1942 - 1945 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT DIARY OF A US MILITARY POLICEMAN AND HIS MACABRE TROPHY OF A HANGING HE WITNESSED

On offer is a fascinating, original 1942 - 1945 manuscript diary handwritten by PFC Alfred Belanger an American Military Police serviceman who reveals an interesting service record as an MP. The 5 x 3 inch flip style diary contains 64 pages of notes beginning September 1942 as they left Fort Dix to begin their journey to England and eventually North Africa but also travelling through Halifax, Bristol, Glasgow, Oran, Italy and France. Some notes are of a practical nature: addresses, a poem or song in French but most detail his life and service in the Army. [We note that Alfred's surname has French antecedents and many of his addresses include names we also suggest have French antecedents.] Some of his experiences as an MP included guarding American soldiers who were jailed for various offences but also some awaiting execution. One of them was a GI sentenced to hang for raping a nine year old girl. Chillingly, included with the diary is a 6 inch section of rope used to hang said GI. The hanging rope had been cut into pieces and every person who witnessed the execution got a section. [PROVENANCE NOTE: This group was originally purchased from the soldier's family who related that he often told the story of the hanging.] Overall G+.; Manuscript; 24mo - over 5" - 5¾" tall; KEYWORDS: HISTORY OF, PFC ALFRED BELANGER, MILITARY POLICEMAN, MILITARY POLICE, MP, US ARMY, UNITED STATES MILITARY, WORLD WAR II, WWII, WW2, AMERICANA,HANDWRITTEN, MANUSCRIPT, AUTOGRAPHED, AUTHORS, MANUSCRIPT, DOCUMENT, LETTER, AUTOGRAPH, KEEPSAKE, WRITER, HAND WRITTEN, DOCUMENTS, SIGNED, LETTERS, MANUSCRIPTS, HISTORICAL, HOLOGRAPH, WRITERS, AUTOGRAPHS, PERSONAL, MEMOIR, MEMORIAL, PERSONAL HISTORY, ARCHIVE, DIARY, DIARIES, antiquité, contrat, vélin, document, manuscrit, papier Antike, Brief, Pergament, Dokument, Manuskript, Papier oggetto d'antiquariato, atto, velina, documento, manoscritto, carta antigüedad, hecho, vitela, documento, manuscrito, Papel,