Grouping of Lieutenant Sumner Sewall, Figther Ace and 58th governor of Maine.

“Lieutenant Sumner Sewall ’20, of Bath Me., according to dispatches just received from France, on Monday shot down an enemy two-seated airplane inside the American lines northwest of Toul. Six German and three American planes participated in the encounter. After a running fight from an altitude of 500 meters to within 200 meters of the earth, Sewall finally brought down a Hun airman in an open field.

Sewall left the University for overseas in 1917, first entering the ambulance service. In December he applied for service with the American Army and began training as an aviator. At the time of his exploit he had been in the active flying service just three weeks.” As published in “The Harvard Crimson” on June 5, 1918

Comprehensive collection that was purchased directly form the family. Comes with letters between the family and collector, comprehensive research in 4 folios with many pictures about Sewall’s career, his plane, on his wing and action during World War I.

Comes with one of this uniform tunics including two overseas caps, visor head, and a pair of boots. Also, several framed pictures, his personal walking canes, souvenirs from Paris and Germany and his medals and badges. Also included his pilots head and an assortment of googles.

A fantastic opportunity to acquire the personal artifacts of a WWI hero.

From Wikepedia:

Sumner Sewall (June 17, 1897 – January 25, 1965) was an American Republican politician and airline executive who served as the 58th Governor of Maine from 1941 to 1945. He began his aviation career during World War I as a fighter ace.

A native of Bath, Maine, Sewall dropped out of Harvard College in 1917 to go to Europe to aid the Allies during World War I. Sewall served first in the American Ambulance Field Service from February through August 1917, then in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, then finally as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Army Air Service, becoming an ace by scoring seven victories.

He enlisted in the USAAS in Paris, underwent training, and reported to the 95th Aero Squadron in February 1918. He was promoted to Flight Commander, and went on to score five victories over enemy planes between 3 June and 18 September 1918, sharing a couple of them with future general James Knowles and Edward Peck Curtis. Sewall then became a balloon buster, shooting down an observation balloon each on 4 and 5 November. The only victory he did not receive credit for came when German pilot Leutnant Heinz Freiherr von Beaulieu-Marconnay mistakenly landed on the 95th Aero Squadron's airfield, and Sewall and a couple of other American pilots captured him at gunpoint.

Sewall returned home with the Distinguished Service Cross with oak leaf cluster, the French Legion of Honor, the Croix de Guerre and the Order of the Crown of Belgium.

After the war, he worked in a variety of jobs, including being an executive with Colonial Air Transport and a director of United Air Lines.

His political career began when he became an alderman in Bath in 1933. He was elected to the Maine state legislature as a representative in 1934, then as a senator in 1936 and 1938. After the latter election, he was named President of the State Senate. In 1940, he was elected governor, and served two terms. Sewall's administration was notable for cleaning up scandals in state government and passing a minimum wage law for state teachers.

After stepping down as governor, Sewall became president of American Overseas Airlines for a year, then served as the military governor of Württemberg-Baden from 1946 to 1947. In 1948, Sewall finished a distant third in the Republican primary for Maine's open United States Senate seat, which ended his political career.

Sewall became president of the Bath National Bank in the 1960s. He died on 25 January 1965.