A.E. F. ‘Trench’ & Overseas Caps

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Photo No. 173: Another pair of AEF mascots wearing non-regulation AEF uniforms, one of whom has risen from the ranks and been commissioned as a 1^st Lieutenant!

Photo courtesy of the John Adam-Graf collection

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The Overseas Cap in the United States of America

As mentioned earlier, overseas caps were not permitted to be worn in the U.S. or in its possessions abroad. In fact, trained soldiers in the U.S. that were bound for overseas duty were not allowed to wear the overseas cap until after they had arrived at one of the twelve Ports of Embarkation located along the eastern seaboard of the U.S.A. and Canada.

 

Initially, troops returning to America from France early in 1919, were also not allowed to wear any article of clothing or equipment that had been authorized for wear only in the Theater of Operations. Some of those articles included officer’s trench coats, aviator style lace front boots, Sam Browne belts, division and unit insignia and of course, the overseas caps.

 

Upon setting foot on American soil, the Doughboys arriving home in 1919 were promptly told by stateside Military Police that they had to remove all offending articles from their person before they would be allowed to leave the port!

In other cases, the returning soldiers were allowed to wear their overseas caps, as well as other AEF only garments from the port of debarkation to only the designated military post they were to proceed to … at which, they would be issued attire that was appropriate for stateside service.

 

Returning Doughboy officers were reminded of this fact in a January 1919, Stars and Stripes newspaper article:

 

SAM BROWNE BELT BARRED IN STATES

Trench Coat and Overseas Cap Not for Returned Officers

Sam Browne belts will not be worn in the United States by returned officers of the A.E.F. Neither will trench coats. Neither will overseas caps.

 

These rulings have not been issued as an A.E.F. order, but are enforced in the states. They always have been enforced, in fact, but they naturally did not greatly interest the American officers in France as long as the journey was not an immediate prospect.

 

Now, however, interest in the back home regulations has been greatly quickened and is crystallizing in more or less general dissatisfaction. One officer offers this complaint:

 

“I will be obliged to buy a new uniform, as my Sam Browne belt has worn a strip across my shoulder. If we were allowed to wear our belts I could get along with the old uniform until I am mustered out of the service. I have no overcoat. I cannot wear my trench coat, therefore I will have to spend some more of my hard earned money for a coat, which I will throw away or give to the janitor when I am mustered out.”

 

Stars & Stripes newspaper, January 3, 1919, Vol. 02, No. 48, page 5

On February 19, 1919, the War Department issued a circular that somewhat relaxed the rather stringent policy in regard to AEF versus Stateside clothing regulations. The new circular partially read:

 

It is neither the policy or the desire of the War Department to work a hardship requiring the abandonment of necessary articles of clothing or equipment that were purchased in good faith in times of urgent necessity. This principle will necessarily bring about recognition of certain departures from the strict letter of the regulations, but; on the other hand, it does not condone many of the violations of regulations that are practiced at present.

 

Stars & Stripes newspaper, March 28, 1919, Vol. 02, No. 09, page 7

The circular went on to say that officer’s service coats that were cut in the English style with long skirts and oversized bellows pockets, the wearing of brass buttons, the wearing of different color breeches or breeches of a different material, non-regulation boots, shoes and leggings, as well as overcoats with fur collars, leather coats, mole-skin coats and trench coats may all be worn by officers who are to be discharged so long as the articles did not prevent the officer from presenting a credible appearance and that his uniform was easily recognized as that of a commissioned officer in the United States Army.

 

The circular also permitted the wearing of the overseas caps by all officers and enlisted men who were destined to be demobilized or discharged.

 

However, the wearing of Divisional Army, Corp or Field Army shoulder insignia could only be worn so long as they conformed to the existing regulations governing the organization to which the soldier was a part of. Officers and enlisted men who were separated from that organization as casuals or otherwise and subsequently assigned to other duty with a new organization in the United States had to discard their shoulder insignia.

 

Photo No. 174: Until February of 1919, returning Doughboys were not allowed to wear their overseas caps in the U.S. After that date returning veterans could keep and wear their overseas caps in America, but only if they were certain to be discharged from military service. Here’s what the Star and Stripes newspaper had to say about that matter:

 

REAL SOUVENIR HERE

The overseas cap, which has (not) protected its wearers from the rains of sunny France and the suns and snows and sleets all over the A.E.F., will be permitted to remain the official headgear of the returning troops after they get back to the states.

 

An order permitting the retention of this piece of Q.M. issue has been announced recently in a cablegram from Washington to the Chief-of-Staff of the A.E.F.

 

Officers not intending to remain in the service, the cable further states, will be permitted to wear trench-coats but the Sam Browne or Liberty Belt still remains taboo, according to the War Department.

 

Stars & Stripes newspaper, January 10, 1919

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U.S. Army Overseas Cap Insignia

French Numerals & Letters

Photo No.175: Late in 1917, when the Doughboys swapped their campaign hats for foreign made trench caps, the War Department, the U.S. Army and the AEF had not given any thought as to what, if any insignia would be worn on that form of provisional AEF headgear.

 

In the absence of any formal Army or AEF regulations the American Doughboys mimicked the French Piolu and took to wearing French manufactured, stamped brass regimental numbers on their trench caps.

 

Here two examples of the French Modele 1918 Bonnet de Police as worn by soldiers of the 33^rd Division’s 133^rd Infantry Regiment and the 2^nd Division’s 2^nd Ammunition Train both bear the respective regimental number.

 

Photos courtesy of Bay State Militaria.com

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Photo No. 176: From left to right, French style numerals as worn by Doughboys of the 7^th Infantry Division, 104^th Infantry Regiment, 26^th Division, and the 162^nd Infantry Regiment of the 42^nd Division. In this case, his cap also bears the company letter of ‘L’.

Left & right hand photos courtesy of the John Adam-Graf collection

Center photo courtesy of Brennan Gauthier, Portraits of War.wordpress.com

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Photo No. 177: Two images of ‘Regulars’ from the 1^st Division’s 18^th Infantry Regiment. Both soldier’s wear olive drab Modele 1918 Bonnets de Police adorned with French regimental numerals – one of which also bears a French made (?) collar disc. The inset is of a French or U.S. made pinback number ‘18’ insignia.

 

Center photos courtesy of Bay State Militaria.com

Right hand photo courtesy of the National World War I Museum

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Photo No. 178: Members of the 18^th Infantry Regiment and the 15^th Squadron, Signal Corps all of whom are wearing French Modele 1918 Bonnets de Police with French style regimental numerals.

 

Left hand photo courtesy of the National World War I Museum

Right hand photo courtesy of the John Adam-Graf collection

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Photo No. 179: All but the upper center and lower right numerals appear to be French made. The top center numeral, I believe to be British made, and the lower right hand numeral could be U.S. made due to its lack of serifs*.

 

*A serif is a small line, stroke or decorative flourish that finished off either a letter or a number.

 

Most French made numerals were stamped with either a false bullion embroidery pattern such as the numerals ‘6’ and ‘5’. Others had a smooth finish like numbers ‘5’, ‘89’ and ‘13’. French made numerals typically all had rounded serifs. British numerals however always featured a smooth finish and had curving serifs that ended in a point, like numeral ‘107’.

 

Clockwise from upper left, the numerals likely represented the 5^th Marine Regiment (2^nd Division), 107^th Infantry Regiment (27^th Division), 89^th Company (USMC), 13^th Marine Regiment, a pair of random loose numerals, and the 18^th Infantry Regiment (1^st Division).

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Photo No. 180: These Yanks wearing a Modele 1918 Bonnet de Police, British contract overseas cap, and a Modele 1915 Bonnet de Police have all pinned French made numerals representing the 167^th Infantry Regiment and the 42^nd Division (left), the 3^rd Pioneer Infantry Regiment (center), and the 16^th Engineer Regiment – Railroad (right) onto their caps.

Photos courtesy of the John Adam-Graf collection

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Photo No. 181: More French made numerals representing the 542^nd Supply Company (Quartermaster Corps), 26^th Infantry Division, and the 228^th Escort Company. Escort companies were charged with escorting German POWs from the temporary divisional holding pens back to the permanent POW camps located in the base sections of the AEF.

 

Center & left photos courtesy of the John Adam-Graf collection

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Photo No. 182: At top are French made letters for a machine gun company and for Company E. The lower insignia is the acronym QOR, which represents the Canadian Queens Own Rifles Regiment. Why this insignia was worn on a U.S. pattern overseas cap remains a mystery, unless the Doughboy who originally owned it was seconded to that division in one capacity or another.

 

The photo at right is of a member of the 6^th Infantry Division. His cap bears either the letters ‘S’ and ‘L’ or the number ‘5’ and the letter ‘L’. At the time of posting I have no idea what those two combinations might mean.

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Photo No. 183: French made numerals were typically fixed to the caps by means of prongs (lower left) and pins (lower right). British and Canadian insignia however, were generally secured to the caps by a cotter type pin (center).

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Officers’ Branch of Service Piping

Photo No. 184: When the regulation U.S. made overseas cap was adopted in January of 1918, the only authorized insignia was the color of the branch of service, and was to be worn only on the officers’ overseas cap. The insignia was to be in the form of piping along the upper edge of the shawl in the color of the branch of service in which the officer served.

 

The officers’ piping was described thusly in paragraph eight of AEF General Order No. 7, dated January 9, 1918:

 

8. For officers, the cap will be the same model as that worn by soldiers, but the material will be similar to that of the officer’s uniform. For officers other than general officers, the stiffening at the edge of the flap to be of the same color as the arms of the service to which the officer belongs, as indicated in Special Regulations No. 42, “Specifications for the Uniform of the United States Army, 1917”, and to project far enough above the edge of the flap to give the appearance of piping when the cap is worn with the flap up. For general officers, the stiffening to be the same color as the cloth of the cap, with a strip of gold braid 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch inch from the outside of the flap. These caps will be sold by the Quartermaster Corps to officers.

 

No other insignia, including officer’s rank insignia and the enlisted men’s collar discs was authorized.

 

At left and right respectively, are the two most commonly encountered colors of piping: scarlet for artillery and light blue for infantry. In the center is yet another one of Captain Wallace Morgan’s sketches. This one being of an AEF infantry officer whose cap was to have been piped in light blue.

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Photo No. 185: From left to right, these officers are wearing a U.S pattern Overseas Cap, French 1918 Bonnet de Police, and a British pattern Field Service Cap. Each cap is presumably piped in the appropriate branch color. The piping on the left and center caps circumnavigate the top of each cap’s shawl. The piping on the right hand cap however, has only been placed on the upper edge of the small visor at the front of the RFC style cap.

 

Right & Center photos courtesy of the National World War I Museum

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Photo No. 186: At right is a closer view of the piping on the visor of an artillery officer’s British style field cap. Opposite, it appears as if an enlisted man’s orange and white braided hatcord has been used to pipe the visor of this Field Service Cap worn by an officer of the Signal Corps.

Left hand photo courtesy of the National World War I Museum

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Photo No. 187: This pair of U.S. pattern overseas caps have been piped with a narrow strip of lace and twin beads of narrow piping in gold bullion as prescribed for general officers’. Note that that the shawl of each officer’s tailor made cap overlaps from a opposite direction.

Photos courtesy of the National World War I Museum

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In January of 1918, the following colors of piping were authorized for officers’ overseas caps …

 

Photo No. 188: Adjutant General’s Department: Dark blue piping.

Right hand photo courtesy of Bay State Militaria.com

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Photo No. 189: Artillery and Coast Artillery Corps – Scarlet Piping

Left hand photo courtesy of the John Adam-Graf collection

Right hand photo courtesy of Griffin Militaria.com

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Photo No. 190: Cavalry – Yellow Piping

Photo courtesy of the National World War I Museum

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Photo No. 191: Chaplains – Black Piping

 

Left hand photo courtesy of the John Adam-Graf collection

Right hand photo courtesy of Griffin Militaria.com

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Photo No. 192: Corps of Engineers – Scarlet and White Piping

 

Left hand photo courtesy of Brennan Gauthier, Portraits of War.wordpress.com

Right hand photo courtesy of Griffin Militaria.com

 

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Photo No. 193: General Officers – Gold Bullion piping

Left hand photo courtesy of the National World War I Museum

Right hand photo courtesy of Griffin Militaria.com

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Photo No. 194: Infantry – Light Blue Piping

 

Left hand photo courtesy of the John Adam-Graf collection

Right hand photo courtesy of Griffin Militaria.com

 

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Photo No. 195: Inspector General’s Department – Wore dark blue piping until the piping color was changed to dark blue and white piping on July 17, 1918.

Photo courtesy of the National World War I Museum

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Photo No. 196: Judge Advocate’s Department – Wore dark blue piping until the piping color was changed to dark blue and light blue piping on July 17, 1918.

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Photo No. 197: Medical Department – Maroon Piping

 

Left hand photo courtesy of the 338^th RTC collection

Right hand photo courtesy of Griffin Militaria.com