Product Details

Original 1948 reunion flyer from the 101st Airborne Division Association, produced for the legendary “Screaming Eagles” Third Annual Reunion in Chicago. This is an early piece of postwar 101st Airborne history, dating only a few years after the division's celebrated World War II campaigns in Europe. The 101st Airborne Division became one of the most recognizable American fighting formations of World War II, taking part in the airborne landings in Normandy, Operation Market Garden in Holland, and the defense of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. The division's distinctive Screaming Eagle insignia and extraordinary wartime record have made original material connected with the 101st especially desirable among American militaria and airborne collectors. Following the war, veterans organized the 101st Airborne Division Association to preserve the bonds formed during their service and provide a way for former Screaming Eagles to reunite. Historical material documenting the Association's earliest gatherings identifies its first annual meeting in Indianapolis in 1946, second in New York in 1947, and third in Chicago in 1948. This flyer was produced for that third annual gathering. The front prominently features the Screaming Eagle name and announces the Third Annual Reunion, while the surviving printed material provides a tangible connection to the veterans who were gathering together during the immediate postwar years. Unlike later commemorative memorabilia, this is period reunion ephemera created for an actual early Association event. For collectors of the 101st Airborne Division, WWII airborne forces, Screaming Eagles memorabilia, veterans' organizations, or original military paper ephemera, this is an unusual piece representing the transition of the 101st from a wartime combat division into the veterans' community that worked to preserve its history and traditions. Event: Third Annual Reunion Organization: 101st Airborne Division Association Location: Chicago, Illinois Year: 1948 Type: Original reunion flyer / paper ephemera Era: Early post-WWII Quantity: One original flyer