WW2 (USA) Authentic Ephemera Grouping for W.L. Thompson, USAAFs Bomber Pilot

This is an authentic grouping named to the W. L. Thompson family out of Wichita Falls, Texas. The lot contains personal portraits, military portraits, family & friend photos, & invitations and well wishes correspondence from the White House.

Included in this grouping...

1). WW2 Era Trainee Group Photo (x2) - A panoramic "trainee" group photograph taken June 1944 of "Class 44-9-3" at Hondo Army Air Field, Texas, the largest USAAFs aviation school in the world at the time. The class number represents the year (1944), class block or sequence # of that year (9), & the flight or squadron section (3).

2). Individual Portraits - The collection includes two black-&-white of him in his Army Air Forces uniform (Lieutenant), an informal group photo, one of him as a young child (w/a lock of hair attached), & various family photos.

3). Christmas Cards from the White House - A total of five sent to the Thompson family from 1983, 1984 (x2), 1985, 1986 & their corresponding stationary.

4). President Reagan Invitation - An invitation to attend President Reagan's 1986 inaugural anniversary dinner dance on Tuesday, January 21, 1986.

HISTORY:
Records show that Lieutenant William L. Thompson, the son of Dr. and Mrs. William W. Thompson was from (or lived in) Wichita Falls, Texas. He was a highly active heavy bomber pilot in the United States Army Air Forces. He served with the "Bomber Barons," which was the nickname for the 5th Bombardment Group & deployed overseas on 1 October 1944, operating heavy bombers (such as the B-24 Liberator) in the Pacific theater, often flying grueling routes out of jungle airfields. By May 1945, he had successfully completed more than 35 combat missions against enemy targets.