Cigarette case to USMC officer, 1927

Silver-plated cigarette case, engraved on the back “To/Lt. J.D. Swartwout/From/The Garage/Parris Island, SC”. 102x79mm. With gilt interior; unmarked.

Lieutenant Jay Delbert Swartwout, born 23 March 1893, was designated a Naval Aviator in 1922. After assignments at Quantico, Guam, Parris Island and Managua, Nicaragua, he was killed as the result of a mid-air collision with another aircraft near San Diego, California, on 15 March 1928. In 1927, at Parris Island, he was detailed as the Officer in Charge of the Garage Repair Shop.