Air Force Museum
The 'Short Snorter'
Many Allied airmen in World War II made souvenirs of their travels by collecting currency from all the places they visited. A "short snorter" was a collection of bills taped together, often signed by friends. When buying drinks, an airmen who could not produce his short snorter was expected to buy a round for those who had theirs.
In depth
History & service
Many Allied airmen in World War II made souvenirs of their travels by collecting currency from all the places they visited. A "short snorter" was a collection of bills taped together, often signed by friends. When buying drinks, an airmen who could not produce his short snorter was expected to buy a round for those who had theirs. In some cases, the person with the shortest snorter or the fewest signatures would buy the drinks. This short snorter belonged to Joseph Wehrle, and it includes paper money from China, India, Korea, Burma, the Phillippines, the U.S., Fiji, Australia, Germany, Japan, the Soviet Union, France, Bermuda, Iran, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Cuba, Canada, Portugal, Scotland, England, Brazil, French West Africa and British Guiana.
What survives after the mission
A museum object begins a second life when it stops performing its original job. An aircraft that once carried a crew becomes a place for public memory. A jacket, letter, medal, or small piece of equipment can preserve a much more intimate connection. The object is valuable both for what it reveals physically and for the documented story that gives it meaning.
Famous aircraft and individuals can make a complicated history approachable, but they are only part of it. Many people left no celebrated machine behind. Memorials, personal possessions, unit records, and photographs help recover the experiences of those whose service was less visible. They also preserve loss, separation, captivity, recovery, and the consequences of war for families and communities.
Preservation involves choices. Restoring an aircraft may make its design easier to understand, while retaining wear or damage may protect evidence of its use. A reproduction can explain how a machine worked, provided its identity remains clear. Linking objects across collections helps fill the gaps created when surviving material is dispersed. A uniform in one gallery, an aircraft in another, and a memorial elsewhere can illuminate the same history from different directions. The result is more than a record of machines: it is a way to keep the people, decisions, and experiences connected to them in view.
