[mdmorrissey]

Its snowy and super cold out so I pulled this one out with the thought of listing it for sale, but after playing around with it, decided to keep it instead (kind of like wishing your kid to go off to college and then changing your mind I guess!). This is an early Ithaca in the DuLite blue finish. Only about 25-30k of these were made before Ithaca switched over to the parkerized finish. For some reason, these early Ithacas in the DuLite blue are tough to find and more so in good condition such as this one. Probably because they were made in 43 and likely saw extensive use during the war. Wear marks on the various pieces tells me that this is all original and was likely brought home after the war. It comes with a 43 dated shoulder holster which has a name inscribed on it (full name on the front and "F A G" on the back, which must have been his nickname - guess the PC Police weren't around in WWII?). I did some research on this vet and turns out he was a bombardier aboard a B-24 flying with the 15th Air Force out of Italy. I have no proof that this set was carried together during the war (didn't get it from a vet's estate, etc.) but it does make a nice pair. I found a Missing Air Crew report (plane shot down) where Lt. Fagerquist was the witness to the downing, which is kind of interesting. Amazing what these "kids" went through in their early 20s. Guess that is why they earned the nickname of Greatest Generation. Wanted to share so enjoy!

 

[mdmorrissey]

More pix

 

[mdmorrissey]

MACR report

 

[bayoned]

A SUPER Ithaca DuLite !
Thank you for sharing.

 

[Douglas_Jr]

Fantastic Ithaca M1911A1, in marvellous condition.
As usual, the additional research gives the whole rig an unique frame of those turbulent days.
Thanks again for the great presentation.

 

[Rescue190]

Awesome gun and provenance. Thank you for posting.
John

 

[Edward Tinker]

really nice 1911a1 !!

 

[kar66]

Thanks for the great photos of the early DuLite Ithaca. My first 1911A1 was serial no. 882900. I have always felt it was original finish because every thing looked right about it. It looks a lot like yours but with a little less finish. It shows a little more finish loss on the frame than the slide but other wise it's good.

 

[Yoebuff]

wow, very nice gun and super history to go with it. I can't believe you ever thought to get rid of it! LOL Thanks for sharing.

 

[mdmorrissey]

wow, very nice gun and super history to go with it. I can't believe you ever thought to get rid of it! LOL Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Sam and to all for your input. Fact is the wife thinks I have too many guns as it is, so sometimes I get the urge to thin the herd a bit to keep her happy. Guess we all have those moments at times!

 

[mdmorrissey]

BTW - I did some research on the Air Medal and from what I found out, it was awarded after completion of 5 sorties and then an Oak Leaf Cluster was awarded for 10 additional sorties. So if the WWII Registry (looks like that was added by the vet's daughter) is correct, 35 missions would equate properly to the Medal plus 3 OLCs which I found on another site.