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pre-WWI and WWI service shoe repair


evets
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world war I nerd

Here's some more images in respect to WW I era, U.S. Army shoe repair ...

 

Worn out 1914 Russet Leather Shoes being burned in either Mexico or along the Mexican border in 1916. According to one newspaper account, the Army's recently adopted Russet Leather Shoe, which was worn as a dress shoe, garrison shoe and a field shoe wore out in as little as one week in the harsh environment of Northern Mexico.

 

Photo courtesy of the Dragoon collection

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world war I nerd

Company F, shoe repair shop, probably from a National Guard outfit, somewhere along the Mexican border, 1916.

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world war I nerd

Close up of the two border cobblers. Both of whom are holding, and wearing, the above mentioned 1914 Russet Leather Shoe.

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world war I nerd

Makeshift shoe repair in the AEF, This highly retouched press photo depicts the company blacksmith repairing a well-worn pair of 1914 Russet Leather Shoes. More specifically, he has fashioned, and is applying, a steel horseshoe onto the otherwise smooth leather heel of the russet shoe. it was common practice in the U.S. Army, and in the AEF, if a company did not have a shoe cobbler handy, the blacksmith or harness maker would step up and fill that void.

 

The caption on the reverse of this photo reads:

 

"Have you worn off your heels? Go to a blacksmith. The latest wartime economy is to have your heels repaired by a blacksmith. Instead of putting on a thin piece of supposedly leather, he will shape an iron shoe to fit your heel, and with fingers made skillful by long experience with horses hoofs, will hammer it into place. Several of the soldiers have tried this scheme and say that for heavy walking and winter wear, the scheme "can't be beaten."

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