Original Items: One-of-a-kind. Lieutenant David O. Howe O-759809 was a navigator on a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress in the 306th Bombardment Group, 423rd Bomb Squadron during World War Two. He was a member of the Wallace Wood crew and completed 35 missions before returning back the the United States. He was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross and and an Air Medal. In addition to his A-2 flight jacket a research binder with a complete missions list and copies of wartime documents and his obituary are included with this set. Also included are his original cased DFC and Air Medal. He can be found on the American Air Museum in Britain website at this .

The A-2 flight jacket in size 42 was produced by SPIEWAK & SONS of North Bergen, NJ. The jacket features an highly detailed full color embroiled 423rd Bomb Squadron insignia patch on the left chest. Above the patch is a leather name patch named to D.O. HOWE. The jacket has an original functional zipper, original liner which has seen wear and some damage and original knit cuffs and waistband. The leather is in very good supple condition and the original data tag is still intact. Overall a very good condition jacket with excellent rare patch named to a DFC navigator that completed 35 documented missions over occupied Europe during World War Two.

The 423rd Bombardment Squadron was first established as the 34th Reconnaissance Squadron, a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber unit in early 1942. Shortly after activation, the squadron was redesignated as the 423d Bombardment Squadron. It trained under Second Air Force before deploying for England in September 1942, becoming one of the first heavy bombardment squadrons of the VIII Bomber Command's 1st Bombardment Division.

The squadron operated primarily against strategic targets, including the locomotive factory at Lille, France, rail yards at Rouen, France and Stuttgart Germany. The squadron took part in the first strike into Germany by bombers of Eighth Air Force on 27 January 1943 when it struck U-boat yards at Wilhelmshaven. It struck shipbuilding yards at Vegesack, ball bearing plants at Schweinfurt, the aircraft factory at Leipzig, Germany and similar facilities.

On 1 May 1943 the aircraft in which Staff Sergeant Maynard Smith was a gunner was struck by enemy fire, igniting fires in the plane's radio compartment and waist. Sgt Smith threw exploding ammunition overboard, extinguished the fire, administered first aid to the wounded tail gunner and manned his gun until enemy fighter aircraft were driven off. Sgt Smith was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on this mission.

On 11 January 1944 the squadron and its parent group completed an attack on aircraft factories in central Germany without fighter escort and in the face of strong opposing forces. For this mission, the squadron was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC). The following month the squadron earned a second DUC for its performance during Big Week, an intensive bombing campaign against the German aircraft industry. Despite adverse weather on 22 February that led supporting elements to abandon the mission the squadron and group effectively bombed the aircraft assembly plant at Bernberg, Germany.

The squadron also performed in a tactical role, assisting ground forces in the St Lo breakthrough, the airborne invasion of the Netherlands, stopping German attacking forces in the Battle of the Bulge, and bombing enemy positions during the airborne assault across the Rhine river in the spring of 1945.

After the German surrender the 423d and other elements of the 40th Bombardment Wing participated in the Green Project using B-17s as transports along ATC routes from Western Europe, Italy and the United Kingdom to North Africa to return servicement to the United States. The squadron became part of the occupation forces in late 1945 and participated in Project Casey Jones, the photographic mapping of portions of Europe and North Africa. When the squadron's parent group began to phase out of the project in July the squadron was attached to the 305th Bombardment Group. Toward the end of 1946 responsibility for the unfinished portion of the project was transferred to XII Tactical Air Command and the squadron was inactivated at the end of 1946.