WWII USAAF General Yount Sterling Stars, Patch, Pins

WWII USAAF General Yount Sterling Stars, Patch, Pins
From the famous Harry Block Aviation Collection. For many years, Mr. Block wrote to and met with notable aviators throughout history and obtained personal items from them, typically documenting how and when he acquired items in his own handwriting. His collection was sold many years ago, and several lots have recently re-surfaced. Lot includes Lieutenant General Barton Younts sterling pin back shirt sized general stars, pre war pinwheel Air Corps patch, visor cap eagle, US insignia, and a hand signed card by Gen. Yount. General Yount was born in Troy, Ohio, in January 1884. After attending Ohio State University for one year, he was appointed to the Military Academy from Ohio in 1903 and upon graduation in 1907 was commissioned a second lieutenant of Infantry. Shortly after graduating from West Point, General Yount sailed for Cuba, where he joined the 27th Infantry at Camp Columbia in September, 1907, for duty with the Army of Cuban Pacification. He remained in Cuba until April 1909, when he returned to the United States for duty with his regiment at Fort Sheridan, Ill., until February 1913, and with the 4th Brigade, 2nd Division, at Texas City, Texas, until July 1914. General Yount was ordered to China in October 1914, and assigned to the 15th Infantry at Tientsin, serving there until August 1917, when he was transferred to the Signal Corps for duty with the Aviation Section. Upon his transfer he returned to the United States, arriving at Kelly Field, Texas, for a brief period in September 1917, where he commanded a recruit regiment. He was then ordered to Austin, Texas, to command the School of Military Aeronautics, in which capacity he served until September 1918. He commanded the Aviation Concentration Camp at Camp Dick, Dallas, Texas, in October-November 1918, and then was ordered to Washington, D.C., as a member of a Board of Officers on the reorganization of the Air Service. He remained on that duty until February 1919. After undergoing flying instruction at Rockwall Field, Calif., until July 1919, General Yount took command of March Field, Calif., in which capacity he served for two years. He returned to Washington, D.C., in the summer of 1921 for a three-year tour in the Office of the Chief of Air Corps. He then attended the Air Corps Engineering School at McCook Field, Ohio, for a year beginning August 1924. Upon graduation from the Air Corps Engineering School, General Yount sailed for France in the summer of 1925, where he served for four years as an Assistant Military Attaché for Aviation in Paris. During this period, he also served as a delegate at several international aviation conferences, was technical expert at the Disarmament Conference at Geneva, Switzerland, and, in the capacity of Technical Advisor, attended the Extraordinary Session of the International Commission for Air Navigation, June 1929. Returning to the United States in August 1929, General Yount attended the Air Corps Tactical School at Langley Field, Va., for a year. Upon graduation from the Tactical School, he commanded Rockwell Air Depot, Coronado, Calif., until July 1932, and Bolling Field, Washington, D.C., until July 1934. He was a member of a Board of Officers which convened in the Office of the Chief of Air Corps, Washington, D.C., July-August 1934, for the purpose of determining the location of the Air Corps Technical School. He then attended the Army Industrial College, Washington, D.C., graduating in August 1935, and the Army War College, Washington, D.C., from which he was graduated in June 1936. In August 1936, General Yount sailed for Hawaii, where he was assigned to duty as Commander, 18th Composite Wing, with headquarters at Fort Shafter. He returned to the United States in July 1938, to assume command of the Air Corps Training Center at Randolph Field, Texas. In February 1939, he was transferred to Washington, D.C., for duty in the Office of the Chief of Air Corps as Chief of the Training and Operations Division in charge of all training activities of the Army Air Corps. On Oct. 11, 1940, General Yount was assigned to command the Panama Canal Department Air Force. On Nov. 14, 1940, he was placed in command of the Southeast Air District, with headquarters in Tampa, Fla. General Yount was assigned on July 18, 1941, to command the West Coast Air Corps, Training Center, Moffett Field, Calif. On Jan. 15, 1942, he was ordered to Washington, D.C., for duty in the Office of the Chief of Air Corps, and in March, 1942, became Commanding General of the Army Air Forces Flying Training Command.