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A surprise in the pocket, it finally happened


StevenL
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After reading so enviously over the years about all the other members who've found one of these in the pocket of a uniform it's finally my turn. A Goodwill today turned up an unnamed Ike jacket with only an AAF HQ patch on one sleeve and a Ruptured Duck, but a look in the pockets and low and behold... My first prophylactic find. :w00t: A quick search and I found that Silver-Tex was indeed a brand available to servicemen at many PX stores during WW2. The Ike is still there but this little guy somehow found its way into the pocket of another jacket I did buy so here it is for reference if anyone actually searches for this brand on here in the future. :lol:

 

Prophylactic.jpg

 

My pocket find's. In the small breast pocket on the inside of a navy winter jumper Two pullman cash fare check recipt's , one dated 9/8/41 the other interestinglly 9/11/41, also a Santa fe passenger idenification slip. All in perfectly mint condidtion. The jumper was striped of insignia, but i do believe that it had to be worn throughout the war. Did this pre war swabie carry 1941 dated train paperwork all that time, forgeting that it was placed in there? It would seem so.

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shrapneldude

I found a joint in the pocket of a flea market M-65 coat once. More likely to have been from the hipster kid who wore it around Kent State University campus than from a soldier in Vietnam, but it was in the trash before I could have it analyzed by an "expert." haha

 

Pro-Kit is definitely a much cooler find than anything I've ever turned up though.

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Best personal pocket find for Rambob. In a pocket of this dress jacket found the smaller pair of wings, sterling silver A.P. Armorers badge and cloth patch laying on the coat.

 

Bob

post-299-1307024494.jpg

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I just recently purchased a 38th Division uniform with all the bells and whistles, except for an ID. As is customary when I buy some new threads, I searched the pockets and not only did I find a ribbon bar, an Expert Infantry Badge, and a nice advertizing match book, but I also found some dancing lesson receipts from the veteran who owned the coat! So, with the name on the receipt I was able to piece together much of his service record online, and even found an obituary from his wife last year!

 

I always search the pockets. Through my experience, around 40% of the uniforms will produce SOMETHING out of the pockets!

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I always enjoy searching the pockets of the uniforms I acquire. So far I've turned up a standard AAF patch, a very small Sgt chevron patch and a flyer from the US Army asking the newly discharged veteran to consider staying in the reserves after the war. Not a lot but still cool to find them!

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my pocket finds...

 

-Air Force Blouse...period dime

-AAF Blouse...insurance paperwork, transitioning to civilian life booklet, and Iceland Thanksgiving Menu

-USMC Grenade Pouch WWII...zippo

-Vietnam M16 Pouch...Used bandage, bloody in the shape of a finger

-Army WWII Overcoat...wool gloves

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Darn, that looks like the brand I still use ! :pinch:

Seriously? At your age? :rolleyes:

 

Best things I found were in a jacket with everything removed except Sergent stripes and service bars.sitting at an estate sale for $3.00. Digging through the pockets I found the collar discs, ribbon bar with PH, CIB, train tickets, hotel receipt from a hotel in Chicago and one DUI.

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Jack's Son
Seriously? At your age? :rolleyes:

Scott.... :pinch:

Makes me feel like a stud...........You know,that "Devil may care" attitude!!!

(Even though I'm shooting blanks!)

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Garandomatic

EXACT same brand as the one in the things I bought from a coworker's mom, whose father served in the 398th Combat Engineers. Also found 5 or so packs of WWII Thins, made by the Trojan company. In a WWI field jacket, I found a trench mirror and belt, pretty much the only thing I ever found, besides a few ribbons in my 5th AF 4 pocket. In the combat engineers pants, I found a chewed up match stick.

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joefriday22

I found these patches,ribbons in this Ike (not bad for $5):

 

13thAACjacket6.jpg

13thAACjacket1.jpg

 

and this condom in the canvas enevelope with the bible:

 

IMG_1199.jpg

Reedpaperwork1.jpg

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Maybe a little off-topic but I wondered what you do with these extra items when you sell or trade the jacket you found them in?

Do you keep the items?

Or do you include them in the sale/trade?

 

I need to correct myself here; I did find extra ribbons (PH in one jacket and American Campaign in another) once.

They're still in the pockets.

 

Erwin

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what I have found......

In a veitnam airforce class a jacket-----pile of usen tissue and a disney 10 year anniversary pin (he worked at disney after the war

Also in a WWII mint condition m1 garand ammo belt i found Period toilet paper in original packaging wwii vintage

also in a wwii marine veterans dress blues i found a used hanke

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my pocket finds...

 

-Air Force Blouse...period dime

-AAF Blouse...insurance paperwork, transitioning to civilian life booklet, and Iceland Thanksgiving Menu

-USMC Grenade Pouch WWII...zippo

-Vietnam M16 Pouch...Used bandage, bloody in the shape of a finger

-Army WWII Overcoat...wool gloves

was the zippo period?

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bought a VN USMC dated M55 vest from a guy at a show.He was a retired Marine and did gunshows.Had it around 20 years.Looked in the pockets a couple years ago and found a hankerchief and 1969 dated dimes,one in each pocket.

 

RD

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ThompsonSavage

I bought a late war USAAF overall once with a folded garrison cap in one of the pockets. It had a niece Lieutenant colonel leaf insignia on it :twothumbup:

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flyer333555
Darn, that looks like the brand I still use ! :pinch:

 

Well, if it is not as old as that one, you are safe!

 

:lol::lol::lol:

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Funny thing was going thru my class A's a wile back. 20+years old. Found a pack of condoms. Only one problem, was dating my wife back them and it was not the brand "we" would use...................

 

Shevy-

 

When I was stationed in Honduras, the base commander had a policy that every soldier leeaving the base would be required to take one condom (although the soldier could take as many as he wanted). You also could just show the gate guard that you already had one with you, you were handed a condom. I know that when I came home from Hondo, my wife started finding them everywhere and she was not amused. I explained that it was policy to "take" them, and even showed her a set of the written SOP's for travel off base. Maybe you can use the same excuse.

 

Cool things in pockets of uniforms? My first one was when I was in junior high school- a classmate was wearing his older brother's jungle jacket from Vietnam. I begged and pleaded with the kid to sell it to me, which he finally did for $5 (in 1978). I opened up the chest pocket on the jacket and found a $5 bill and a couple of Vietnamese bank notes. I thought that was pretty cool. The $5 got spent. I sure wish I had kept it!

 

I've found Mercury head dimes, indian head pennies, and buffalo nickels and one silver quarter over the years. I have also found condoms, cigarettes, and cigarette packages. I have also found loads of ribbon bars, collar devices, rank, and other badges in the pockets of 4 pockets and Ike jackets.

 

The coolest thing (to me) that I ever found in a coat pocket was a tiny religious statuel encapsulated in a brass two piece container. The little statue was stuck between the pocket and the canvas reenforcing on a Normandy worn jump jacket!

 

Allan

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forgot two

 

Korea ike jacket....2 very high ranking sgtstripes

WWII 4 pocket blouse......pairs and pairs of service stripes

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post-20584-1307384029.jpgpost-20584-1307384046.jpg[a

tachment=402915:jacket_p38__009.jpg]went looking threw my veitnam jackets and i looked threw the one given to me by a family friend who did 2 tours in veitnam one infantry and one as a chopper pilot i looked threw the pocket and i found a box of ear plugs from the chopper

post-20584-1307384083.jpg

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post-20584-1307384029.jpgpost-20584-1307384046.jpg[a

tachment=402915:jacket_p38__009.jpg]went looking threw my veitnam jackets and i looked threw the one given to me by a family friend who did 2 tours in veitnam one infantry and one as a chopper pilot i looked threw the pocket and i found a box of ear plugs from the chopper

post-20584-1307384157.jpg

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I always look in the pockets of every item I buy. Sometimes you can find some interesting items. I have found condoms, calling cards, money, US flags, name tapes, roasries, candy, cigarettes, suicide prevention pamphlets, etc.

 

One of the best finds I came across this weekend. I bought a small modern 101st Airborne uniform grouping (ACU's, BDU, and DCU). In one of the ACU pockets was small piece of shell/rocket fragment (IED?). There were no holes in the jacket, so I am assuming the owner may have carried it in the pocket for luck or something.

 

In the same vein, I found a USMC Desert MARPAT that had pieces of shell/rocket pieces and some small ball bearings in the chest pocket. Souvenir? Beats me.

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craig_pickrall

Another item to check closely is sewing kits. I have found patches in them. The best one was a 44th MED BDE theater made in Vietnam and in new condition.

 

Back in the late 70's a friend of mine that owned a surplus store was cleaning out a pallet load of ammo cans. You always found good stuff in them. On this particular day he found about 1 1/2 pounds of pot. It was in a big baggy. He threw it on top of a file cabinet. A short time later a State Trooper stopped by to chat. He had his elbow on the file cabinet actually touching the baggy and never saw it.

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