Siam and the U.S. signed a Treaty of Friendship in 1833, making Siam our first Asian ally. They declared war on Germany in 1917 and later became a founding member of the League of Nations. During the 1930's Siam invested in its own Air Force - mostly supplied by the U.S. During this period, U.S. military pilots were members of the Navy, so the U.S. Navy had a presence in Siam.

Siam sterling jewelry was a very popular souvenir for servicemen to purchase for the women in their lives. Its' popularity continued until the 1960's. This piece is a cigarette case, measuring 7 by 9 cm, for the smaller filterless cigarettes of the period. It is in excellent condition, only missing the elastic band on the inside to hold the cigarettes in line. The catch still works well, and is marked "TK" on the underside. The niello work features Siamese Goddesses, a biplane, the Seal of the Siam Royal Navy on top (with an anchor and the Siam Royal Crown), and The Siam Royal Army emblem in the center. The Army emblem says "willing to give up life for Country" around a unalome (a symbol representing the Buddhist path to Enlightenment), inside a chakra (spinning disks of energy or light). The Grumman f2f biplane was a standard fighter for the Navy, introduced in 1935. This engraving is probably meant to be a Grumman biplane, with the concentric circles used by the Siamese Royal Air Force painted on the wings.

On the back it is engraved "Lieut. Comdr. Paul S. Goen a souvenir from Defense Forces of Siam 15th October 1935". He must have been in Siam at the time to train and advise all three branches of the military, probably on the biplane, since it is pictured so clearly. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1916, and retired in 1945.

This is a very interesting piece of military history, telling a story of a country we in the West don't know that much about.