U.S. Army Air Force Cargo Pilot
AIR TRANSPORT COMMAND - A.T.C.
China-Burma-India Theater 1944-1945
This Type A-2 Flight Jacket belonged
to Captain August J. Kieser, USAAF.
"Gus", as his friends call him, was
born on February 11th, 1921. He
entered the service in 1942 from New
York. He received his training and
went on to fly C-87 "Liberator
Express" Cargo Aircraft with the
A.T.C. in Tezpur, India from
December 1944 to May 1945. During
this time frame "Gus" logged over
750 Hours and 75 “Hump” Missions
to China. The blue paint on the
sleeves of the jacket are from when
Gus painted his house after World
War Two while wearing this jacket.
Left sleeve of the A-2 Jacket, above left photo.
On the left sleeve of the A-2 Jacket is the C.B.I. patch. This multi-piece patch was hand made in Tezpur, India in 1944.
Right sleeve of the A-2 Jacket, above right photo.
On the right sleeve of the A-2 Jacket is the A.A.F. patch. This multi-piece patch was also hand made in Tezpur, India in 1944.
Left chest area, above left photo.
On the left chest of the A-2 Jacket is a hand made name tape. The name tape was written in three different languages. This
patch was hand made in Tezpur, India in 1944.
Nomenclature label, above right photo.
This Type A-2 Flight Jacket was made by the MONARCH MFG CO. under contract W535A.C-23378.
This is the display frame that accompanies the A-2 Jacket. Captain Kieser's autograph is at the bottom of the frame.
This is a photo of Captain Kieser wearing the A-2 Jacket in India, 1944-1945, above right photo.
Note the unofficial A.T.C. patch on the jacket and the privately purchased, non-regulation boots. "Gus" had these made in
Brazil when he was passing through to Africa and Asia. Also note the other A-2 with "Blood Chit" on the chair next to "Gus".
This jacket belonged to the gentleman taking the photo.
Un-official A.T.C. patch, above left patch.
"Gus" removed this patch from his A-2 after the war so that it could be displayed in his office. This patch was also made in
Tezpur, India in 1944. This is the exact patch seen in the photo of "Gus" pictured above. This patch will be re-applied to the
A-2 during restoration.
India China Wing Air Transport Command Patch, above right photo.
This is one of the other patches that "Gus" had. It is a multi-piece squadron patch made for the India China Wing Air
Transport Command. This patch was also made in Tezpur, India in 1944.
This is the inside view of the hat that is on display
with Captain Kieser's A-2 Jacket. This hat was made
by the "Streamline Company" of Los Angeles
California. It is marked "FLIGHT CAP" for specific
sale to Army Air Force Officers. This hat was
specifically made with the "crushed" look, preferred
by Army Air Force pilots. This is not an issue hat, but
rather one privately purchased by service members.