Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

United States of America, Purple Heart (Mervin G. Bush, 8th Air Force WWII); together with an ‘Air Force’ ring, believed to be associated with the recipient, the inside inscribed ‘E. C. 12.25.13’, extremely fine £60-£80

A published article with the lot states: ‘Mervin Bush, who flew as a tail gunner with the 92nd Bomb Group and spent nearly three years with the Eighth Air Force, claims a rare string of World War II achievements, including:
The first airman to be awarded the Air Medal in the European theater, for shooting down two FW-190s over Lille, France October 9, 1942;
The first American serviceman to get married to a British woman, Joan Bigmall from the Bovington area, April 3, 1943;
The first American to father a child in England, daughter Marilyn, born by his wife Joan January 25, 1944.
Bush said his marriage was so early in the war, "there weren't even regulations to cover such a thing." He said he was granted a short leave and the rest of his crew was shot down while he was on his honeymoon.

He claims that when he was awarded his first Air Medal, for gallantry as a tail-gunner on a combat mission over enemy-occupied continental Europe on 9 October 1942, Major-General Ira C. Eaker, who made the presentation, said to him “You are the first to receive the Air Medal”.

Bush, originally from Philadelphia and now living in Hatboro, PA, arrived in England with the first contingents of the 92nd in August, 1942, having joined the Army Air Corps February 9, 1942 and trained at MacDill, FL.
His first assignment at MacDill was as a photographer "because they hadn't installed in the tail or ball turrets of the B-17s we were flying”.
After 14 missions, Bush was pulled out of combat to work full time training others. He spent his entire time in England at Alconbury and mostly Bovingdon, where he served as an instructor in power and gun sights until war's end. He received a second Air Medal for shooting down an ME-109 on April 5, 1943.

Bush left the Army Air Corps after World War II but has pursued a life-long hobby of collecting military insignia and other artifacts that include:
Every medal issued by the United States, dating back to George Washington's command.
Models of every airplane used in World War II.
A vast collection of military insignia, guns and pictures.
The medals and insignia are housed in 70 frames measuring 18 by 24 inches each. Bush values the collection at "more than $300,000”.’