A White Star Line button worn by one of two barbers on board the Titanic (who survived the disaster), plus a trove of items pertaining to the renowned American naval officer, aviator and polar explorer Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd are expected highlights in Mohawk Arms Militaria Auction #86, slated for Saturday, Dec. 18. Auction #86 is brimming with hundreds of items spanning multiple conflicts and generations, online and live in the gallery on Route 20 in Bouckville, in upstate New York. Charles Weikman was a chief barber on the ill-fated Titanic the night it struck an iceberg and sank in the icy waters of the North Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912. He stood on the deck of the ship as it sank, awaiting his fate, when suddenly the stern of the ship rose out of the water to a perpendicular position, tossing him and hundreds of others into the chilly waters. Weikman was able to grab onto some floating debris and went unconscious. When he came to, he was in a lifeboat, one of the lucky ones who survived. He was still wearing his barber coat, with the White Star Line button (which has been authenticated as period correct to 1910-12). He gifted the button to his daughter, who later gave it to one of her teachers, a button collector. The teacher subsequently sold her collection, along with the button, to another collector, in Pennsylvania. Her son, who inherited the collection, is the consignor. An aside, Weikman later served as a barber on the Lusitania. He resigned, however, in early 1915, after German submarines began to target ships in the Atlantic Ocean. In doing so, he avoided a second disaster. The button is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from the consignor. He writes, My mother, Sara, was a button collector and received the button from her friend, Miss Helen Martin, who was also a button collector for many years. This button is from Charles Weikmans coat. Charles was one of the two barbers on the Titanic. Miss Martin was given the button by Charles Weikmans daughter, Helen, a student of Miss Martins at Palmyra High School in New Jersey. The letters, photos and ephemera from the personal possessions of Rear Admiral Byrd (1888-1957) are certain to appeal to collectors who recognize the achievements of a true American hero and recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Byrd claimed that his expeditions were the first to reach both the North and South Pole by air. He also discovered the dormant Mount Sidley volcano in Antarctica. Included are original reels of films (including one from the North Pole). Also up for bid is a photo taken in April 1928 for the Boston Traveler newspaper, showing Byrd, holding a package of anti-pneumonia serum, flanked by aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh, after the two landed in Quebec, Canada, from New York. Their mission was to save the life of Floyd Bennett, who was suffering from pneumonia. Speaking of Lindbergh, also in the sale is an FBI poster relating to the 1932 kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby, listing all the serial numbers of the bills. After an intense manhunt, police and the FBI eventually arrested Bruno Richard Hauptmann, a German carpenter, and charged him with the abduction and murder of the 20-month-old. Hauptmann later died in the electric chair. Also in the sale is a lot from the estate of Dr. Frederick White, who worked on The Manhattan Project, which produced the atomic bomb that aided the end of World War II. Included is a government certificate stating that his work was essential to the production of the Atomic Bomb. Also included is a lapel badge (Inspectors Club, Big Rock Point Nuclear Plant) and other ephemera. Also up for bid will be European flint and percussion pistols, a U.S. 1820s bell crown shako, a Civil War Tiffany wrist-breaker, leather goods, Civil War excavated shell fragments with maps of locations, WWII items (uniforms, headgear, edged weapons, etc.), a Japanese WWI Adrian helmet with Red Cross cover, a kyo-gunto sword, posters and ethnographic weapons. For additional information, call 315-893-7888 or email Mohawk@MilitaryRelics.com.