General Curtis E. LeMay hat

[dskjl]

thoughts?

 

[dskjl]

inside

 

[renfield]

The one thing I am sure of is at the time this hat was part of a uniform there was a separate Air Force. The U.S. Army Air Force no longer existed. One small detail, but if it was a donation for charity who can be sure. If actually tied to Gen. Lemay it is an awsome piece.

[dskjl]

Agreed on the old label in the 70's hat, pretty cool just wondering if it's legit and what it's really worth?

[dskjl]

I do like the silver embossed name on the sweatband.

[hbtcoveralls]

There has been a known faker selling hats on E-Bay such as one supposedly belonging to Ira Eaker with embossing on the sweatband exactly like that

 

I don't think this one is passing the smell test for me

 

Tom Bowers

[hbtcoveralls]

Here's the thread discussing this

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/182566-fake-uniforms-and-hats-to-patton-eaker-pyle-stewart-and-more/?hl=%2Bira+%2Beaker+%2Bhat

[Dave]

I seem to remember this hat (or another one of his?) being discussed before. Personally, I don't like this one. If I saw it on a guy's table at a show for $500 (which would be a bargain) I'd pass on it...too many questions to risk the investment.

 

My opinion only...

[uniformcollector]

I always try to be careful with Navy Relief items. I've seen about 40 of them and only about 5 seems authentic.

[4STARCHRIS]

The hats looks as if it was barely worn. The sweatband is impeccable. The bullion does not appear tarnished. The bill has no worn features on him putting the hat on and taking it off.

I have collected numerous general officers hat that HAVE been worn and this does not appear to be the case here. Did it belong to him....maybe.

4starchris

[dskjl]

I passed on it. It does seem like somebody put it together to fool.

[CNY Militaria]

I would not buy this for my collection for the reasons outlined above. Many fakes from the relief society auctions have surfaced in recent years.

[Mark Costa]

I have doubts that this would have belonged to Lemay. First of all this hat dates from the late 1980's. Lemay retired from service in 1965. I doubt he upgraded his uniforms after that date. Most retired generals rarely wore their uniforms. The visor hat for the USAFCOS during his tenure wore 6 clouds and darts around the hat band on each side. Later versions such as this hat had only 5 clouds and darts on each side of the hat band. See photos of Lemay and you will the difference in the hat bands from the 1960's to the 1980's and later versions. As you can see from this photo the second set of darts on each side are too far apart from front set on each side indicating that this is a 5 each sided version. i collect USAFCOS so I definately place this hat in the mid 1980's.

 

 

 

Mark Costa

[dskjl]

Thanks, to all, it didn't pass the test for any of us. Your support is greatly appreciated.

[MattS]

This cap, while of the correct Chief of Staff pattern, looks to be dark blue polyester and post-dates LeMay's 1965 retirement. I'm not saying he couldn't have owned it, but he didn't own it while he was CoS.

[Dave]

Another thing to consider was that he was widely known (perhaps "legendary" is a better term!) as a cigar smoker. Over the years, the smoke alone would have tarnished the bullion (and this all looks new...age notwithstanding!)

[MattS]

Those photos show 2 different caps (out of who knows how many he had), but neither has the wide spacing between the 1st and 2nd clouds on the capband that this cap does.

[MattS]

This is another different cap where the lightning bolts nearly touch the eagle's feet:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeromeg111/5478440602

 

This might be the same cap he is wearing in the photo with JFK (see insert).