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Dennis Books
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Timothy Mouse 2 ... 831st Bombardment Squadron

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Artwork Details
Location: PORTER, HANK ...2 (combat insignia)
Title: Timothy Mouse 2 ... 831st Bombardment Squadron*
Artist:  Hank Porter (All)
Media Type: Photograph
Art Type: Recreation
For Sale Status: NFS
Views: 2632
Likes on CAF: 0
Comments: 0
Added to Site: 4/16/2009

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Description
This is a large Disney created patch on the front of a air force flight jacket from 15th US Air Force 485th Bomb Group. It came from the estate of a man who was a pilot in the 485th Bomb Group stationed in Italy. Famous for bomber raids on Italy and Germany, and later based in Italy itself.---Insigne published in DISNEY DONS DOGTAGS by Walton Rawls, Abbeville Press, 1992, p8. - UP DATE:
I received the following information from my good friend and fellow collector David Lesjak:
The patch in your post looks like it was made in-theater, which was not uncommon.

I interviewed at great length the CO of the 831st... Here is his quote regarding the unit's Disney insignia design:

"Lt. Colonel Dan Sjodin was the Commanding Officer of the 831st Bombardment Squadron. He remembered the impact a Disney-designed insignia had on the men in his unit:

“We were designated a brand new unit. We had no insignia. We got to talking one day. Captain Rau [Sjodin’s Executive Officer] asked, ‘Do you think Walt Disney would go ahead and make a patch for us? I’ll write to him.’ He wrote to Walt Disney and got a letter back: ‘What is your mission? What kind of aircraft do you have?’ Captain Rau told him: ‘B-24 bombers.’

By golly [Disney] came up with Timothy Mouse on the wings of a B-24 tossing a bomb. We were so darned proud of that. We went to Omaha and had 500 of those made up on leather. We passed it on to each of the men and the officers and they sure were happy. It was such a moral boost to have a nice insignia. We were the first squadron that had a squadron insignia. It made our outfit tops.

The other squadrons, those guys would walk by our guys and you could tell they saw that insignia and said, ‘I wish the hell I had one.’ The word got around fast. It didn’t take long for the word to circulate.”

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Last Login: July 2026
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