Original U.S. WWII 29th Infantry Division & AAF Stalag Luft IV POW Veteran Grouping with MIA Western Union Telegram, Veterans’ Vest with Mini-Medal Bar and Pins, and a Lot of Veterans Association Ephemera - Sergeant Milton O. Price

Original Items. One-of-a-Kind Group. This is a really interesting grouping identified to Sergeant Milton O. Price, who trained with Company B, 175th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division during preparations for D-Day, but shortly thereafter had been reassigned to the Army Air Forces, where he was trained as a tail gunner aboard B-17 Flying Fortresses.Assigned to the 487th Bomb Group, 839th Bomb Squad, Mr. Price was on a mission over Hamm, Germany, in October 1944 when his B-17 was struck by enemy flak, which destroyed one engine and left another on fire. Landing uninjured in a field, Mr. Price was immediately captured by two German soldiers who took him to Stalag Luft IV near Grosstychew, Poland, where he was confined to a dormitory room designed to hold 12 prisoners that was filled with 25 other POWs. The best part of this grouping is the Western Union telegram dated December 28th, 1944, in which his wife was told that he was missing in action over Germany.

This group consists of:

- Western Union telegram dated December 28th, 1944, in which his wife was told that he was missing in action over Germany. 
- Western Union telegram dated January 24th, 1945, in which his wife is told that International Red Cross stated that her husband was a Prisoner of War of the German Government. 
- Western Union telegram dated June 13th, 1945, in which Price tells his wife that he arrived safely stateside and that he would see her soon. These three telegrams are worthy of being framed together!
-  “American Ex-Prisoner of War” association vest with mini-medal bar with seven medals, “American Ex-Prisoner of War” association medal with tons of ladder bars dating from 1984 to 1992, mini Aircrew wings, a POW Medal with an AAF badge over it, and several other bits, a very interesting vest that is worthy of being displayed on its own!
- “American Ex-Prisoner of War” association Luft IV cap with pins and PRICE nametag. Also has cute LUFT IV pin. 
- “American Ex-Prisoner of War” association Chapter Commander overseas cap with Stalag Luft 4 Grosstyschow patch on the side. There are also ribbons for the Air Medal and European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign medal with one star. 
- 29th Division Association overseas cap with various pins. Chapter 72. Named to Price on tag. 
- Great deal of medals, pins, and patches from various Veterans associations from later in his life. Several are for the “American Ex-Prisoner of War” association, and many are from the 29th Infantry Division association. 
- Tons of ephemera from veterans associations including newsletters, newspapers, booklets, etc.

From Price’s obituary:

Milton O. Price Sr., a retired Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. statistician who had been a prisoner of war during World War II, died of a heart attack Saturday at Perry Point Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He was 89.

Mr. Price was born in Baltimore and raised on Garrett Avenue. After graduating from Polytechnic Institute in 1937, he served for four years in the Naval Reserve before he began working at BGE.

Drafted into the Army on April 23, 1941, Mr. Price was to have served one year of active duty. “Pearl Harbor changed all that, and he was in for the duration,” said his son, Milton O. “Buddy” Price Jr. of Belcamp.

He served 2 1/2 years with the 29th Infantry Division, 175th Infantry Regiment, Company B, training in England for the D-Day invasion.

Mr. Price did not land in France on June 6, 1944, because he had been reassigned to the Army Air Forces, where he was trained as a tail gunner aboard B-17 Flying Fortresses.

“I am convinced that had I stayed in the 29th, I wouldn’t have had much of a chance,” Mr. Price told The Baltimore Sun in a 2004 interview.

Assigned to the 487th Bomb Group, 839th Bomb Squad, Mr. Price was on a mission over Hamm, Germany, in October 1944 when his B-17 was struck by enemy flak, which destroyed one engine and left another on fire.

Unable to control the bomber, the pilot ordered the seven-man crew to bail out.

“I can’t describe it,” Mr. Price recalled in the interview. “You don’t know what’s in store for you. The pilot just gave you an order to jump. You’ve never jumped before, and you’re jumping into enemy territory.”

Landing uninjured in a field, Mr. Price was immediately captured by two German solders who took him to Stalag Luft IV near Grosstychew, Poland, where he was confined to a dormitory room designed to hold 12 prisoners that was filled with 25 other POWs.

“Nothing is like freedom,” he said in the interview. “You don’t realize how precious it is until it’s taken away from you.”

In February 1945, Mr. Price was sent to a camp in Nuremberg. Normally, the trip by train took no more than six hours, but Mr. Price and his fellow prisoners spent a week crammed together in a locked boxcar in the bitter cold.

Two months later, Mr. Price along with other POWs were moved again to a camp at Moosburg, near Munich, escorted by elderly German guards.

“We could have escaped any time,” Mr. Price said. “But if the Gestapo or an SS trooper caught you, they wouldn’t ask any questions. They would shoot.”

They arrived at Stalag VII-A in mid-March, where Mr. Price and his fellow prisoners were confined to large canvas tents.

Liberation by the Army’s 14th Armored Division came April 29, 1945, when 110,000 POWs, some who had been held there since 1939, were finally freed.

A fantastic group, ready for display.