Jacket is identified to Lt. George Roger Cohan of the 337^th Fighter Squadron of the 329^th Fighter Group which served as part of the 4^th Air Force here in the United States during World War Two. The 337^th was an RTU or Replacement Training Unit whose job was to train pilots to fly the twin-boomed P-38 fighter plane known as “The Lightning” manufactured by Lockheed.

The leather on the exterior of the jacket is in good condition and shows wear from use but there are no signs of open seams or any deterioration. The leather appears strong and mostly supple with some minor stiffness in areas. The collar is correct with its two snap-down points and the lower front of the jacket has two horizontal pockets with snap down flaps. The zipper works well and is “TALON” marked. The knit waistband is in good condition but the knit cuffs are worn. The right cuff shows normal wear from use and age while the left is in rough condition. It is complete, but has a large stress separation. Sewn to each shoulder is a lieutenant’s bar made of leather.

The left breast of the jacket has a leather squadron patch with a P-38 printed at center. Above the plane is “GEORGE ROGER COHAN” and at bottom is “337^th FTR SQDN.” Patch is original to the jacket.

The interior brown cotton lining shows wear from use. The collar shows heavy wear with several separations and stains from sweat. Hook and eye closure is present. Also present is the maker’s label that reads as follows:

TYPE A-2

DRAWING NO. 30-1415

CONTRACT NO. W535-AC-27752

ROUGH WEAR CLOTHING CO.

MIDDLETOWN, PA.

PROPERTY

AIR FORCE U.S. ARMY

38

Also present in the collar is the leather tab used for hanging the coat on a hook. Lining shows sweat stains from use in the arm pits. Along the left inside edge in yellow paint is stenciled “LT. GEORGE R. COHAN.”

With the jacket is an 8 x 10 copy photo of Lt. Cohan wearing this jacket and another 8 x 10 split photo with one half showing Cohan in his Class A uniform holding a pipe and the other half showing him seated at a desk. Also with the item is a letter of authenticity and description written by a previous seller and a photographed page of Lt. Cohan’s service record.

Information gleaned from this one page of Lt. Cohan’s service record shows him serving at Lowry Field, Colorado from 6 July 1942 to 9 October 1942 as Armament Cadet Training Officer then he served as the 337^th Fighter Squadron’s Armament and Chemical officer from 24 October 1942 to 31 March 1944 at Glendale, California and then he did the same basic job for the 443^rd Army Air Force Base Unit from 1 April 1944 to 31 December 1944 at Ontario, California. At this point the record runs off the photographed page. The description written by the previous seller states that Lt. Cohan was sent to the Pacific and flew combat missions late in the war but nothing in the existing records found online confirms that.

Further research shows that Mr. Cohan was born December 17, 1919 in Michigan and died in March of 2011 and is buried in Adat Shalom Memorial Park in Livonia, Michigan.

The A-2 flight jacket is much sought after and this one is in nice condition with a solid identification.  [AD] [PH:L]

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