- Posts
- 17
- Likes
- 28
Jim Thoma
·It was an Omega Swiss 15 Jewels, Serial Number 9897914. The case is inscribed Acier Inoxydable for stainless steel and with a case number of 2329 or 2319. There is so much that I know about it and so very little.
It came from a box of possessions of Captain James Donald McQuigg, the son of a poor farmer; but a mind that embraced science and math. After many trials and tribulations he graduated from college. But in November of 1941 he enlisted in the US Air Force. But had to take the unwanted job of a high school science teacher before he was assigned a position in the US Air Force.
But back is 1939 this Omega watch SN 9897914 had just been made. The same year that Jim entered college at Mt Vernon, Iowa. It was in 1942 the the USAF sent him to the university in Chicago where he studied meteorology. After that he was send to New Mexico and later North Carolina where he learned the practicalities of forecasting the weather and the ways of life in the Air Force. Finally in 1943 he was sent to England to help form the 21st Weather Squadron.
And the case number 2319 implies that this watch case was made in 1943 and united with a 1939 movement. At least that what my research implies. Can anyone provide more information?
Jim wore that mongrel Omega watch when the 21st Weather Squadron gave Eisenhower the nod for favorable weather on D-Day. And after the first waves successfully assaulted the Normandy coast, he and his new watch followed; forecasting the weather for the US Air Force pilots. He trudged across France and waved at the pretty girls in Paris. I think the watch must have ticked a few heartbeats faster when he became part of the Battle of the Bulge. And his mongrel watch must have died when he and his two man detached weather squad entered a newly deserted concentration camp.
But he and the watch came home. He wore the watch on his wedding day. And served him again when he was called to active service during the Korean War. He went on to obtain his pHD in Meteorology and Climatologist and became a noted man in his chosen field. But I think he always loved that mongrel watch. He was too poor own one in his youth. His mother gave birth to her last child on Jim's high school graduation day. And he always loved his sister but told his mother that he would rather just had a watch for his graduation present.
Can any one tell me more about the watch? It no longer runs having sat in a box for 35 years. So how much might it cost to get running?
It came from a box of possessions of Captain James Donald McQuigg, the son of a poor farmer; but a mind that embraced science and math. After many trials and tribulations he graduated from college. But in November of 1941 he enlisted in the US Air Force. But had to take the unwanted job of a high school science teacher before he was assigned a position in the US Air Force.
But back is 1939 this Omega watch SN 9897914 had just been made. The same year that Jim entered college at Mt Vernon, Iowa. It was in 1942 the the USAF sent him to the university in Chicago where he studied meteorology. After that he was send to New Mexico and later North Carolina where he learned the practicalities of forecasting the weather and the ways of life in the Air Force. Finally in 1943 he was sent to England to help form the 21st Weather Squadron.
And the case number 2319 implies that this watch case was made in 1943 and united with a 1939 movement. At least that what my research implies. Can anyone provide more information?
Jim wore that mongrel Omega watch when the 21st Weather Squadron gave Eisenhower the nod for favorable weather on D-Day. And after the first waves successfully assaulted the Normandy coast, he and his new watch followed; forecasting the weather for the US Air Force pilots. He trudged across France and waved at the pretty girls in Paris. I think the watch must have ticked a few heartbeats faster when he became part of the Battle of the Bulge. And his mongrel watch must have died when he and his two man detached weather squad entered a newly deserted concentration camp.
But he and the watch came home. He wore the watch on his wedding day. And served him again when he was called to active service during the Korean War. He went on to obtain his pHD in Meteorology and Climatologist and became a noted man in his chosen field. But I think he always loved that mongrel watch. He was too poor own one in his youth. His mother gave birth to her last child on Jim's high school graduation day. And he always loved his sister but told his mother that he would rather just had a watch for his graduation present.
Can any one tell me more about the watch? It no longer runs having sat in a box for 35 years. So how much might it cost to get running?
