Bidspirit auction | WW2 VJ Day cover Signed

WW2 VJ Day cover Signed Rex Barber Credited shooting down Admiral Isokuru Yamamoto. 15 Aug 85 Jersey 40th Anniversary of VJ Day Red Flown Cachet Flown Boeing 747 of Cathay Pacific on a flight of remembering the 40th Anniversary of VJ Day non - stop from London Gatwick to Hong Kong. Personally Signed Boeing Crew Member K Chambers and Signed by Rex Barber Credited with shooting down of Admiral Isokuru Yamamoto head of the combined Japanese Fleet. Also 3 US aces inc John W Mitchell, Alex Vraciu, George Chandler Barber received his commission as a US Army officer and his pilot's wings on October 31, 1941. He joined the 70th Pursuit Squadron, which arrived at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, in December 1942. Flying a Bell P - 39 Airacobra, he scored his first victory by downing a Japanese bomber on the 28th. Upon transfer to the 339th Squadron, he began flying P - 38 Lightnings and claimed two Zero fighters on April 7. On April 18, Lieutenant Barber figured prominently in the Yamamoto interception, also known as Operation Vengeance. Intelligence sources had learned that Yamamoto would be flying in a Betty bomber on an inspection tour of Japanese bases in the northern Solomon Islands. Most military historians credit Barber with the sole kill of Yamamoto's aircraft. Previously, Barber and Captain Thomas George Lanphier Jr were officially credited with half a kill each in Yamamoto's bomber. Barber also shared a second Betty destroyed on the same mission. In 2003, he was officially credited with the sole kill after an inspection analyzed the crash site and determined the path of the bullet impacts, thereby validating Barber's account and invalidating Lanphier's claim. After his tour of duty ended in June 1943, then-Captain Barber requested a return to combat. Late that year, he joined the 449th Fighter Squadron in China, still flying P-38s. He claimed three further Japanese planes probably destroyed and damaged, but he was shot down on his 139th mission, bailing out near Kiukiang on April 29. He was rescued by Chinese civilians, who treated his injuries and escorted him to safety five weeks later. At the end of the war, Barber attained the rank of major and commanded one of America's first jet squadrons. He retired as a colonel in 1961. Good condition. Part of Single Vendor collection. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide.