Original U.S. WWII 88th Infantry Division Uniform & Trench Art Shell Group with Outstanding Painted Blue Devil Clovers - Pfc. Charles Conover, Co. F, 349th Infantry Regiment

Original Items. One-of-a-Kind Group. This is the uniform & trench art group of Private First Class Charles E. Conover, Company F, 349th Infantry Regiment, 88th Infantry Division, who fought with the division during World War II. Conover spend 15 months overseas, serving as finger-printer on Military Police duty and then serving Occupation duty in Italy. The group includes his patched uniform and patched shirt, the former of which does have some serious moth damage. Also included however is an outstanding set of Blue Devil trench art shells with painted blue devil insignia and Conover’s name and unit information engraved onto both shells. Like all deactivated ordnance, this set is Not Available for Export.

The group includes:

- WWII Ike Jacket uniform with gorgeous bullion 88th Infantry Division patch with bullion rocker reading 88TH BLUE DEVIL DIV.., PFC chevrons on both sleeves, and two overseas chevrons on the left cuff. All insignia is cross-stitched with white string. There is no collar insignia and the ike jacket has very heavy moth damage as shown. There is also moth damage to the patch. Size-marked 36R inside.
- WWII shirt with gorgeous silk 88th Infantry Division patch with bullion rocker reading 88TH BLUE DEVIL DIV.., PFC chevrons on both sleeves and two overseas chevrons on the left cuff. All insignia is cross-stitched with white string. The shirt has held up much better than the jacket thankfully, but there is still some moth damage across.
- Pair of Italian-made Trench art shells on wooden based with cartridges of various sizes in the foreground in front of the shell. The tops of both shells have castles attached which look tremendous, and four-leaf clovers in the center with hand-painted Blue Devils. The front of both shells are engraved around the clover:

88 DIVISION
GORIZIA 1946 ITALY
CHARLES CONOVER
A.S.N. 33991246
FOX CO., 349 INF.

The back of each have cloth-covered wood inserts held in by nails, this is a very interesting set. There are spots for five cartridges to the foreground of each wooden base, but each piece is missing one cartridge. Each piece measures roughly 3 x 6 ¼ x 7 ⅛”. These are truly outstanding in their own right and are likely meant to be bookends. Interestingly, the mood of the blue devil appears a bit different on each shell. 

A beautiful uniform and trench art group, perfect for any 88th ID Collection. Comes ready for further research and display!