These World War II (1939-1945) “trench art” items were made by soldiers during their free time or by those who were wounded and convalescing.  They might also be made by civilian artisans or businesses catering to the tourist trade. These pieces include an ashtray made from discarded large caliber brass shell casings and letter openers, one with a hand-fashioned brass blade in the Japanese style, and one with a hand-fashioned blade that has been decorated using the age-old technique of hammering with a pointed tool. Soldiers joked that these were bullets that “didn’t have my name on them.”