Ron is my grandfather; he dedicated his life to finding historical artifacts and preserving them with the intent on keeping them for younger generations. He always wished for his collection to fall into the hands of a museum, and i’m sure he’s proud of where it’s ended up. It makes me happy to see that his dream was fulfilled.
The unbelievable collection and book were the hard work of Ron Bushaw. He and his wife, Lila, were in our Sunday school class for years. Ron was one of the best men I knew. He was certainly the smartest man I've known to exist. We loved his book, so excited to travel to see the artifacts.
Saw this collection with my son for a private viewing while he was there doing an interview on my father's WW2 history and his military service for their video history of veterans.
I worked in a room very much like the one you show for a number of years. Even then, there are plenty of people who know far more than I. If there's one thing I learned it's that if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Good catch on that Rommel uniform. Most collectors would need to be at least 50 feet away from it before seeing it was fake. I'm deeply suspicious of the Merrill's Marauders uniform as well. It might be real, but if so it was clearly pieced together post-war from items that were probably never owned or worn by the veteran. He might have done it himself, but more likely his family. To my mind this does not make it an "authentic WWII uniform." On the other hand, the 442nd RCT uniform is probably authentic despite its several discrepancies. The discrepancies are typical of a vet who saved his actual uniform, tried to make it as complete as possible, then put it away forever. Finally, why would Rommel's razor say "Made in Germany" in English? I suppose it's possible, but it's a bit of a red flag. It would have to be a pre-war razor made for export. Typically "Made in wherever" monograms did not appear until well after WWII. Why am I being this picky? Having worked in this business it really pains me to see inauthentic material on display. I implore the museum to really do their research and always err on the side of caution. Never credit something just because it came from a "famous collection." The museum where I worked inherited a "famous collection" that contained a number of fabulous items, but also a number of fakes. I don't blame the collector at all, we all take our chances when we buy something.
Picky is good and aligns with our approach as well. We are having a lot of fun with the forensics of assessing everything that comes through the museum's doors. We used the Rommel uniform as a test case. It was originally presented to us as a reproduction, but we investigated independently to see how to prove it is a reproduction.
@@NMMV_USA Thank you for your response. I realize your main concern is vehicles (and you have a wonderful collection) but that's not my area of expertise. I sincerely hope you apply the same level of rigorous attention to other items, as they are in many ways more relatable to the museum going public. I also appreciate your videos very much.
erm, the flying tigers, aka the american volunteer group, did not fight before the u.s. was in the war, contrary to what was said in this video. their first combat occured on dec. 20, 1941, 13 days after pearl harbour and 12 days after the u.s. declared war on japan.
Yes you are correct about first combat. They were recruited, trained, and deployed before the U.S. entered the war. We should have said, “served on behalf of China…” instead of “fought”.
6:40 why does the blood chit say "cappy boyington"? could be a great collection but doesnt finding 1 fake uniform make you suspicious about other possible fakes?
Good question. One clarification is that the collection never pretended that the Rommel uniform was authentic. On the video, we used the Rommel uniform to show how to prove it is a reproduction. Ron Bushaw was very meticulous to document his findings and sources, including oral histories, to authentic or not when he took in a uniform. The Pappy Boyington part of the collection is especially interesting to us and is authentic. Every Pappy Boyington signature we have found shows his "P" losing like a "C". If anyone out there has other information, please weigh in.
@@NMMV_USA ok. one would hope so. but thats the problem with having reproductions mixed in your collection. it causes people to have doubts about things that may well be legitimate. i look forward to seeing more videos on the subject then. im no handwriting expert, but the google search of his autographs looked like Ps to my eye. but as i said, im no handwriting expert.
Collectors are just people like you and me. We buy things and hope and expect them to be the real item. Sometimes they aren't. So when a collection is donated to a museum a few inauthentic items is no big deal, and no reason to suspect other items are fakes. That said, museums must of course do their due diligence before presenting an item to the public. And it's been a few years since I handled an autograph of Pappy Boyington but the one in the video looks good to me. He was not shy about signing autographs.
@@gsigs well, yeah anyone thats been a collector for any amount of time has been burned by fakery. im just pointing out peoples natural perception. yep, he often did the gun show circuit signing and i believe selling books.
I can answer this question: my dad would show a small portion of the uniform collection at local events (Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, etc), and he had assembled a couple reproduction uniforms he used as “bait” to lure people over to his display - he also had a “Patton” uniform assembled of (I believe) period-correct pieces never worn or owned by Patton. Once he’d lured them over to his table, he’d tell them the “Patton” uniform was a replica - and then he’d start teaching his visitors about the amazing stories the real uniforms told. Much like Dan and the NMMV, my father’s primary goal was telling the stories of these famous - and and not-so-famous - heroes, and the uniform collection was his way of doing that. Happy to answer any other questions I can about the American Heroes Collection at the NMMV.
Ron is my grandfather; he dedicated his life to finding historical artifacts and preserving them with the intent on keeping them for younger generations. He always wished for his collection to fall into the hands of a museum, and i’m sure he’s proud of where it’s ended up. It makes me happy to see that his dream was fulfilled.
This is a win-win for sure. Our mission aligns with your grandfather's wishes. Please introduce yourself when you are able to visit.
The unbelievable collection and book were the hard work of Ron Bushaw. He and his wife, Lila, were in our Sunday school class for years. Ron was one of the best men I knew. He was certainly the smartest man I've known to exist. We loved his book, so excited to travel to see the artifacts.
Please email me at dan@nmmv.org when you know your visit schedule. Dan Starks
Saw this collection with my son for a private viewing while he was there doing an interview on my father's WW2 history and his military service for their video history of veterans.
Really digging this channel. Keep up the great work!!
Very nice collection.
Thank you 😊
I worked in a room very much like the one you show for a number of years. Even then, there are plenty of people who know far more than I. If there's one thing I learned it's that if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Good catch on that Rommel uniform. Most collectors would need to be at least 50 feet away from it before seeing it was fake. I'm deeply suspicious of the Merrill's Marauders uniform as well. It might be real, but if so it was clearly pieced together post-war from items that were probably never owned or worn by the veteran. He might have done it himself, but more likely his family. To my mind this does not make it an "authentic WWII uniform." On the other hand, the 442nd RCT uniform is probably authentic despite its several discrepancies. The discrepancies are typical of a vet who saved his actual uniform, tried to make it as complete as possible, then put it away forever. Finally, why would Rommel's razor say "Made in Germany" in English? I suppose it's possible, but it's a bit of a red flag. It would have to be a pre-war razor made for export. Typically "Made in wherever" monograms did not appear until well after WWII. Why am I being this picky? Having worked in this business it really pains me to see inauthentic material on display. I implore the museum to really do their research and always err on the side of caution. Never credit something just because it came from a "famous collection." The museum where I worked inherited a "famous collection" that contained a number of fabulous items, but also a number of fakes. I don't blame the collector at all, we all take our chances when we buy something.
Picky is good and aligns with our approach as well. We are having a lot of fun with the forensics of assessing everything that comes through the museum's doors. We used the Rommel uniform as a test case. It was originally presented to us as a reproduction, but we investigated independently to see how to prove it is a reproduction.
@@NMMV_USA Thank you for your response. I realize your main concern is vehicles (and you have a wonderful collection) but that's not my area of expertise. I sincerely hope you apply the same level of rigorous attention to other items, as they are in many ways more relatable to the museum going public. I also appreciate your videos very much.
Awsome.
Is Telly Savalas Medic uniform in here?!
Yorktown was sunk in 1942
erm, the flying tigers, aka the american volunteer group, did not fight before the u.s. was in the war, contrary to what was said in this video. their first combat occured on dec. 20, 1941, 13 days after pearl harbour and 12 days after the u.s. declared war on japan.
Yes you are correct about first combat. They were recruited, trained, and deployed before the U.S. entered the war. We should have said, “served on behalf of China…” instead of “fought”.
6:40 why does the blood chit say "cappy boyington"? could be a great collection but doesnt finding 1 fake uniform make you suspicious about other possible fakes?
Good question. One clarification is that the collection never pretended that the Rommel uniform was authentic. On the video, we used the Rommel uniform to show how to prove it is a reproduction. Ron Bushaw was very meticulous to document his findings and sources, including oral histories, to authentic or not when he took in a uniform. The Pappy Boyington part of the collection is especially interesting to us and is authentic. Every Pappy Boyington signature we have found shows his "P" losing like a "C". If anyone out there has other information, please weigh in.
@@NMMV_USA ok. one would hope so. but thats the problem with having reproductions mixed in your collection. it causes people to have doubts about things that may well be legitimate. i look forward to seeing more videos on the subject then.
im no handwriting expert, but the google search of his autographs looked like Ps to my eye. but as i said, im no handwriting expert.
Collectors are just people like you and me. We buy things and hope and expect them to be the real item. Sometimes they aren't. So when a collection is donated to a museum a few inauthentic items is no big deal, and no reason to suspect other items are fakes. That said, museums must of course do their due diligence before presenting an item to the public. And it's been a few years since I handled an autograph of Pappy Boyington but the one in the video looks good to me. He was not shy about signing autographs.
@@gsigs well, yeah anyone thats been a collector for any amount of time has been burned by fakery. im just pointing out peoples natural perception. yep, he often did the gun show circuit signing and i believe selling books.
I can answer this question: my dad would show a small portion of the uniform collection at local events (Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, etc), and he had assembled a couple reproduction uniforms he used as “bait” to lure people over to his display - he also had a “Patton” uniform assembled of (I believe) period-correct pieces never worn or owned by Patton.
Once he’d lured them over to his table, he’d tell them the “Patton” uniform was a replica - and then he’d start teaching his visitors about the amazing stories the real uniforms told.
Much like Dan and the NMMV, my father’s primary goal was telling the stories of these famous - and and not-so-famous - heroes, and the uniform collection was his way of doing that.
Happy to answer any other questions I can about the American Heroes Collection at the NMMV.
Very neat, if you aren't using that fake Erwin Rommels jacket I would gladly take it if you wouldn't mind.