"The ashtray I got on one of my many sojourns on the Strasse. It obviously did not come from the top of the Hilton near the Kudamm.
The flintlock pistol is one from the period of 1750-1780, of German manufacture. I purchased it from a little antique shop not far from the base. It is what is called a sash or muff pistol. It has a center-hung hammer with a dog on it to keep the hammer or cock from falling into the frizzen when it was in the position to fire. It is made of brass with a blunderbuss type of barrel. The gentlemen of the day carried it in their sash or belt and the ladies carried it in the muff that they used to keep their hands warm.
When I tried to bring it back on the base, the AP's went into a modified stationary panic! Imagine, a military man with his own gun! Since it did not have a serial number, they reviewed the regs and told me that I would have to engrave my AF serial number in a prominent place on top of the barrel! CWO Timothy May came to my rescue and informed the AP that he would have me throw it in the river rather than destroy its value by defacing it with my serial number. He had my eternal gratitude!
I can't honestly say where I got the Russian belt buckle. After I got my orders to go 2T to St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, things got pretty fuzzy! After I was relieved of duty from Baker trick, and during my clearing out process, I spent quite a bit of time on the streets.
I remember waking up one morning with not much recollection of the previous evening. I do remember that I was missing most of the money I had taken with me and I did have the Belt buckle. I was always curious about the Russian War memorial and I do remember that my destination was down to the main part of town to get some souvenirs.
I made the belt for the buckle years later when I finally figured out how to attach it."
