WW1 Navy grouping

[Fratlanta]

items are named and belonged to Harry J Gillam, born in 1889 in Alabama and living (at leat until 1940) in Lagrange, Georgia.

Based on the design of the jumper and the 2 brochures from a 1931 American Legion program that came with, I assumed he was a ww1 vet.

 

In addition to his name (or initials) some items had also some other markings (SB, 161. see pics). any idea what they could mean?

 

Finally, the pictures show some of the items before and after bleach treatment (It worked pretty well as you can see)

 

Any information about Harry J Gillam and his carreer in the navy will be appreciated

 

thanks

 

 

[Fratlanta]

[Fratlanta]

[Fratlanta]

[Fratlanta]

[Fratlanta]

[Fratlanta]

[Fratlanta]

[Fratlanta]

could 161 be a ship # ?

kind of like one these 2:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_S-50_(SS-161)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Palmer_(DD-161)

[Fratlanta]

I know there is not much value in ww2 jumpers but what about ww1's?

[P-40Warhawk]

Nice find, the #161 must be some kind of berth or laundry related number. All I could find is that his middle name was probably Johnson (if right guy), he entered the Navy on 6/21/1917, and his service # was 160-81-22 per the national archives. I couldn't find out anything about his career other than that. Maybe same person? https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=gillam&GSfn=harry+&GSmn=j&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=96244928&df=all&

 

They cleaned up nicely.

[Fratlanta]

Probably the same guy indeed

Thanks

[Fratlanta]

Any insight on the value of these ww1 jumpers? They must be harder to find that their ww2 counterparts

[Baron3-6]

WWI jumpers are all over in price based on the service history of the guy if IDd. Id start at $30 for a stripped no name and go to $500+++ to something named to a Corpsman that saw ground action with the Marines in France. Right now as a named group with no research, maybe $80-$100 given there is nothing terribly fancy here. I would spend $40 and hire someone to pull his record. It's a gamble because if he served on a ship and saw some action it'll add to the value, but if he only spent one year on a training ship, etc it won't add anything.

[Baron3-6]

BTW I applaud your efforts with the Bleach. I'm sure some would poo poo cleaning a 100 year-old uniform like that but it turned out well and now it displays well.

[Fratlanta]

"I would spend $40 and hire someone to pull his record."

How (where?) do you do that?

 

I was reluctant using bleach at first but they were in such a bad shape that I thought it was worth the risk.

I also had 3 pants for 2 jumpers so I used one of the extra pants as a guinea pig.

 

For reference : I made a 10% bleach solution in cold water and let the jumpers sits in there until they were clean. (about 20-30 minutes). I finally rinsed them off 3-4 times with cold water and let them dry outside.

[67Rally]

These cleaned up very nicely. Most of these white cotton uniforms naturally darken with time/age. The dark brown stains are more from the soap residues and skin oils than they are from dirt and grime from dirty-work. My white hats always bleached out nicely but even when stored in my locker (when we were underway and not wearing hats at all), they would darken. The only uniforms that I would refrain from bleaching are the dress whites (yours are undress) with the blue wool cuffs and flap. Also, if they have rating badges (especially if they are pre-1913 with red chevrons), then the bleach would harm the already faded colors of the embroidery/blue fabrics. Just be aware that these uniforms will darken over time, considering how much better they are at present.

 

Regarding value - navy uniforms as a whole - are not as desired by collectors as USA/USMC uniforms unless the sailor was decorated with personal valor medals or present at a pivotal battle/incident. Some of us who focus on Navy might see a bit more value in a uniform than others do. On a positive note, because other collectors are more focused on the other branches or all want to have a piece of the 101st/82nd, this means that we have very little competition for some pretty cool uniforms.

Enjoy

[Baron3-6]

Here is the service I use:

https://www.redbirdresearch.com

 

There is also a form on here called individual and unit research that you can check out for further info.