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USN Boondockers


TomcatPC
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Hello
Here is a pair of US Navy Boondockers. This pair was issued to Your's Truly in the Summer of 1989 at Great Lakes, Ill.
Thanks
Mark

post-2-0-22600500-1480022828_thumb.jpg

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VirtualMariner

Wow. Original issue boondockers. You really do hang on to stuff. I saved a lot of pretty random ephemera from my Navy days, but for some reason I have none of my uniform items, other than ribbons, medals and such. I'm pretty sure my original pair of boondockers did not make it with me through my first enlistment. That's some classic footwear, though.

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Actually I have two pairs of Boondockers. This is my issue pair from Boot Camp that got FUBARed in the Galley at Great Lakes and had to be replaced in A-School since they could not be polished anymore. Years later, I was able to clean them up a bit and actually wore them every once in a while, hence the insoles that I should have taken out for the photo. My other pair is packed away somewhere.

 

After I got to my squadron and was issued Flight Deck Boots, these never were taken out of my locker.

Mark

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This style came out in the early VN period, they are usually dated on the back of the tongue.

 

RC

Rusty, they style came out in the VN era, but these bad boys are steel toes. We got soft toed short versions of the standard combat boot . The steel toed shoes were not general issue. Only those who worked the flight deck (flight line) and Deck types got them. Eventually, by the early 80s, the Navy realized that if they made them a seabag item, then they would not have to keep buying them for the deck guys and every one would have to go out of their own pockets for them. Saved the Navy lots of money.

 

I loved them. Most guys did not like them. They fit me just right. When I left the Kitty Hawk and the AS rate and went to SM "A" School, I had a pair of these. They were sort of the mark of a "Fleet Sailor" to all the "Boot Camps". There were four of us, two in SM School and two in QM School. We all wore our steel toes and faded dungarees with style :thumbsup:

 

Steve Hesson

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And when I was going to AE A-school in 1989-1990 all the Sailors returning from the fleet and going to A-school wore faded dungarees with Flight Deck Boots with the rest of us straight out of Boot Camp wore these Boondockers.

Mark

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And when I was going to AE A-school in 1989-1990 all the Sailors returning from the fleet and going to A-school wore faded dungarees with Flight Deck Boots with the rest of us straight out of Boot Camp wore these Boondockers.

Mark

The "Flight Deck Boots" wern't. They were actually "Flight Boots". Us lowley enlisted deck guys did not rate them, thats why we got steele toed boondockers. But, same mentality. Still love them.

 

Steve Hesson

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I remember by the mid 1980s there were separate fight deck issued boots and separate flight boots. Prior to then, everyone got flight boots to work on the flight deck.

 

Chris

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The last post on this link shows a photo of the Flight Deck Boots I was talking about. I do recall seeing one or two Plane Captains/Line Div. personnel and people from the other squadron shops wearing the Aircrew boots as well.

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...c=74466&hl=

 

 

And whilst on the topic of boots used by the US Navy in the 1980s/1990s. I don't have a pair to show, but I recall seeing people wearing "LOX Boots". These looked like boondockers, but they had elastic panels on both sides. From what I heard, they were issued to people working with Liquid Oxygen, hence the "LOX Boots" term. I guess they were made so they could be kicked off quickly if LOX was spilled in them.

Mark

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The last post on this link shows a photo of the Flight Deck Boots I was talking about. I do recall seeing one or two Plane Captains/Line Div. personnel and people from the other squadron shops wearing the Aircrew boots as well.

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...c=74466&hl=

And whilst on the topic of boots used by the US Navy in the 1980s/1990s. I don't have a pair to show, but I recall seeing people wearing "LOX Boots". These looked like boondockers, but they had elastic panels on both sides. From what I heard, they were issued to people working with Liquid Oxygen, hence the "LOX Boots" term. I guess they were made so they could be kicked off quickly if LOX was spilled in them.

Mark

LOX boots were very popular. OK, as for the boots., When I was working the filght deck, '73-'75, flight deck crew did not get boots issued to them. We got steel toed boon dockers. Now, of course, some squadron types (I was ships company) had them, but not common. After I left the Hawk, I left Nav Air. So I buy anything any one who was Nav Air after July '75 when I went full time black shoe.

 

Steve Hesson

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Steve or Mark- Who makes the brown flight boots that the a/c wear? I have a very abused pair from VN from a neighbor who flew F4's but there are no tags! Plus, the ones I see today look alot like brown versions of the Danners I wore on patrol...any ideas?

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I have no idea who makes the Aircrew boots. From what I recall, all the Aircrew boots I recall seeing were black, this was in the early 1990s.

Mark

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Steve or Mark- Who makes the brown flight boots that the a/c wear? I have a very abused pair from VN from a neighbor who flew F4's but there are no tags! Plus, the ones I see today look alot like brown versions of the Danners I wore on patrol...any ideas?

Lothrop, like Tomcat, I don't remember any brown boots during my time in the Navy. AS for tags, well, when I got a peice of gear or equipment, I checked to insure all the buttons, zippers.zelcor were there and worked, then made sure it fit well. After that I never gave it another thought. I think I may have looked at a tag to check the size or see how to clean it, but that's it.

 

Steve Hesson

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Thanks for giving it a head scratch for me anyhow. I know that before they closed Brunswick NAS I used to see a pile of the P-3 guys at airshows, open houses, family events etc and several wore a dark brown boot. I asked one once why this was and they explained the whole brownshoe navy vs the blackshoe thing. Maybe it was something they individually could get by with at the time. I recall on patrol in super poopy weather we'd wear un-department issued cold weather stuff out of necessity.

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Thanks for giving it a head scratch for me anyhow. I know that before they closed Brunswick NAS I used to see a pile of the P-3 guys at airshows, open houses, family events etc and several wore a dark brown boot. I asked one once why this was and they explained the whole brownshoe navy vs the blackshoe thing. Maybe it was something they individually could get by with at the time. I recall on patrol in super poopy weather we'd wear un-department issued cold weather stuff out of necessity.

I think we may be drifting off into apples and oranges here. They did infact at one time issue brown "FLIGHT BOOTS" for flight crews. And, I have photos (slides) of guys on the flight deck of the USS Shangri-La in '56 wearing brown boon dockers (low cut boots like in post). What I'm saying is that by the time I worked on the flight deck, no one was wearing brown boots or brown boon dockers. Also, I do not recall any SHIPS COMPANY guys, who made up the majority of people actually working the flight deck, wearing anthing other than black steel toed boon dockers. Now, there may have been one or two who managed to somehow get a pair of the high top boots, but they were not generaly issued to non flying types.

 

Steve Hesson

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Sometime in the mid 90s I noticed many squadron aviators who would privately purchase brown boots. Eventually some squadrons actually purchased brown boots for their Aviators. I never saw brown boots issued or purchased for enlisted types. I spent 20 years on flight decks 1981-2001, hope this helps. Can't tell you what the P-3 Navy did.

 

Chris

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Mark,

 

It's very cool that you still have them. You take good care of your stuff! :thumbsup:

 

I thought you might like to compare them with my WWII USN boondockers. I bought them from Greg Robinson RIP when he got a USMC pair. I believe that he bought them from the Navy vet original owner. They are size 6 1/2 C. Adults in WWII were of smaller stature and had smaller feet. For example, my Dad wore a 7 C shoes, while I wear a 11 D's. Anyway, the inscription inside reads:

 

April 28 1943

6 1/2 C 1309

 

can't read below the above...something about a contract (number?)

 

post-70-1329358951.jpg

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VirtualMariner

I was on an LHA, so our pilots and aircrew personnel were pretty much all Marines. So, their footwear had no bearing on the Navy's brown shote/black shoe business. However, most of the flight deck workers were sailor's of the ship's company. They all wore the high top, steel toed, flight deck boots (which actually were the same as the Marine airwingers wore)...they were often called Mickey Mouse boots, because looking down at the toes, they looked kind of like those mouse ear caps you get at Disney World. Not only did the airdales wear these boots, but they were probably the most commonly worn footwear on the ship. Most of us soon ditched our boondockers for the flight decks boots after checking aboard. Some guys probably preferred the standard low top boondockers and, therefore, kept them. Mostly, though, if you didn't have flight deck boots it was probably because you were a "boot", or just didn't have enough "juice" with the guys in Supply. This was late '80's to mid-'90's era.

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Now that I've paid attention, I think you hit the nail on the head and I was crossing up two different things. After hashing it over w/a retired Navy friend who went from black shoe enlisted to brown shoe CPO then to commissioned aviator, he said the same as you. Flying boots and flight deck boots are two different animals and he himself had the black boondockers which he quickly ditched for other the boots mentioned.

 

And here I thought the Navy folks were all knots and white hats!

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