that had been carried out at Edgewood. The power was principally identified for human experiments with chemical warfare brokers, and the manufacturing of chemical weapons.
It is not straightforward reckoning with the ugly aspect of battle efforts carried out on the homefront. What occurred at Edgewood Arsenal wasn’t fairly, and I think the bigger public does not even know the half of it. We are likely to glorify the heroic actions of troopers on the battlefield that earned an Allied victory throughout WWII, and to an extent, the actions it takes to keep up the place as a worldwide hegemon within the fashionable world, however trying into the historical past of this particular watch served as a reminder of the excessive worth as soon as paid proper right here at house.
I didn’t get a lot additional with the second watch of the bunch, both. The caseback engraving was easy:
W.H. Croner, Lt. / U.S.N. / 309657
The service quantity offers a clue to the chronology of the watch. On the outbreak of WWII the service quantity cap of 125,00zero was simply being reached. By the top it was prolonged to 350,00zero. In 1945 it was prolonged even additional to 600,00zero. That places Lt. Croner proper within the vary of WWII. The watch is an Elgin Military Ordnance watch, an extremely well-liked timepiece throughout that period. Troopers had been even skilled to repair this very watch within the area as outlined in TM 9-1575 Ordnance Upkeep: Wrist Watches, Pocket Watches, Cease Watches, and Clocks 1945-04-06.
With out being the subsequent of kin to Lt. Croner or a present service member, utilizing the provided service quantity proved troublesome. There is a lengthy course of one should undergo to search for enlistment information from WWII. Military service numbers are straightforward, however the Navy proved tougher. I am nonetheless engaged on this one.
I used to be zero for 3 at this level, and the fourth watch wasn’t trying a lot better. It was considerably smaller than the remainder, however an engraver made full use of all the true property on the caseback:
To / Lieut. A. C. Jones / RCNR / From / Royal Sovereign / Sea Cadet Corps / Sault Ste Marie / -1941-
Canadian! It was troublesome sufficient to trace down people in America, not to mention throughout a global border. I began with a web-based archive search and got here up with a direct match virtually immediately. The British saved wonderful information. The great thing about paperwork hardly ever ever reveals itself, however on this occasion I could not be extra grateful for the sticklers who recorded each element. Lieutenant A.C. Jones’ identify appeared on a manifest with “In Command” in parenthesis. A small museum in Oakville, Ontario held the information. The story was about to get attention-grabbing.
I obtained in contact with the museum and ended up getting rather more than I bargained for. It seems the Lt. Alex C. Jones was the commander of the HMCS Oakville, a corvette class warship that noticed loads of motion throughout WWII; it was an escort closely concerned in The Battle of the Atlantic. A historian native to the Toronto space, Sean E. Livingston, himself a Naval reservist officer, had penned a whole guide on the HMCS Oakville in 2014 and for the guide carried out thorough analysis on Lt. Jones. I felt like I had struck gold.
The ship was named after the city of Oakville, and it was commissioned on November 18, 1941. The city of Oakville hosted an unlimited celebration to commemorate and honor the warship and its crew. After all Lt. Alex C. Jones was in attendance because the ship’s first commanding officer. He delivered a robust speech to the group. Livingston outlines the scene in his guide:
Again on land, Jones and his entourage acquired a refrain of cheers from the assembled crowd. Members of the Oakville Corvette Committee then escorted the CO to the rostrum, the place Nelles, Macdonald, Deans, and numerous different officers waited. Alongside the best way, Jones smiled and waved to the lots, undoubtedly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers in attendance.
I used to be fortunate sufficient to attach with Mr. Livingston and present him the watch. He had formulated a concept on its origin story.
The Sea Cadet Corps performed a a lot bigger position in WWII than they do in naval warfare right this moment. From the engraving, we will conclude that the watch was a present to Lt. Jones from the Royal Sovereign Sea Cadet Corps, and the date would recommend that it was more than likely introduced to him when the HMCS Oakville was passing by means of Sault Ste. Marie. It was customary for Sea Cadets Corps models to current presents to reviewing officers after finishing a parade inspection. It is possible that Lt. Jones served as a reviewing officer when the HMCS Oakville stopped at Sault Ste. Marie. The presents needed to be helpful, as they had been the very last thing officers acquired earlier than heading to battle.
The Canadian Navy had plenty of corvettes of this class throughout WWII – the Flower class, of which Oakville was one, had been primarily based on a Boston whaler design, and that made them fast and nimble, however the draw back was that the ship’s measurement and design meant, typically, a moist and rocky trip for the crew. This was very true within the open Atlantic; that they had initially been supposed just for coastal service however they had been regularly employed as transatlantic convoy escorts as nicely. Sadly, Jones suffered from persistent seasickness. He would have had the watch with him in his quarters as he was possible introduced the watch on the ship’s journey from Port Arthur eastward to participate within the Battle of the Atlantic. The HMCS Oakville would act as safety to a provide convoys backwards and forwards throughout the Atlantic to England.
After Jones transferred command of the ship and took a put up on land, the Oakville performed a pivotal position in an encounter with the Nazis within the Caribbean. Throughout a convoy from Trinidad to Key West, Oakville encountered a German U-boat. An American PBY airplane initiated contact, and a skirmish at sea shortly erupted. From an American Naval Intelligence report:
The PBY airplane dropped 4 650-pound depth expenses from 50 toes, then dropped a flare. U-94 was someplace between 30 and 60 toes under the floor, based on prisoners’ estimates, when the airplane’s depth expenses exploded.
The U-boat nosed upward and surfaced. The crew made useless efforts to submerge.
In the meantime, H.M.C.S. Oakville closed. In accordance with her report on the motion, she had seen the airplane flashing “S’s” by sign lamp in addition to the flare. She proceeded full velocity forward towards the flare, at which spot 5 depth expenses set at 100 toes had been dropped. Shortly afterwards Oakville obtained … Asdic [an early form of sonar] contact. Lower than one-half minute afterwards, a lookout sighted the bow of a submarine on the bearing indicated, about 100 yards distant, and slowly opening. Course was altered to ram. The U-boat handed underneath Oakville’s bow, however bumped towards the corvette’s port aspect when the hitter turned laborious to port. Oakville opened hearth and altered course to ram once more. She scored successful on the conning tower and a Four-inch shell carried away the U-boat’s deck gun. U-94 seemed to be taking avoiding motion by growing her velocity. Oakville rammed the starboard aspect of the U-boat, then dropped depth expenses, one among which appeared to blow up straight underneath the U-boat which quickly decreased velocity. Oakville then opened vary and rammed a 3rd time, this time squarely abaft conning tower.
A boarding get together from Oakville accepted the give up of U-94, whose crew scuttled her.
Again to the watch. Lastly I discovered the hyperlink I used to be searching for, and satirically it ended up main me to our brothers in arms to the North. I now knew the historical past of the watch, however did not fairly know what to do with it.
The city of Oakville, Ontario has a small museum with frequent exhibitions about Oakville and the occasions that passed off when the warship pulled into city in 1941 on its method out to battle. As an alternative of monitoring down the Jones lineage, it made sense for all of the residents of Oakville to have the ability to benefit from the watch and hopefully add a little bit shade to the narratives of a heroic technology that is shortly disappearing. The watch was shipped from HODINKEE HQ final month as a donation to the museum. It will likely be on show in an upcoming exhibit.
It was initially a present from the Royal Sovereign Sea Cadet Corps to Lt. A.C. Jones, given as a chunk of apparatus to assist within the bigger battle that will decide the destiny of the world. Nothing is thought of the watch’s journey because it was gifted to Jones, however now, 78 years later, it is in a distinct form of service, as a reminder of the grim and determined enterprise that was the Battle Of The Atlantic.
