1944-2024: Eighty Years of Grandpa's Armband

 For as long as I can remember, my grandfather's framed Maquis armband hung on the wall of his study. It was so important to him, that when he immigrated to the USA in 1947, he made room for it in his suitcase (my grandparents immigrated with 3 months' worth of salary, 2 young daughters, and 2 suitcases, so space was tight).  I don't know when he framed it, or where he kept it before they built their house on South Gary in Tulsa, but after they moved in, in the mid-1950s, it went up on the wall of his study where it stayed for the next 45 years.

Note: Click on the images to enlarge.

Arthur Lubinski's Maquis armband.

In 1988, when I was 19, I recorded his WW2 stories, and he told me a little about the armband:

• It was intended to be an Allied uniform, but the Gestapo ignored it, considering them civilians (not soldiers) and therefore terrorists and summarily executed anyone wearing it.
• On the back of his armband, which you couldn't see because it was in a frame - he'd written his code name: Biscuit. (I found out later that he'd also written his unit - 2nd battalion, 4th company - and it also has some sort of official seal stamped on it.)

Reverse side.
Unit info is on the left, the seal is in the center diamond,
and his nom de guerre is on the right

That year for Christmas, Mom and I decided to have it re-framed with a second layer of glass on the back so you could see his code name.  So she snuck it out of his study and brought it to Fayette (Grandpa and Grandma were going to be visiting for the holidays).  Miraculously, my grandfather didn't notice its absence (by that point, he was using a back bedroom more frequently than his study).   But we didn't have time to have it reframed before Christmas, so Mom wrapped it up as is.

On Christmas morning, we handed him the gift, and he was completely confused when he opened it and found his armband.   We explained our plan and his face LIT UP, and he flipped it over, only to be a little disappointed when the back was still blocked.

Mom handled getting the work done after the holidays - the frame shop simply cut a window in the cardboard backing, just big enough to reveal the back of the armband, and inserted a sheet of very thin plexiglass between the armband and the cardboard, then put the frame back together. A rather simple and elegant solution.

Then, after my grandparents died in the late 1990s, I asked to have the armband.   As soon as I got it, I found a museum archival business that sometimes did work for the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and took it to them for reframing, this time with the intent to preserve it long-term.

Back of the frame.
Beautiful work - They even double-matted the window.

So, two panes of UV-blocking glass, and acid-free, archival-quality materials. It cost me more than $300 over 25 years ago, so it was really quite expensive, particularly given how small it is: the outer dimensions of the frame are (in inches) 21 x 8.75 (approx. 53 cm x 22 cm).   

Alas, I don't have a photo of the armband on the wall of Grandpa's study.  The room was dim, so despite the original frame not having UV-filtering glass, it was well-protected from sunlight.  I've also always hung it on walls that got no direct sunlight, and it's in beautiful shape - barely faded at all: 

Maquis armband (brassard du maquis) lower left.

Just above the armband, you can also see a mosaic I created, inspired by the armband. Except for the round plate at the top, all of the artwork surrounding the armband was created by my husband, daughter or me.

Closeup of the Cross of Lorraine (croix de Lorraine),
the symbol of the French Resistance.
Note how the ink has remained remarkably dark and crisp.

Closeup of buckle.

Closeup of his unit
(2nd Battalion, 4th Company of the Drôme FFI)

Closeup of the official seal stamped on the back. It's faded,
but I suspect the ink pad was running out.

Grandpa wrote his code name on the back: "Biscuit"
("Cookie" in American English).
I'm not sure of the significance of the numbers underneath - perhaps a date?