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Thanks, Jerry. I think close enough might be the answer as well! Here's the ashtray I mentioned. Pretty common - I think Ryan stamped-out a gazillion of them.

Maybe? Apparently this is listed in Joseph Torelli’s “Visor Hats of the United States Armed Forces 1930-1950” pg. 51. I’ve never read that resource before.

The proper way to see the DG is with a mirror. The logo is inverted. Marv

I forgot I posted this years ago. Some people much smarter than I posted some info relating to the recipient.

Just found a fantastic, much clearer shot. Man that girl is adorable who's at about 11 o'clock behind his head😍

I think these are English made, but not from WWII. I had a nice named USAF uniform from the 1960's that had the same type of wings. P

OV-1 or UH-1 Survival kit? This was an early purchase of mine, which is now long gone. I happened to be going through and attempting to organize my photographic records when I ran across it again. It is an incomplete OV-1 marked survival kit with frypan insert and nylon zippered case that contained most of its original components. It came from a non-collector source so I feel the components were not tampered with. One thing that I always found interesting was the survival rations were packed in heavy clear plastic bags that were heat sealed. Their contents were the same as the standard General Purpose GP survival rations of the era. Granola / cereal bars, soup, etc. I suppose the rationale was the plastic bag would be easier to open then a can. Has anyone seen this variation of the GP? The other thing I found interesting was the content list that came in the kit. It was listed as for OV-1 aircraft at the top of the list and UH-1 at the bottom. As you see the zipper case is marked for an OV-1 aircraft. Do you think these kits may have been assembled and used in both the Huey as well as the OV-1 at least by this unit? Your thoughts? Cheers

Awesome, thx Jerry!

My guess is Air Service Signal Corps

The upper insignia are standard officer US pins, the lower ones are metal versions of the "camp shows" patch.

Hi all, In November I'll be traveling through Texas and Tennessee. Next will be driving up north to Philadelphia to meet up with friends and family. Does anyone have any tips for antique shops, surplus shops, dealers or shows in Texas and Tennessee? We'll be going through Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Ft. Worth, Dallas in Texas. For Tennessee it'll be Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga and Gatlinburg. However the itinerary can change as we are on the go. Any tips are more then welcome!

That's great to know, thanks Kurt... What do you make of the appearance of two sets on his labels? Would they have been regular office "US" insignias?

Super nice group Kurt. Was he a TMU guy who ended up in the Reserve Mallet?

Thank you both for your information. I'll do some more research and see if I can find out what the "Type II" means. God bless! Mark

I checked Ebay just now and couldn't find an original. Perhaps $20 to $30 for a fully embroidered US-made example? They are by no means scarce.

Sorry for starting a new thread, for some reason when browsing I could find that one you linked...

This grainy photo of Sinatra and Silvers seems to show two sets of lapel insignia??

Man that bullion version is outstanding! What do original examples usually run?

Yes looking to do a male impression, thx for the reference! Period photos I found were too blurry...

I think they pretty much wore Army "officer" uniforms with the appropriate USO patches. Private purchase, just like the Army officers. Worn on the OS cap Lapel Pins Assuming you are looking for male uniforms? The book Dressed for Duty, Vol 2, by Jill Halcomb Smith, covers the women's USO uniforms. Insignia is the same for both.

I paid $800 for this grouping about 15 years ago. At the time, I had to question myself as to whether or not I was crazy. Prior to to that, my top cost of a VM was about $50. But I figured this was probably the only opportunity I would ever have to obtain a 10 bar VM. And attributed in the box . Looking back, I think paying that price was a good move.

2195 is the serial number so it was made in late 1873 or early 1874. Probably not at Little Big Horn, but you never know. Found about 120-130 miles from battlefield. Not much for records of serial numbers. Finally teased it open , not loaded. I believe an elk hunter came upon a thourghly rusted and stock rotted gun lying in the mountains. Most parts too gone but he picked up the barrel and ring as a novelty. Didn’t take too long carrying that as you try to hunt before he decided to just set it against a tree and leave. Maybe years later a father in law was hunting and saw it. Nothing else around as other parts but he actually carried it out. Kept it for a while then gave it to his son in law. He kept it for a while then decided he wasn’t going to do anything with it and gave it to me. I bought old parts and pieces at a gun show in Bozeman MT about 25 years ago and a rough reject stock blank. Moved 5 more times, TX, SD, ME. MA and then AR. Finally got around to putting it together.

Here is an example I have of the overseas cap. Note that the "piping" is the same color as the cap itself - material chocolate gaberdine material. Like this example, most USO uniforms came from Saks Fifth Ave of NYC. As an actual USO overseas cap with this type piping is probably hard to find, I would recommend buying an inexpensive early 1950's unpiped US Army EM overseas cap and then sewing on a rather easy to find full embroidered USO patch. That will be "close enough" for an impression. Pretty good thread on this subject that should tell you all you need to know.

I too have very fond memories of those days where an ‘expensive’ Victory Medal was something with 5, or even 6 Claps, & they would sell for around $20 or so depending upon condition. I still have the Letter the late Al Gleim sent me when I inquired with him about my above mentioned Group. Without going into this Group’s Notebook to confirm, I recall he stated that it might bring around $180 or so, & probably more if it had the Certificates along with it. And as we know now, a WW1 SSM w/ OLC, PHM, 5 Clasp Victory w/ the proper 2 Citation Stars, plus a few related Medals would most assuredly bring well over $180 these days !! But, we also know that the ultimate value, & actual selling price is what someone who really wants it is willing to pay out. I will say one thing though., someone is probably a very happy Collector today, even at the price it went for !! Best, Dom

Thanks @haw68 Heath for the correction. Always insightful!