WWII 8th Air Force Painted A2 Flight Jacket by Aero Leather with the Owner’s Laundry Mark

The leather A2 flight jacket is tagged as a size 40 and the label reflects manufacture by the Aero Leather company. The entire back of the jacket is painted, having the image of a cowgirl, the name “Marie”, and rows of bombs to reflect a total of 31 combat missions. The left shoulder has a fully embroidered 8th Air Force shoulder patch. On the upper left breast is a rectangular area of stitch holes which reflect that a leather name tag was once sewn on the jacket. The zipper pull is gone and, on the opposite side, the zipper teeth are broken and the zipper strip is detached from the jacket. The knit cuffs and waistband show edge fraying and some holes but they are complete. The full interior lining is intact inside of the jacket. The lining has what appears to be faint artwork of a cartoon style, and the lining is also stenciled with the laundry mark of “R9115” (The internet database of WWII U.S. Army enlistment records identifies 39 men with this laundry mark, giving their full names and service numbers). The leather of the jacket is slightly stiff, with typical flaking and signs of wear and use, but the leather remains generally pliable and the jacket makes an impressive appearance. The presence of the laundry mark certainly makes further research possible to identify the original owner of the jacket during his service in the 8th Air Force.