Boonedockers

[Guest Richard Houf]

Sirs,

Does anyone know when and where the US Navy wore the boonedockers ?.Also what which type of shoe was worn on board ship ,either the bonedocker or the oxford ?.

thanks,

Richard Houf

[sigsaye]

Sirs,

Does anyone know when and where the US Navy wore the boonedockers ?.Also what which type of shoe was worn on board ship ,either the bonedocker or the oxford ?.

thanks,

Richard Houf

Hay Richard, How are you doing? Pretty broad question there, can you narrow it down to a time period? Basically, Sailors have worn boon docker "Style" shoes and Oxford "Style" shoes since there were shoes. Both styles were worn simultaniously from the revolution to today. "Boondockers" did not get that name specifically until after the Span-Am War, but the high top style shoe has been around since the beginning of the Navy. The Navy itself did not differentiate between high top and low cut shoes until the 1893 regulations, and then only acknowledged that both were authorized. Earlier photos show both styles and high boots being worn by the same crew at the same time.

 

By WW2 the boondocker style shoe had become the working shoe of the Navy, but most Sailors of the times that I have spoken too said that they did not replace them when they wore out as they were not required after recruit training. WW2 photos show Sailors wearing Army or Marine boondockers aboard ship. These were most likely aquired through other than official means, or all that was available to the Sailors in forward areas. My father had a pair of Marine boondockers that he "found" in Shang-Hi in '47. He had worn out his boot camp issue boondockers and one pair of dress shoes. leaving him one pair of shoes for work, inspection and liberty. This would not do. He rigged some unauthorized fans in the Marine Detachment berthing and the "shoe Fairy left him a pair of boon dockers which he promptly caked in black shoe polish to darken them up.

 

Some were issued that style of shoe as a requirement of their job. When I first enlisted, our boon dockers were not steel toed. I worked on the flight deck, and steel toes were required so they were issued. When I left the flight deck and went to the bridge, I tossed them and went to low cuts.

 

Hope that helped,

Steve Hesson

[Bob Hudson]

On Ebay I have seen Navy boondockers identical to the Marine ones.

[GI 44]

USMC boondockers will have a USMC inspector stamp and a contract prefix of 'Nom'. USN roughouts contract will have a prefix of 'Nxsx' or something similar. I believe the soles are slightly different. Of course during war you'd see both Marines and Navy wearing either but, each service had their own boots with their own contacts which would have been the norm.

[sigsaye]

USMC boondockers will have a USMC inspector stamp and a contract prefix of 'Nom'. USN roughouts contract will have a prefix of 'Nxsx' or something similar. I believe the soles are slightly different. Of course during war you'd see both Marines and Navy wearing either but, each service had their own boots with their own contacts which would have been the norm.

es, All this is true. The original question was what shoes were worn when. The answer is that through the history of the US Navy. any shoe was worn whenever, tightening up the closer to present time as to what style of shoe was worn when. With a more solid time frame as reguards to the original question (WW2, WW1, VN, Seminole War, 1870s, when exactly?) of course more detail can be given.

 

Yes, in WW2 the Navy made their own boondockers for issue to those who would be working ashore like Sea Bees, Beach Masters etc. We also know for a fact from Vet acounts that these same shoes, intended to be worn by shore Sailors, were also obtained by fleet Sailors, and that these same fleet Sailors also got their hands (feet) on MC and Army shoes and wore them too.

 

Steve Hesson

[Greg Robinson]

During WW2 the Marine and Navy roughout boots (boondockers) were made to the same specs and were essentially interchangeable but for contract markings and inspector stamps. I seriously doubt if any sailor or Marine during the war gave any thought to whether or not he was wearing service correct boots.

 

Greg

[craig_pickrall]

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...?showtopic=3497

 

This link is to a thread showing both USMC and USN boondockers from the WW2 era thru early Vietnam.

 

During WW2 my father was on Okinawa during the fighting. His Army unit was badly in need of boots. He loved to tell the story of how they found a Navy container of boots and they borrowed all of them. So I guess in that case all 3 branches wore Navy boots.

[mpguy80/08]

My Father was in WW II and Korea (1943 to 1955)... I have a picture of him wearing low quarters, sitting on a railing next to a signal lamp, but when I showed him my Army Roughouts, he said b-b-boondockers!! My father has suffered from two strokes (2005 and 2007) which effected his speech center. About the only thing he can talk about that he can make any sens of when he talks is his military service. He is still smart as a whip, he just cant talk too well. I'll ask him tomorrow what the service regs were during his time in service and when each one was worn. I'll post the results tomorrow.

 

Wayne

[BOB K. RKSS]

During WW2 the Marine and Navy roughout boots (boondockers) were made to the same specs and were essentially interchangeable but for contract markings and inspector stamps. I seriously doubt if any sailor or Marine during the war gave any thought to whether or not he was wearing service correct boots.

 

Greg

I agree, during War time, items are issued based on need, & what is available in front line area Supply; without regard to what Contract, markings, or Service the item comes from (ARMY, AIR FORCE, NAVY, or MARINE). Regarding U.S.M.C. > they are a CORPS With-in, & under Command of the NAVY; so anything NAVY marked could, & was issued to MARINES (as well as "U.S." marked ARMY issued items). In Vietnam: ALL 4 Services were supplied from ARMY Depots.

[sigsaye]

During WW2 the Marine and Navy roughout boots (boondockers) were made to the same specs and were essentially interchangeable but for contract markings and inspector stamps. I seriously doubt if any sailor or Marine during the war gave any thought to whether or not he was wearing service correct boots.

 

Greg

Something to remember here is that the Navy did have another shoe that was issued in bootcamp, and worn from the 1860s to today that were black, smooth out and cut the the same hight as the rough out brown boon dockers. These black boon dockers were also called boon dockers and are still issued in the Navy today. Until the mid 1970s they were soft toe, then were made steel toe.

 

The original poster didn't specify what time frame or which style of boondocker, just generic boondocker. There were shoes refered to as boondockers other than the WW 2 variations supplied to the various services, including a boondocker style shoe issued to Sailors in WW 2 that was not the classic, brown, rough out shoe.

 

Steve Hesson

[mpguy80/08]

Okay, I talked to my father this morning. He was in the Navy from 1943 to 1955 and he stated whenever he was shipboard, he wore the black low quarter shoes. He said the only people who were required to wear boondockers were those who worked ashore, SeaBees, Beach Masters, SPs and the like. He stated the only time he wore them was when he was a SeaBee, and they weren't black, but the original, undubbed tan roughouts. Hope this helps.

 

Wayne

[Bob Hudson]

One more thing somewhat along the lines of this: the Navy also its own version of the WWII double-buckle boots: I handled a pair last year with a 1945 date and Navy contract number. And you find such things as Marine Corps style double-sided camo ponchos with Navy contracts - as with the roughout boondockers, they were identical to the items with Marine contract numbers.

[Greg Robinson]

One more thing somewhat along the lines of this: the Navy also its own version of the WWII double-buckle boots: I handled a pair last year with a 1945 date and Navy contract number. And you find such things as Marine Corps style double-sided camo ponchos with Navy contracts - as with the roughout boondockers, they were identical to the items with Marine contract numbers.

 

Navy double buckled boots? That might explain all of those that you see worn by Marines in Korea.....I always assumed they borrowed them from the Army.

 

And, yep, Navy had it's own copy of the USMC camo poncho.

 

Greg

[stealthytyler]

Im late to this convo but my grandfather was is a Navy Beach Battalion unit during WWII. He wore both Navy/Marine boondockers and Army double buckle boots. I will have to find the picture of him in double buckle but here is a picture of some of his platoon buddies wearing Marine/Navy boondockers (or are they Army roughouts?).