Page 334 - 88-BOOK1

LOT 405
Massive Historic Grouping of Military Artifacts from USMC Colonel Walter Osipoff, Including an Outstanding Japanese Sword with Gold Marked Tang, a Papa Nambu Semi-Automatic Pistol, and Inscribed Mameluke Sword - Serial no. 2986, 8 mm Nambu cal., 4 3/4 inch round bbl., blue finish, hardwood grips. Born in Philadelphia and raised in Akron, Ohio, Walter S. Osipoff had a robust career with the United States Marine Corps, starting his service as a young paratrooper officer with the newborn “Paramarines”, seeing action in the Pacific for World War
II and Korea, and holding a number of staff positions,
achieving the rank of Colonel in the process. Much of this
is overshadowed in remaining records by an extremely
high profile incident that took place in San Diego in May
of 1941. On the 15th, then-Second Lieutenant Osipoff
was acting as jumpmaster for a USMC training operation,
deploying a small group of men and cargo (chiefly
weapons, per the doctrine at the time) when a cargo
container slipped out of position and initiated a sequence
of events that would lead to Osipoff being violently
pulled from the back of the aircraft and left dangling by
his ankles from the tail gear, entangled in the shroud lines.
Seriously injured and unable to be brought back in by the
other men on the training plane, Osipoff spent nearly a half
hour in dire peril until a pair of Navy men in an observer’s
biplane managed a daring mid-air snatch and grab, one man
physically grabbing hold of Osipoff while the pilot severed
the shroud lines (and part of the training plane’s tail) with
the biplane’s propeller, after which they successfully brought
Osipoff back to Earth. Needing some time to recuperate after
the incident, Osipoff returned to the Paramarines, but through
no hesitancy of his own he would never make a
combat jump; the USMC, ambivalent to the Paramarine
concept, opted to use them as amphibious forces
along with the Marine Raiders, eventually rolling both
outfits back into standard units. All items in this lot are
noted by the consignor as being the personal property
of Colonel Osipoff, a mixture of personal items and war
trophies, along with a very large quantity of personal
documents ranging in importance from framed citations
and documentation, articles about the incident in San
Diego, to mundane items like used passports, picture
postcards, bowling scores and pre-internet chain mail
jokes about the real meaning of military terminology. The
Papa Nambu bears the standard blade front and tangent
rear sights, with a set of white paint markings applied
to the right side of the frame and left grip panel, with a
tan lanyard and a brown leather clamshell holster with
shoulder strap. Two American swords are included, a U.S.
1902 and a USMC mameluke etched to Osipoff. A Japanese
sword is included, with both naval pattern and shirasaya
mounts, 35 1/4” overall blade length, 26 5/8” live edge with
sharp temper line and grain, carved signatures on both sides of the tang and gold filled “Cutting test” marks on the right. Also included
are a number of framed artworks (both personal to Osipoff and of a generic nature), a bowling league plaque, and two foot lockers. CONDITION: The Papa Nambu is very fine, with 75% of the original blue finish, with a brown patina and thick oxidization on the remainder and light handling marks. The grips are also very fine, with mild wear, and the holster is very good. Mechanically functions fine. Rear tangent sight is absent. The American swords are in fine order, with mild wear and spotting, and the Japanese blade is excellent, bright with strong hamon and attractive grain, with fine furniture.
Estimate: 18,000 - 27,500
332
2nd Lieutenant Walter S. Osipoff dangling from a marine transport plane over San Diego bay