[Larry Hickey]

Dean,

I'm not a memorabilia collector, although I have acquired some very interesting items over the years, but for a price anything like what the seller here is asking, I'd certainly insist on a careful evaluation of what I was getting and authentication of it before shelling out that kind of money for the memorabilia of a pilot with a lot of undocumented claims for what he did. I have a hard time believing that the basic FBa would not be authentic, but that doesn't mean that what is claimed in them in terms of victories stands up to scrutiny. Very unusual for what seems like a very successful early-war pilot to drop off the radar for much of the rest of his career. There's a story there.

Regards,