WWII Photo of reclaimed - reissued clothing

[Old Marine]

I found this photo while surfing looking for other things and I thought this one was pretty interesting. This photo was not captioned but what I believe is going on in this photo is this is a bunch of GIs poking through a pile of reclaimed/refurbished clothing at one of the forward QM depots.

 

From conversations that I have had with ETO veterans over the years, they have told me that the Quartermasters would set up these refitting depots for the GIs coming out of the line. As it was told to me from a few different vets, when the filthy combat GIs arrived they would go down the line towards the field showers, as they inched their way to the showers they would peel off their dirty uniforms, rifles, in this pile, web gear in that pile, helmets in this pile, jackets in this pile, shirts, trousers, caps, gloves etc. until they reached the showers.

 

While the GIs were showering and shaving the QM and the Ordnance guys would have an assembly line going to sort thought all this clothing, weapons, ammo and gear, it would be laundered and repaired if needed or discarded if it was too badly damaged. Once the gear was cleaned and refurbished it would be put out on the other end for reissue to the GIs. As the GIs emerged from the showers the process would be reversed with clean gear, you would pick up long johns, a shirt, trousers, jacket, cap, socks, helmet, etc., until a clean, shaven GI in fresh uniform emerged on the other end.

 

Laboring in a GI mobile laundry probably isn't the most glamorous of Army jobs but to the muddy GIs I am sure it was appreciated.

 

Anyway, you can see in the photo that the guys are rooting through the big pile looking for clothing items they can use. Some of the guys look like they may have new items but the stuff on the ground all look like reclaimed stuff. A lot of the guys seem to be wearing HBTs. The guy on the right has one of the HBT Red Cross Personal Effects bag on his arm.

 

This is not the most glamourous WWII photo, but this might help explain why the OD shirt or 41 Field jacket you just found has 2 or 3 different names in it.

 

Let me know what you guys think about this photo.

 

Thanks

 

Dennis

 

 

[skinsfan]

some of them look a bit lost..."it was right here when i went in"...........

[doyler]

I wonder how many survived the war....

[Allan H.]

The field shower points were run by field service companies were actually officially referred to as a "Clothing Exchange and Bath."

 

The procedures for heading to a shower point were for the soldiers to form up by platoon, and drop their field gear, helmet and weapon in a somewhat orderly fashion- each unit had their own area to do this so that they could find their equipment when they returned from the shower. Usually with combat worn clothing, there was a very slim chance of a soldier getting the same uniform back that he wore when he arrived at the shower point.

 

Usually, the soldier would strip down to nothing except for their boots. The clothing would be dropped off prior to heading into the shower tent. The clothing was sorted, washed, hung out to dry. Sometimes dryers would be used, but it was far more common that the clothing would air dry. After they were dried, the items were sorted again with the items needing repair being separated. These pieces would be sent to the renovation section where the holes and tears would be repaired, buttons, zippers, and snaps would be replaced, etc.

 

As the soldiers entered the shower tent, they would get approximately five minutes in the showers, with the water being timed so that the hot water would shut off, but the cold would continue to run so that any stragglers could get rinsed off, but it wasn't a pleasant experience. Approximately 30 soldiers would go into the tent at a time.

 

Once the soldiers left the shower tent, they would grab a towel and dry off. They would then start walking down a line where a fresh uniform would be issued- a pair of drawers, socks, T-shirt, trousers, etc. This would be done in order as the soldiers would literally dress themselves as they walked down the line. Soldiers working the shower point would issue items by size- usually based on a calibrated eyeball, so items didn't always fit perfectly. If boots, overcoats, pieces of field gear, or other external clothing that wasn't turned in prior to the shower needed to be exchanged, that would normally be done at a point after the shower had been taken.

 

No, running a Clothing Exchange and Bath wasn't a glamorous job, but few things are appreciated in the field more than a hot meal and a hot shower.

 

Great photo.

 

Allan

[doyler]

I was able to do a few displays for a group of Rangers several years ago.One really took a likeing to me and he was really intrested in talking about his Ranger Days.He spoke of being in North Africa and how there was limited water and showering in the field or washing clothing was prohibited.He said gasoline was fairly plentiful and they were ordered to wash all clothing in gasoline.This solved two issues.It cleaned their clothes and also killed any critters living in the clothing.

[Old Marine]

Allan, thanks for the correct terminology and the details. That is one good sized pile of stuff. Ron, I had heard about the gasoline too, I would bet that was very effective on the lice and critters, but that had to be tough on you skin.

[Allan H.]

Gasoline and kerosene were both widely used for cleaning clothing. In fact, dry cleaners used the kerosene method many years ago. Of course, gasoline is a known carcinogen, so the practice is no longer recommended, but soaking dirty cloth in as or kerosene will take the stains out in most cases.

 

I should have mentioned in my previous post in case someone isn't clear- but a trip to a CEB was usually timed to 30 minutes per Company. That is a lot of soldiers going through a shower point in a very short period of time, but when you consider the number of companies in a regiment, and number of regiments (and battalions) to a division, getting everyone through a shower point was a major logistics triumph. Also, keeping in mind that the sort, cleaning, renovation, etc. required of the field service company running the CEB, there was really no way for a soldier to get his own issued clothing back after showering.

 

Allan