Korean War USAF Pilot's Civil War Kepi.

[JCFalkenbergIII]

Not sure if this has been posted before but I ran across this photo awhile back while doing a search on the Internet. It is a photo of Edwin Hatton,Douglas B-26 Invader Pilot before a mission in Korea 1952. He appears to be wearing a Civil War style Kepi with his wings on the front and what looks like two letters on the top. Does anyone know anything more about this? Robert

 

EDIT: Pictures are lost

[patches]

JC I had a similar question, but it was for a Vietnam War unit, I ask about it two times on this earlier topic.

 

Page 2 of said topic.

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/121660-vintage-squadron-baseball-caps/page__st__20__hl__+green%20+kepi&do=findComment&comment=1109327

[JCFalkenbergIII]

I found the photo on this site,

http://jetpilotoverseas.wordpress.com/category/a-26-invader/

Robert

[JCFalkenbergIII]

It looks like the two letters on the top could be EH for Edwin Hatton and what might be hashmarks or little bomblets on the chinstrap could be for missions completed. Robert

[JCFalkenbergIII]

A little more light on the subject from,

http://www.airmedal.org/hatton.htm

The rendition in between of the bomblets is a Locomotive. I'm still wondering the reason behind the Kepi though. Robert

 

"He got his orders to got to Korea in Sept. 1951 and went to Langley Field for combat training in the Douglas B26 Invador , a single pilot twin attack bomber.He already had time in the plane so this was an easy chore. From there they were sent to Pusan Korea in Jan. of 1952 and he flew 55 single plane night missions. He earned his Distinguished Flying Cross on 4/24/52 He took out a 10 car train with a front to back attack dropping 14 260# frag bombs and then reverse from the back to the front dropping 4 ,500 pounders and then straffing the wreckage with his 14 50 caliber machine guns under a heavy amount of ground fire for what he considered a good nights work."

[JCFalkenbergIII]

So? does anyone know if the unit wore the Kepi or was it just an affection of the pilot or a onetime gift? Robert

[patches]

Since he appears to be the only one wearing this unique cap, one would say it was a personel affection right? In that link on the B-26 unit that you posted where the photo was found there are photos both of groups of men and singles, doubles of men etc, none have on a cap like his. The cap I have questions for on the other hand will be a unit cap, as there literally dozens of guys sitting around in the crowd of this 1969 Bob Hope Christmas show with that Green Sharpshooter type kepi on, just can't find out which one unit wore them.

[InvaderHistoricalFoundatio]

No Invader units wore Kepi hats as part of their uniform, ever. This hat must be a personal item. The letters on the top are most likely his initials.

[MattS]

Old thread but neat photo. I'm guessing this was a personalized item

https://jetpilotoverseas.wordpress.com/2010/12/20/edwin-hatton-douglas-b26-invador-pilot-1952/

 

 

 

He died in 2013.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/113206309/edwin-earl-hatton

[MattS]

Just for posterity's sake;

 

[m1ashooter]

He was a aircrew member before the USAF got politically correct. In theater many did their own thing and some still do.

[MattS]

He was a aircrew member before the USAF got politically correct. In theater many did their own thing and some still do.

 

I agree, back when this kind of 'personalized uniform' was tolerated. Maybe he had an ancestor in the Civil War and wore the kepi to honor him? Maybe he just liked the look. It reminds me of M-1943 field caps with bombs and unit insignia painted on.

[Finfam]

On 2/19/2019 at 6:12 AM, MattS said:

Just for posterity's sake;

 

 

[Finfam]

So nice to see this conversation about my dad’s cap. Wish he were still here to weigh in; I’m sure he would enjoy telling the story. At the time of the photo my dad would have been engaged to my mom who was born and raised in Tennessee. I’m thinking that he might have gotten the idea for the kepi cap from his visits there. ( He had a very proud Southern father-in-law-to-be.) He was always very humble about his achievements, but one thing he took pride in was that he was the only non-cadet in his class in flight school. He never mentioned being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and I learned about it by chance as an adult. We met his flight crew as kids and our families remained friends for life. We traveled quite a bit as a family with him as our personal pilot but he was strongly dissuaded from his desire to become a commercial pilot by my mother ( which he regretted ). Dad flew Mooneys until health problems caused him to retire from flying at 78 and retired to a happy life in Palm Desert. He was buried in 2013 at Ft. Logan with military honors and my son, who served in the Navy has his flag. Thank you for keeping his memory alive with your posts.

 

 

[MattS]

Thanks for your post! The cap he’s wearing seems to have a train on the front strap (under his wings) with bombs on either side, and his initials EH on top. Any idea what happened to it? 

[Finfam]

Unfortunately I have never seen it and didn’t really notice it in the picture until now- but what a great momento it would be for my boys. Unfortunately all his widow would part with was his dress uniform. I’m sure the trains are to signify the trains he hit in his P51 which earned him his medal.

[MattS]

That’s too bad, but it’s still a really cool piece of personalized headgear!