Description
Black and white 10″ x 13 1/2″ ad with a picture of a full-size bottle of the Imperial Blended Whiskey from Hiram Walker’s. The headline of the ad portion says that “20 years ago, there was this bottle, a battle, and a man who made a promise”. The text in this ad proclaims that “The bottle was a standard fifth of Imperial Whiskey in 1944. Just like one you might have bought at your favorite store. Only this particular bottle became an extraordinary symbol of a naval air squadron’s survival during World War II. If you look closely, you’ll see several signatures on the label. Put there by members of Night Fighter Squadron VF (N) 101 to commemorate their survival after their aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Intrepid, was torpedoed off the island of Truk. As the bottle was being autographed, AMM1c Charles F. Brunke promised he would drink a toast from it 20 years later, in honor of the occasion. And 1964 marks the twentieth year. In a nation-wide search, Hiram Walker found every single member of the squadron and invited them to be with Brunke when he kept the promise. On June 4 they gathered at a leading New York Hotel, where Brunke opened the 20-year-old bottle of Imperial and drank his toast. It’s interesting to note that since Brunke bought his famous bottle of Imperial, some 812,339,000 other bottles of this whiskey have been sold. In 1964, as in 1944, Imperial continues to be one of America’s favorite whiskeys”.
Source: June 26, 1964 Life magazine.
