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John Conway has been working at Manion's International Auction House for
nearly three decades. Conway is a Master Mason and a member of the Sons
of the American Revolution as well as several veteran, historical, and
collector organizations. He is considered to be one of the leading
authorities in the arena of military aviation collectibles.
He is the co-author of "American Flight Jackets, Airmen & Aircraft: A
History of U.S. Flyers' Jackets from World War I to Desert Storm" and
"Art of the Flight Jacket". He's also contributed to numerous historical
/ collecting publications and militaria reference books
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Guy Manion has been involved with collectibles since a very young
age. While being raised in an environment centered around militaria,
he has also been exposed to virtually every aspect of the collecting
field – from Allach porcelain to Zippo lighters, Guy has seen it all.
His knowledge of collectibles crosses over into many different areas,
and while he may not be an “expert” in each, he possesses a knowledge
base as extensive as any professional in the collecting community today.
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Pat McWilliams has been working for Manion’s International Auction
House for 13 years. A Notre Dame graduate, Pat is fluent in French, as
well as Spanish, and has a working understanding of German as well as
Russian and other Cyrillic languages.
In addition to translation services, Pat specializes in firearms and
related material - specifically Iver Johnson revolvers and Saturday
night specials - but his collecting interests cover the entire board.
He is an advanced record collector, specializes in coins, and film –
and has appeared personally in several cult classics.
Pat has also penned several articles over the years for different
publications, including Manion’s Trendline. Many of his articles are
accessible through the “Article Archive” section of Manion’s website.
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Ken Hatfield has been a describer for Manion's International Auction
House for 5 years. He has had a lifelong interest in WWII and is the
author of the nonfiction book "Heartland Heroes: Remembering WWII,"
published by the University of Missouri Press in 2003. The book is a
compilation of personal interviews with WWII veterans - from sailors
at Pearl Harbor to GIs advancing on Berlin, army nurses treating the
wounded at field hospitals, to German U-boat crewmen. Hatfield wrote
most of the stories during his two decades as a newspaper journalist in
the Kansas City area.
In addition to his modest collection of WWII patches, Hatfield also has
a respectable comic book collection that numbers in the thousands &
includes highly collectible books from the 1940s-1960s.
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Craig Delich, a retired high school teacher of 31 years, has been a
describer with Manion’s off and on since 1970. When the company was
first created, Delich and Eric Johannson were the two original
describers of auction items. Delich specializes in German and Japanese
military collectibles. He assisted in the compilation of Manion’s
collector’s guide tinnies, which was published in the 80s and is still
in use today.
Delich has an extensive 30-year personal collection of WWII German
collar tabs, and is also an avid coin, autograph, record, and Golden
Age comic book collector. In fact, Delich is the author of The All Star
Comic Revue, a 1976 publication which was to be the basis for later volumes
called The All-Star Companion by publisher Roy Thomas.
Delich’s brother, Dave, is a noted collector of and expert on SS memorabilia.
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Andrew Turner has been interested in militaria since a young age, and has been collecting WWII US Army items for almost as long. He worked as a describer for Manion’s
from 2001-2004 and returned in 2006, soon after Jody Tucker acquired the company. Turner holds a BA in Public Relations, with an emphasis in Journalism, and has worked as a
reporter for a Kansas City area news publication. In addition, Turner works as a freelance writer, focusing on a variety of topics, and has contributed several articles to various
auction, collecting, and historical publications.
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Brad Roberts has been collecting militaria for well over two decades. While his specialties are in Eastern Block military collectibles, he possesses a wide range of knowledge including British and general European.
An eight-year USMC veteran, Roberts is also proficient in his knowledge of modern military uniforms, field gear, and equipment. In addition, Roberts is a Civil War and WWII reenactor. A previous employee of Manion’s,
Roberts has returned under new management.
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Vonn Krueger has been collecting WWI and WWII German artifacts for over 30 years. He specializes mainly in insignia and buckles, but his collection contains numerous other WWII German collectibles including helmets, daggers, and field gear.
He has been working for Manion’s off and on since 1984, and signed on full time in 2005 when Jody Tucker took over the company. Kruger was instrumental in the production of many of Manion’s early price guides and reference books.
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Ralf Gantzel has been the director of Manion’s European office - located in Hamburg, Germany - for over a decade. He is a German air force veteran,
and holds a degree in business administration and management. Gantzel also has extensive experience as a freight-forwarding merchant, and works as a consultant
for several industrial marketing companies. He is a collector of Imperial German medals and Disney snow globes.
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Hugh Mills was one of the most decorate pilots during the
Vietnam War, serving two tours in Vietnam as an aero scout pilot logging over
3,330 combat hours. He co-authored a book about his experiences:
Level Hell: A Scout Pilot in the Big Red One. His collecting expertise includes
aircraft, military vehicles, firearms, ordnance, and other military related equipment.
He attends occasional collector shows as a guest of Manion’s, and oversees substantial consignment
acquisition logistics.
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Houston Coates has been a serious collector of German military relics for over
50 years, specializing in edged weapons and accoutrements with an emphasis on forestry,
hunting, shooting, honor and police presentation bayonets in addition to other hunting
and shooting memorabilia. He is considered an expert on 1960s German reproduction edged
weapons and accoutrements, and respected as a consultant to dealers and collectors across the globe.
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David Delich was a co-founder of Manion’s International Auction House in 1969, then a
fledgling direct purchase publication entitled The Fox Hole. He has been seriously collecting
WWII German Memorabilia since 1960, with a heavy emphasis in the field of SS regalia, cloth and
uniforms in specific. Delich was a history teacher for 35 years, holds numerous university degrees,
and has contributed to dozens of militaria collecting reference books.
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Bob Chatt was only 10 when his experience with military collectables started in 1977.
He established his business, Vintage Productions, in 1991 and maintains retail shops in both Huntington Beach,
California and Osaka, Japan. The shop in California also serves as a drop off point for consignors who need
assistance in shipping items to our Kansas City facility.
Bob's expertise began with Vietnam War insignia and uniforms and now encompasses material ranging from the
American Civil War to vintage clothing, patriotic jewelry and motorcycle club memorabilia. He also functions
as Vice President of Area Six for the American Society of Military Insignia Collectors. He has frequently
contributed articles and information to the society's newsletter, as well as numerous collector publications
and reference books.
In addition to Vintage Productions, Bob and his wife Danielle are the owners and promoters of The West Coast
Historical Militaria Collectors Show (www.militariashow.com) held twice a year in Pomona, California . Their
many contributions are invaluable to our operation.
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