Fixbayonets! Posted July 11, 2019 Share #1 Posted July 11, 2019 I was watching "The Oberg color film footage of Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941" on youtube and noticed something interesting. The color footage was taken by the Oberg couple who were stationed at Pearl during the attack. A shot of the couple walking towards the camera shows Sgt. Harold Oberg wearing a pistol belt with what looks to be a WWI U.S. marked .45 mag pouch. This grabbed my attention as I have never seen such a thing. I first thought he must have inked is initials on the pouch but after slowing the footage and pausing it I could see it is marked U.S. The photo I have posted here is what I could capture with my phone off the TV so it's not very clear. If you go to youtube and enter the above title you can view it for yourself (and the color footage they shot is well worth watching anyway). So what do you guys think? Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted July 15, 2019 Share #2 Posted July 15, 2019 Oh no thats fake.....they never did that! Cant be so. Actually I have one in my collection that is pretty good looking. I have no idea who or how it got marked but it sure looks good. This is a great photo and I appreciate your effort at reproducing it here. Ronnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baron3-6 Posted July 15, 2019 Share #3 Posted July 15, 2019 Probably someone in the Pre-War army trying to look "squared away" by stenciling it....agree with Ronnie, if it showed up lose at a show everyone would think the dealer was stamping stuff....like so many "USMC" items that show up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yp221 Posted July 16, 2019 Share #4 Posted July 16, 2019 Is it possibly a two digit number? Maybe it's a number to quickly identify your equipment amid lots of identical gear in the arms room or barracks. Either way it's pretty interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted July 16, 2019 Author Share #5 Posted July 16, 2019 I went back and watched the footage again and I am convinced it is marked U.S. If possible watch it on a larger screen TV. I can see it says U.S. as he just about walks up to the camera. So I wonder if he marked the pouch himself or if all the pouches in his unit were marked? From what I can make out from the footage it looks like it was neatly applied by stencil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keystone Posted July 16, 2019 Share #6 Posted July 16, 2019 Looks like U.S. to me as well. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixbayonets! Posted July 16, 2019 Author Share #7 Posted July 16, 2019 Thanks for posting a much better image Tim. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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