Since We Were Talking About Collecting...

[Wolf308]

OK, so I went to a show today and ended up leaving with a very large quantity of the military insignia and medals I like to collect. But in my travels I fell in love with a particular piece that fits my collection... but doesn't. I am treating it the same as I treat most of those medals and what have you, but I'm not sure how to go about doing it with this. So... I am reaching out to the internet and social media in the off chance that someone can help.

This is a piece of what the man I bought it from refers to as "sweetheart jewelry" which I must admit grabs the girlie romantic side of me, so I'll probably try to find more. As it goes now, I plan to find a chain for this one and wear it.

But in the meantime... I would love to know who they are! I'll give it back if it is requested if/when a name or names are located. But I believe it important to give these two their names back, at the very least. And if it is destined to go back to it's family and leave me, I'll at least know their names.

So my request... please take a look. I did my best taking these pictures trying to get the faces clear, but due to age... they pretty much look like this in person, too. I am hoping that they are recognized by someone on facebook or one of the forums I use.

I am posting links due to size. I hope this works.
The happy couple:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v314/WolfBard/private/IMG_0841.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v314/WolfBard/private/IMG_0842.jpg

Just the back, which is only the woman, and the image is very faded:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v314/WolfBard/private/IMG_0843.jpg

Thank you for looking!

 

[moondragon]

Very nice! I hadn't heard of sweetheart jewelry before - very romantic. I wish you luck on finding out who they were!

 

[classwife]

any thoughts to seeing if it might come apart to see if there are names on the back of the photos ?

 

[Wolf308]

The cap over the photo of the couple is popped out but I can't get it removed without breaking it. It's slightly damaged as is.

So far, what I have found out is this gentleman is a very young Airman (Army Air Corps), and this is a "lovers pendant" which was most likely worn by the woman, probably taken prior to 1947. And the thought is that it was taken at Coney Island. Apparently this was a thing they did there, they took the photos, cut the plastic, and there you go. And it is, apparently, a key chain.

 

[Fudgey]

Sad to think someone lost that or a family member just let it go.

 

[Wolf308]

It is. Actually, as much as I enjoy my little hobby, it does make me very sad. There are a lot of "collections" for sale on the market, all with paperwork and photographs. It'll be a display case with photos and all the papers and medals for a particular soldier. And they get here from all over the world. I once asked a guy about a set, it was a huge two case set of papers and medals for a Soviet soldier. He had a lot of things like this, so I asked how he gets them. Answer? They get brought to him when someone dies and the house is cleaned out (no family or family doesn't care), (Edit) family member sells them for money to buy drugs, brought over by family members from other countries and it ends with similar fates as above, and several times he's had WWII vets come in and sell their own stuff just to buy medication for themselves or their spouse. So I always consider it "safe keeping" when I purchase these. My mom asked me today if I found this couple or their family would I return the pendant and I said yes without even batting an eyelash. I'm just holding onto it and taking care of it until someone else cares more than I do. But it is sad to think I do care more than some of these people's own families.

I'm a member of the Patriot Guard Riders and have stood for many fallen vets of wars ranging from WWII to the current conflicts. The one that stands out to me the most was last March (2011). We stood for a Vietnam Vet who was going to be "donated to science" because his family declined to claim his body. Not that he had none... they just didn't want to bury him. So his high school buddies got together and pooled their money to have a service for him. He was cremated and they had a full military honors service for him.

Patriot Guard Riders: View from the Flag Line - YouTube

 

[CES]

Whether the people in the picture are ever found or not- the memory and the times are honored as long as people who care (like you wolf) are collecting the images and stories and keeping them safe.

 

[funnyfarm]

Wolf, you are officially a good deed doer!! In the little town where I grew up, they have a small local museum and most families of vets donate their paperwork, medals etc after the vet passes. My mother donated Papa's last year, along with some service photos etc. I LOVE walking thru there -- there are even a handful of photos from Spanish American and Civil war soldiers.

A friend and I used to hit the estate sales in Dallas nearly every weekend, and several friends asked if it didn't feel creepy rummaging thru dead peoples' stuff. I always told them the only thing that bothered me were photos -- always broke my heart that no one wanted those precious pictures!!

 

[scarf-ace]

A friend and I used to hit the estate sales in Dallas nearly every weekend, and several friends asked if it didn't feel creepy rummaging thru dead peoples' stuff. I always told them the only thing that bothered me were photos -- always broke my heart that no one wanted those precious pictures!!

Funnyfarm by chance are you a watcher of "Boardwalk Empire"? There is a scene in the second season that makes me cry every time I watch it: --SPOLER ALERT START--
Richard Harrow, the horribly maimed WW1 veteran, has a scrapbook he has put together of cut-up pictures of happy families. He flips through it, seeing what he thinks he will never have. It is heartbreaking.
--SPOILER ALERT STOP--

 

[funnyfarm]

No, and I would LOVE to watch it, but we have just basic sattelite channels -- decided we watch too much TV with just that, so we don't want more.

 

[Cherryblossom]

I don't know who they are, but I'm so happy that these landed in someone's hands who cares. What a precious glimpse in time.

 

[Wolf308]

I'm stilling working on getting this into a state where it can worn. A piece is popped out and I am terrified of that snagging on something, popping open, and losing one or both of the pictures. And have not yet identified them.