Jungle Boots of the WW2 era

[craig_pickrall]

What is the source publication for this copy? I have seen a few crisp prints over the years but couldn't tell you where they are now. Do you know if that pic is in LIFE Magazine and if so what issue?

[124cav]

Mine is from a Marauders reunion flyer from the 70s,i found the flyer in a pile of papers from a MARS veteran that ive had for about 10 years.

The stock has the feel and smell of old CBI roundups if that helps

The Life article has a full length shot of Merrell wearing tall hook and eye J boots

Ill hit the scanner tonite and bung it up Friday Australian time

 

Regards

 

Sam

[craig_pickrall]

I have a complete set of LIFE Mag so if you can provide dates I will go through them and take some pics.

[124cav]

DEAD LINK 1/13/15

doinworkinvans

June 26,1944 is the issue not the date of the pic

[Steve Webb]

I am new over here and got this link from the G503 website which is primarily jeep related. My father in law was in Merril's Marauders so I can add a little about their gear. They were a composite force with 1/3 coming from the Pacific theater with combat experience 1/3 from the Caribbean defence zone ( my father in law was there in Panama when he volunteered for the Marauders) and 1/3 who were stateside and recieved jungle training. They brought what they had from where they were and also had stocks when they got to India for more training before they went into Burma. They could pick whatever they wanted and you could see pics of them in low boots and leggings/ 2 buckle hi-tops or jungle boots. They also may have had 1928 haversacks/musette bags or jungle packs. They walked the whole way so it was light packing, no shelter halves and even jungle hammocks were discarded early on, just blankets and ponchos for sleeping on missions. They also had to hack through the jungle so they had machetes/kurkis and LC-48's (woodsmans pals). Only 3,000 of them so anything you see them wearing was correct. My father in law passed away in 1990 and is buried at Arlington. He was in 1st battalion onthe white combat team in the heavy weapons platoon. His name was Henry Doallas. He was pretty active in the Marauders reunions in Virginia where they lived and then in Florida where they moved later.

[Paul Aling]

Hi there,

 

I'm interested to know whether these boots were manufactured after WWII and whether surplus boots were sold (is that the right word?) to other nations?

 

I'm currently researching the Congo Crisis of 1964 and some of the 5 Commando mercenaries appear to be wearing boots very similar to these.

 

Thanks,

 

Paul

[Okie96]

I see that no one has commented here for quite a while but for anyone reading I thought I'd add my two cents on the durability part mentioned earlier. I believe I remember reading that the jungle boots were more comfortable then the standard boondockers the marines usually wore but that they didn't hold up as well.

[M422A1]

I know this is an old thread but I thought I would add to it. Here is a cover of Life magazine with two soldiers wearing the high canvas jungle boots. The tall man on the right appears to have the top half of his boots folded down.

[doyler]

Great cover

 

Thanks for posting