Historical International Order Of Characters Rare Pin ✈️Aviation

Description

Rare Silver Pin
Membership  was limited to ten new members per year (as per 1969 Newspaper article)
Members were mostly Elite Pilots from WWII, Ace Pilots, and Military Test Pilots
The only way to get this item was to be a member or known someone
The International Order of Characters is an aviation-oriented educational foundation which traces it’s roots to the grim early days of World War Two in the South Pacific.
It was there that a young USAAF flight surgeon, Captain James E. Crane, came up with the idea of organizing a group of battle- weary American and Allied pilots under his care into a fraternal order to be called the International Order of Characters. Each of the members, upon induction, received a private nickname known only to the other members of the Order. By 1943, call-signs such as “The Sky”, “Spanish John”, “Little Isadore”, “Harry The Horse”, “Society Max” were being heard in the sky over Guadalcanal and the neighboring islands. The “IOC”, which competed with another legendary organization, the “Guadalcanal Rod and Gun Club”, grew to nearly one thousand members before the war moved on towards Japan, and Major Crane was reassigned to military hospitals in the United States.
Notable members
Douglas Bader
Charles Bassett
,
Boom Boom
Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld
,
HRH The Lion
Eric Brown
,
Winkle
Scott Crossfield
,
Rocket
Bill Dana
,
Jose
Eugene P. Deatrick
,
Bismark
Jimmy Doolittle
George J. Dufek
,
Penguin
Steve Fossett
,
Cucumber
Gabby Gabreski
,
Gabby
Adolf Galland
,
The Red Knight
Jerauld R. Gentry
,
Flying Bathtub
Arthur Godfrey
,
Bunkie
Barry Goldwater
,
Gold Dust
Richard P. Hallion
,
Memory Bank
Bob Hoover
,
Mustang
Dietrich Hrabak
Charles H. Kaman
,
Pres. Kaman Aircraft
Joseph Kittinger
,
The Jump
William J. Knight
,
Lickety Split
Clay Lacy
,
Racey
Bill Lear
,
King Lear
Tony LeVier
,
Lightning
James McDivitt
,
Gemini Cricket
Dick Merrill
,
Old Ping Pong Balls
Robin Olds
,
Phantom
Günther Rall
Hanna Reitsch
,
Supersonic Sue
Robert Rushworth
,
North Star
Burt Rutan
[13]
Herman Salmon
,
Fish
Walter Schirra, Jr.
,
Sky Ray
Robert Lee Scott, Jr.
,
Shoe Clerk
Igor Sikorsky
,
Winged S
Johannes Steinhoff
Robert L. Stephens
,
The Silver Fox II
Kenneth L. Tallman
,
Iron Wind
Paul Tibbets
,
Big Bang
Robert Stanford Tuck
,
Spitfire
Roscoe Turner
,
The Roar
Joseph Walker
,
Mach 7