jonesy1275 Posted August 21, 2013 Share #1 Posted August 21, 2013 Another two Troop Carrier uniforms have landed at my house this week. The first one is more of a grouping. The uniform belonged to Fondus B smith of HQ 316th TCG. Along with the uniform there were nearly 300 photos either taken by him or copies from an official IX TCC photographer. Interestingly, the jacket is a British made battledress blouse. Was that common? F-B-Smith-(a) by jonesy1275, on Flickr A nice British made felt Troop Carrier patch. F-B-Smith-( by jonesy1275, on Flickr F-B-Smith-© by jonesy1275, on Flickr F-B-Smith-(d) by jonesy1275, on Flickr This is a photo of Fondus B Smith. Definitely a good looking chap and tall too. His trousers have an inseam of 35". F-B-Smith-(e) by jonesy1275, on Flickr The second uniform was bought off Ebay where the seller claimed that it was un-named. Within a minute I had found a name in both the trousers and jacket plus the initials in the garrison cap. His name was M.M. Laird. It looks like there might have been wings pinned above the ribbons at some point. I need to do some investigative work to see if I can find more info on him. M-M-Laird-(a) by jonesy1275, on Flickr M-M-Laird-( by jonesy1275, on Flickr M-M-Laird-© by jonesy1275, on Flickr M-M-Laird-(d) by jonesy1275, on Flickr I hope you like them. Neil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doinworkinvans Posted August 21, 2013 Share #2 Posted August 21, 2013 Drool ....Drooollll...Droooolll.... Man those are too sweet! Maybe you could share more of your Troop Carrier collection??!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDK Posted August 21, 2013 Share #3 Posted August 21, 2013 Nice uniforms. The British made battledress was used by US personnel at times. It was not real common, but was done. JD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted August 21, 2013 Share #4 Posted August 21, 2013 Very nice acquisitions Neil. To echo what JDK said, there's plenty of photographic evidence which attests to the occasional wearing of BD blouses by US airmen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonesy1275 Posted August 22, 2013 Author Share #5 Posted August 22, 2013 I wonder why US personnel would wear battledresses when their four pocket or Ike jackets were a lot comfier. Man the wool used in the battledress is rough and itchy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted August 22, 2013 Share #6 Posted August 22, 2013 Most GIs weren't issued Ikes until mid-45. In the meantime, AAF personnel in the ETO wore either their regular service coats, cut-down service coats, ETO jackets...or occasionally, BD blouses! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricardo Posted August 22, 2013 Share #7 Posted August 22, 2013 Very nice uniforms! Ricardo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonesy1275 Posted August 22, 2013 Author Share #8 Posted August 22, 2013 If anybody could find any info on M.M. Laird I'd really appreciate it. I'd appreciate anything even speculative info. I'm hoping that what could have been wings pinned on his jacket is true. The only full list of names from a TCG that I have is the 316th TCG and he's not listed there. Due to a British made Troop Carrier patch on his jacket, I'm assuming he was part of IX Troop Carrier Command. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonesy1275 Posted August 24, 2013 Author Share #9 Posted August 24, 2013 This is a tag I found in the trousers of M.M. Laird. Is there any info that someone can squeeze out of it? This is the tag hidden inside the trousers. M.M. Laird trouser tag by jonesy1275, on Flickr Also Charles Day on the Army Airforces forum found information for a possible match on the name. NWWGPA has Marlin M. Laird (clarify; this is Marlin not Martin), O2067527, ( 10/19/1917, (d) 7/23/1999, PGP, graduated Lubbock 10/20/1944. As a Power Glider Pilot, he would have had regular power wings AND glider pilot "G" wings. This would mean he had 2 engine MOS and MOS 1026 (glider pilot) and wings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19delta-uav Posted January 20, 2019 Share #10 Posted January 20, 2019 If interested, I just posted Marlin M. Lairds flight bag on Ebay. I found this only after doing some research on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PacificGunner Posted January 29, 2019 Share #11 Posted January 29, 2019 The Fondus Smith group is my favorite, I always like seeing stuff from the 12th Air Force, as I do not see it pop up as much. I have seen several British made Ikes but I have never been able to acquire one. I usually see them with 8th or 9th AF patches, so seeing a group like this from the 12th is very interesting, especially when it comes with all the photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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