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Colonel Henry Tift Myers' Archive of Personal Photographs and Autographed Currency. ... (Total: 14 Items)
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Hank Myers Archive: The Ultimate Short Snorter
Colonel Henry Tift Myers' Archive of Personal Photographs and
Autographed Currency. Larger-than-life presidential pilot Henry
Myers - Hank to his friends - traveled with dignitaries and
celebrities during the tumultuous WWII years and beyond, ferrying
them around the world and striking up friendships along the way.
Born in 1907 the privileged son of wealthy entrepreneurs, Myers
took up flying while still in college, later graduating at the top
of his Army Air Corps training class. His first assignment was
serving as an aide and pilot for Lt. Gen. Harold S. George,
Commanding General of the Air Transport Command, and the man who
would ultimately recommend him for the job of presidential
pilot.In February 1945, Myers flew President Roosevelt to Yalta, to meet with Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin to establish an agenda for governing post-war Germany. Following FDR's death, he also acted as President Truman's pilot. In 1948, Hank decided it was time to return to civilian life, becoming a pilot for American Airlines.
Offered here are several of Myers' personal photographs (all black and white, 8 x 10"). The archive contains a few candid home shots as well as eight photos taken during Myers' time in Yalta. The Yalta images (all very good to fine) show FDR's official welcome to Yalta, Myers and his crew in town and at the air strip, the Sacred Cow (the first Presidential plane), and local Yalta scenes. Accompanying the Yalta photographs is the February 15, 1945 issue of Stars and Stripes (Mediterranean issue), which discusses the Yalta conference as well as other noteworthy military news. Although age toned and bearing assorted chips, creases, and tears, the newspaper is in very good condition.
The lot also includes Hank's most interesting personal item; his short snorter. It was an unusual hobby/game that began among WWII soldiers and pilots - on paper currency they'd collect the autographs of noteworthy individuals they'd met during their military tours, taping the bills together to form long chains. When they get together for drinks, they'd compare their strands of bills and the man with the shortest chain had to buy shots for the whole gang. Thus, these chains of autographed paper bills became known as short snorters.
Myers invariably won this drinking game, as his contact with notable persons during the war years was constant and unique, and he was diligent about collecting signatures. With a roll of bills measuring nearly 35 feet and composed of currency from countless different countries, Myers' list of important autographs includes Franklin Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Churchill, Stalin, Bradley, Arnold, Hull, Byrnes, Marshall, Baruch, two kings of Greece, the presidents of Peru, Czechoslovakia and Mexico, and more than 400 other historical names, big and small. Although Myers' short snorter has seen much wear and tear, and in some places aging tape obscures the signatures, it remains a unique and very desirable piece of memorabilia from a pivotal point in world history.
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