re: Sharing.. WWII Normandy Map..

Thinking about what those guys went through on D-Day is horrible, but it would have been cool (I guess that’s the word here) to have today’s technology as far as cameras and such. Would love to see what it looked like live

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Great stuff. Maybe you can help me.

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Great Post... Thank you for sharing.. I absolutely love reading stories like that and seeing the pictures. It amazes me the people back then and what they had to do through. Your pictures are fantastic.

Silk/Escape maps... My knowledge is very limited. But it's very simple...

Silk/Escape maps were given to Fliers, Pilots, Bomber crews etc, that had the possibility of being shot down. At least they could have a map of the are to follow rivers, roads, town etc... to find your own lines.

The thing with the silk maps versus paper is that pilots and crew members could stuff them in their pockets, wear them as bandanas and masks. They could be used to stop a would from bleeding, used as a tourniquet. Even help to boil coffee.. and it was easy to keep on you. They could get wet and not tear easy like paper. If a pilot used his silk map as a bandana he would always have it on him. The advantages were endless...

They made millions of them. For all theaters of the war, Europe, The Pacific, China. Indian, The Mediterranean. Today they are a fairly common item but are still holding a decent value. Currently they are going for about $50 up to $150 on ebay. At a gun or trade show you might pick one up for $25 - $40 if lucky.

As to your father and why would he have one... I can only speculate, But if he got it during the war and kept it, like any old Joe in the war, having a map if he ever got in trouble and needed it, would be like an Ace card to your average foot soldier who probably never even got to see a map during the entire war.

Again, I can't thank you enough for sharing. I will be posting more items as time goes by.

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The advantages were endless...

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Another advantage was weight.