Skysoldier80 Posted May 14, 2019 Share #1 Posted May 14, 2019 So this past weekend, I was going through my Great Uncle's stuff (have another posting on him here) and saw this strange colored Uniform Shirt. It was almost a Pine Green. I am thinking it was custom made, but I took a photo of it next to one of his issue ones. Any thoughts are welcomed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BILL THE PATCH Posted May 14, 2019 Share #2 Posted May 14, 2019 Maybe CCC ? Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iron bender Posted May 14, 2019 Share #3 Posted May 14, 2019 I agree with Bill. Any chance he served with CCC before military service? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted May 14, 2019 Share #4 Posted May 14, 2019 A lot of GIs dyed shirt and trousers after the war and continued to wear them as civilian attire, not sure if this is CCC or re-purposed post-war. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted May 14, 2019 Share #5 Posted May 14, 2019 Did he serve in Italy and was he USAAF or was this your great uncle who was Airborne? Does the shirt show any stains from where it was dyed? I have one that is a similar color from a 15th Air Force vet and yours is the 3rd one that I have seen in this color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skysoldier80 Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share #6 Posted May 14, 2019 No He was not with the Civilian Conservation Corps. He was a car loader before the war and sold cars after the war. To answer someone else's question, This is my Great Uncle whom we presume was Airborne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skysoldier80 Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share #7 Posted May 14, 2019 I did not see any dye stains, but it did feel different than the same issue shirt. I never thought that it could be dyed; that could be the case. With regards to wearing post-war, I don't believe that was the case because this was in a cedar box in the living area where I found four shirts (only one this color), 8x military ties, 4x pairs of military trousers, 2x sweaters, 1x pair of wool inserts, overseas hat, and some dress socks (military issue) . There is another Cedar box in the attic that i think will have more goodies. Overall the color of the shirt was quite interesting. Did he serve in Italy and was he USAAF or was this your great uncle who was Airborne? Does the shirt show any stains from where it was dyed? I have one that is a similar color from a 15th Air Force vet and yours is the 3rd one that I have seen in this color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USARV72 Posted May 14, 2019 Share #8 Posted May 14, 2019 Immediately after WWII regular clothing was hard to find. Many GI’s and their wives modified uniforms for everyday wear. Many “ Pinks” trousers were cut up for womens skirts, had one 30 some years ago from 29th ID officers widow. IIRC there was a thread about these clothes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted May 14, 2019 Share #9 Posted May 14, 2019 Immediately after WWII regular clothing was hard to find. Many GI’s and their wives modified uniforms for everyday wear. Many “ Pinks” trousers were cut up for womens skirts, had one 30 some years ago from 29th ID officers widow. IIRC there was a thread about these clothes? I believe most textile manufacturing was producing for the war effort hence the shortage of civilian clothing when millions of GIs returned from overseas. From what I've heard, GI clothes were put into a large vat so the whole thing got dyed at once. Easiest way to tell, if there are labels that are the same color as the shirt, it's been dyed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skysoldier80 Posted May 14, 2019 Author Share #10 Posted May 14, 2019 I will not be able to relook this shirt until the next time I head to Missouri, however, I will look for dyed tags. At the end, this has been a very informative topic with everyone's responses. I believe most textile manufacturing was producing for the war effort hence the shortage of civilian clothing when millions of GIs returned from overseas. From what I've heard, GI clothes were put into a large vat so the whole thing got dyed at once. Easiest way to tell, if there are labels that are the same color as the shirt, it's been dyed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamecharles Posted May 15, 2019 Share #11 Posted May 15, 2019 In my opinion was dyed after war for civilian use, if you check close the wire used to sewn the pockets and details still lighter than the rest of the shir, classic ''sign'' of a dyed uniform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skysoldier80 Posted May 15, 2019 Author Share #12 Posted May 15, 2019 Thanks for info from everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted May 18, 2019 Share #13 Posted May 18, 2019 Here is my re-dyed example, which is a little darker when seen in-hand. This came from an officer who was a pilot with the 15th Air Force before he was wounded and transferred back to the U.S. One thing that I have noted is how close the colors are of these re-dyed shirts. It makes me think they were either dyed at the same location or instructions were published on what mix to use to re-dye as they seem to have that CCC shade of green. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted May 18, 2019 Share #14 Posted May 18, 2019 Here is another photo of the same shirt that provides a better idea of the color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted May 18, 2019 Share #15 Posted May 18, 2019 bbmilitaria posted a similar re-dyed shirt a few years ago. http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/66696-odd-green-dyed-wwii-wool-field-shirt/?hl=dyed&do=findComment&comment=485262 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nkomo Posted May 18, 2019 Share #16 Posted May 18, 2019 Is it possible this could have been dyed green for OPFOR use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted May 18, 2019 Share #17 Posted May 18, 2019 checkit posted an example from another Italy vet. http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/47832-forest-green-uniform-shirt-trousers/?hl=dyed&do=findComment&comment=367488 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted May 18, 2019 Share #18 Posted May 18, 2019 Is it possible this could have been dyed green for OPFOR use? That was theory put forward in checkit's thread. I just don't understand why a B-24 pilot would be part of an aggressor/opfor group. Also for WWII, I thought it was the normal practice to use colored armbands or something similar to designate red versus blue forces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nkomo Posted May 19, 2019 Share #19 Posted May 19, 2019 Could it have been a post-war OPFOR thing? I swear I've seen that color green on OPFOR clothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted May 19, 2019 Share #20 Posted May 19, 2019 Could it have been a post-war OPFOR thing? I swear I've seen that color green on OPFOR clothing. I dont know about the others shown here but the vet who wore the one in my collection was discharged in 1945 and did not serve again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted May 19, 2019 Share #21 Posted May 19, 2019 I have an Ike dyed in the same color. I agree the color is very similar to the OPFOR shirt, but these shirts are often found in the groupings of WW2 vets. I still feel the "dyed for civilian use post-war" is the simplest explanation. I imagine that GI wool shirts and green dye were both plentiful and cheap in 1945. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nkomo Posted May 19, 2019 Share #22 Posted May 19, 2019 I have an Ike dyed in the same color. I agree the color is very similar to the OPFOR shirt, but these shirts are often found in the groupings of WW2 vets. I still feel the "dyed for civilian use post-war" is the simplest explanation. I imagine that GI wool shirts and green dye were both plentiful and cheap in 1945. I'm glad someone else knows what I'm talking about with the color. LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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