Lieutenant Joe F. Henry, B-24 pilot, shown with his "short snorter"

Creator

Preview

Identifier

20031462

Description

Lieutenant Joe F. Henry, B-24 pilot, shown with his "short snorter." A man in a dark Army Air Force uniform with a dark shirt and a solid lighter tie, a patch on the shoulder and part of a ribbon showing on the breast. His billed service cap has the insignia of his agency. Wrapped several times around his neck is a long series of currency bills that have writing in view, signatures. Clipping: "Veteran Combat Flier Has 42-Foot 'Short Snorter' Lt. Joe. F. Henry Is Offered $1,000 for Bills Showing Air Fraternity Membership. Lanky Lt. Joe F. Henry, B-24 pilot just back from the South Pacific war theater, doesn't say much about his medals but he talks plenty about his 42-foot-long 'short-snorter,' which until someone challenges him, is the longest on record. The short-snorter bill is a credential showing membership into the fraternity of airmen, and to be a holder of one you are supposed to fly across the ocean and have your bill signed by another authorized member. The bill must be carried at all times and if caught without it you must pay $1 to all present who have their short-snorter bills. Henry started his collection with a dollar bill when he flew across the Pacific in a B-24 last May. Added to his original is folding money from New Zealand, Australia, New Caledonia, Great Britain, Fiji, India, Samoa, Palestine, Egypt, Russia and Japan. He has more than 2,000 signatures. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt signed one of his bills when she visited an Army hospital in New Zealand where Henry was recovering from leg and hip wounds received Aug. 13 when his plane was shot down over [Japanese]-held Choiseul. Other signatures are those of high ranking Army, Navy, and civilian personnel in the South Pacific and stars of the Hollywood Cavalcade. The Japanese war bond which he obtained from a wounded [Japanese] prisoner is covered with blood. The 79 bills add up to about $175 in actual money, but Henry was offered $1,000 for it in San Francisco by a collector. He has been in the Army for seven years—started in the cavalry but switched to the Army Air Forces and received his wings at Ellington Field in April, 1943. After transitional training at the Fort Worth Army Air Field he went overseas in May. At present on sick leave, he is visiting his wife, the former Miss Margaret Patterson, at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. L. M. Patterson of 814 Northwest 14th.He holds the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster for participating in 33 missions with 252 operational flying hours and the Purple Heart for being wounded in action. He and his crew spent five hours in a life raft after being shot down before they were picked up by a Navy plane. Henry is the son of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Henry of Oklahoma City." Stamped: Star-Telegram Morn Nov. 2, 1943

Archival Date

1943-11-01

Collection Name

Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection

Collection Number

AR406-6-294

Original Format

Negatives, Black & White

File Format

JPG

Rights

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License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Subjects

Henry, Joe F. (Lieut.); Military Collectibles; Souvenirs