{"id":159,"date":"2021-04-27T19:15:41","date_gmt":"2021-04-27T19:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/?page_id=159"},"modified":"2025-08-19T14:54:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T14:54:23","slug":"pens-that-ended-wwii","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/?page_id=159","title":{"rendered":"Pens That Ended WWII"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header\">\n<div>\n<p>Before you read the story about these two famous pens that help win WWII , Let me tell you how I acquired them and who I bought them from.<\/p>\n<p>It all started with me buying some Marx items off of eBay, from a person named Thomas Chudy. Thomas was selling a few rare Marx items so I decided to give him a call and talk with him. One phone call lead to another and I started buying things from him off eBay and he told me that he was Louis Marx Jr. Accountant for several years. I kept asking him what other items he had and after about a month he mentioned these pens. I made plans with Thomas to make a trip to see him and to purchase some items that we had been talking about and to see the WWII pens. Within a week or so, George Kroll (my friend) and I were driving to see Thomas Chudy in Goshen NY. I did not buy the pens that day, but I will never forget the feeling that went over my body when Thomas handed me the pens for the first time. You talk about holding History in your hands!<\/p>\n<p>After returning home I could not get them off my mind, I had a hard time sleeping. I felt the pens were legit, but I knew I would need actual proof. After about two weeks of searching the internet, talking to a lawyer friend and calling a few people, I was ready to buy the pens. Thomas wrote me an Authenticity and Chronological history of the pens. Just a couple months later Thomas called and told me that Louis Marx Jr. was planning a trip from Florida to New York City to have some dental work . I did not hesitate , I called Louis Jr. up and just a few days later George and I was talking with Louis Marx Jr. in New York City. This was another one of those days that I will never forget. Louis Jr. was telling us stories about famous people that came to his house, people like General Walter Bedell Smith, who just happened to be the Goldfather of Louis Marx first child to his second wife Idella, just happened to be Louis Favorite General. He also happened to be the person to use the pens to sign the surrender of Italy and Germany and was the person who gave the pens to Louis Marx. General Eisenhower and Mamie would also visit often and on occasion stay over night.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Rheims - Unconditional Surrender Signed\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kYuvOxEXDj4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_0637.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-295 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_0637-804x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"815\" srcset=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_0637-804x1024.jpg 804w, https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_0637-236x300.jpg 236w, https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_0637-768x978.jpg 768w, https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_0637-1207x1536.jpg 1207w, https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_0637.jpg 1411w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-297 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_1283-1024x670.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"419\" srcset=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_1283-1024x670.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_1283-300x196.jpg 300w, https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_1283-768x503.jpg 768w, https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_1283.jpg 1512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_296\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-296\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_1271.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-296 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_1271-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_1271-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_1271-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_1271-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_1271.jpg 1512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-296\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Francis and Louis Marx, Jr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<header class=\"entry-header\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_345\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-345\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-345 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_0503-1024x712.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_0503-1024x712.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_0503-300x209.jpg 300w, https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_0503-768x534.jpg 768w, https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/IMG_0503.jpg 1247w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-345\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This is the engraved plate on the box of the Whal &#8211; Eversharp Skyline pen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"by-line\">By\u00a0<a title=\"Posts by Nathaniel Cerf\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thepenmarket.com\/vintage-pens-blog\/author\/cerf_admin\/\" rel=\"author\">Nathaniel Cerf<\/a>\u00a0on January 8, 2020<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Did you know that toys paid for the pen that ended WWII with Italy? Fabulous readers Francis Turner, Tom C., Gary C. and Mike C convinced me otherwise. All four of these men are unrelated and each reached out to me independently of one another and very close to the same time.<\/p>\n<p>After all of the other mysteries were solved, I never would have guessed that toys would be at the center of the story about the pen that ended the war in Italy.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1240\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\">\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<\/div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_854\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-854\" style=\"width: 287px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-854 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Marxes-Generals-287x300-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"287\" height=\"300\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-854\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Louis Marx\u2019s family sits with several of the generals who won WWII. Many of the young boys in the photo were named for after a general. Photo courtesy of Francis Turner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Enter Louis Marx. To the best of my research, he had nothing to do with the comical Marx Brothers. Instead, Louis Marx and his brother David were toy makers in New York City, when they opened their own company in 1919. Their particular talent in the early days was taking the ideas of current childrens\u2019 toys and making them better, more durable and cheaply than their competitors. They also were better marketers. Although they did not invent the yo-yo, they were the ones initially behind making it world famous in the 1920s. They and their company would go on to invent thousands of other toys, famously including Rock \u2019em Sock \u2019em Robots and my absolute favorite toy as a little boy: the Big Wheel.<\/p>\n<p>Marx Toys was one of the few companies to thrive during the Great Depression, and along the way Louis happened to become very close friends with the men who would go on to save the world from fascism. Yes, his close friends included Dwight D. Eisenhower, Walter Bedell \u201cBeetle\u201d Smith, Omar Bradley, George Marshall and Curtis Lemay. Talk about having powerful friends in high places.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-171 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Godfathers-1-257x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"257\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Godfathers-1-257x300.jpg 257w, https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Godfathers-1.jpg 461w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 257px) 100vw, 257px\" \/>Were they really that close as friends? Absolutely. Smith gladly took on the role of godfather to Louis\u2019 first son, and Eisenhower served as godfather to his second son. In fact, eight of the leading Allied generals of the war would volunteer to be the godfathers to 5 of the Marx children.<\/p>\n<p>Much the way Kenneth Parker gave his old buddy Eisenhower Parker 51s to sign the surrender with Germany, Marx gave his buddy Beetle a pen to use for a surrender ceremony. Use it he did, but before we get to that, let\u2019s take a quick look into the life of Gen. Walter Bedell Smith. He remains a fascinating character.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1241\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\">\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<\/div>\n<p>Best known as Eisenhower\u2019s \u201chatchet man,\u201d Smith is remembered as Ike\u2019s Chief of Staff at several crucial points during WWII. Although he was often tough as nails, he was far more politically savvy than people gave him credit, and he really embodied much of the American dream rising out of nowhere to become an important figure.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_856\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-856\" style=\"width: 227px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-856 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Walter-Bedell-Smith-227x300-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"227\" height=\"300\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-856\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gen. Walter Bedell Smith signed the armistice with Italy and also the German unconditional surrender. He later became head of the C.I.A.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Smith was born in Indianapolis in 1895. He didn\u2019t graduate high school, but he did attend a little college before eventually joining the Indiana National Guard in 1911. He remained in the Guard helping during floods and even as part of the Pancho Villa Campaign on the southern border. He spent 6 long years in the military as a private and then non-commissioned officer until World War I. Given his incomplete education by today\u2019s military standards, he\u2019d have never gotten very far in the ranks, but the Army needed young men with any military experience, and he was promoted to second lieutenant in Europe in 1917. Wounded at the front, Smith recuperated and earned a promotion to first lieutenant, a rank at which he\u2019d remain for another 10 years, as he also furthered his education. After achieving his rank as captain, he\u2019d stick it out 10 more years to make the rank of major in 1939. Then World War II began.<\/p>\n<p>Experience and a swelling Army made his quick promotions to Lieutenant Colonel and \u201cfull-bird\u201d Colonel inevitable, but it was his tenacious hard work and talent for organizing and co-ordinating between Allied army units that rocketed him up the ranks to become a 1, then 2 and 3 star general serving as the chief of staff first for Gen. George Marshall and then Eisenhower.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_847\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-847\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-847 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Better-Italy-Pen-300x201-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"201\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-847\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This is the Wahl-Eversharp Skyline pen given to Gen. Smith by his friend Louis Marx that was used to sign the Allied armistice with Italy on Sept. 3, 1943. Like so many other Skylines, its cap sleeve has come loose and is sliding down the cap a little.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In August of 1943, Ike entrusted Smith on a secret mission to negotiate an armistice with Italy, which would then join the Allies against the Nazis. By Sept. 3, they had signed a deal with this Wahl-Eversharp Skyline fountain pen given to him by Louis Marx. Pay close attention to the engraved gold cap sleeve and the engraved plate on the pen box! Tom C., a former accountant to Louis Marx Jr., \u00a0was the first to tell me about this pen, and he would go on to sell it and another important pen to Francis Turner.<\/p>\n<p>Turner is the gentleman who first explained the Marx connection to me. You see, he is the owner of the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.marxtoymuseum.com\/index.htm\">Marx Toy Museum<\/a>\u00a0in West Virginia, near the site of one of the original Marx toy factories. Although the toy museum is no longer in daily operation, you can take a virtual tour online, while many of the physical exhibits are on tour at other museums around the country.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1243\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\">\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<\/div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_848\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-848\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-848 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Italian-Armistice-Pen-300x195-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"195\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-848\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A close-up of the specially engraved cap of the Italian armistice pen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Turner\u2019s passion for Marx Toys is on par with the most devoted passions for pens that I have ever seen, and it was pens that brought our paths to cross. I cannot thank him enough for many of the photos in this post and the stories that go behind it.<\/p>\n<p>As we learned in previous posts, Kenneth Parker gave Eisenhower Parker 51s to use in the ceremony that brought the unconditional surrender of Germany. Gen. Walter Bedell Smith signed the 4th copy of the German surrender with one of those 51s, and he and Ike chose to give that pen to their close friend Marx! It, too, has a very unusual gold sleeve around the normal cap with its history engraved on it. The pen, itself, is an age-appropriate Vac-filler in Cedar Blue. Its Saks Fifth Avenue presentation box also has an engraved plate with the pen\u2019s history. This is the other pen Turner acquired and shared with me for this story.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_850\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-850\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-850 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Parker-51-Beetle-Smith-300x194-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"194\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-850\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This Parker 51 was used in the signing of Germany\u2019s unconditional surrender. It, too, was given to Louis Marx by Gen. Smith.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Smith\u2019s own history continued to get more fascinating. After the war, he was promoted to the status of 4-star general. He also remained an Army general while serving as ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1946 into 1948. Smith continued on as a 4-star general while then also serving as head of the C.I.A. from 1950 into 1953! When Ike was elected president, Smith was chosen to be Under Secretary of State. He didn\u2019t keep that posting for very long, but he continued to help the Eisenhower administration.<\/p>\n<p>Smith passed away from a major heart attack in 1961. His buddy Louis Marx, whose upstart toy company had grown into the biggest in the world by the 1950s, would live until 1982.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_851\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-851\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-851 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Pen-Plate-300x224-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-851\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An engraved plate on the box of the Parker 51 used to help end WWII, describes the pen\u2019s special place in history.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Before you read the story about these two famous pens that help win WWII , Let me tell you how I acquired them and who I bought them from. It all started with me buying some Marx items off of eBay, from a person named Thomas Chudy. Thomas was selling a few rare Marx items<a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/?page_id=159\"> &#8230;Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-159","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=159"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":859,"href":"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/159\/revisions\/859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marxtoyconnection.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}