Eric Queen Posted December 4, 2017 Share #1 Posted December 4, 2017 There must be more but I am only aware of the existence of three (3) of these. The one I have originally belonged to Mr.Jack Furman from the 6th Company of Regiment 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Queen Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share #2 Posted December 4, 2017 A friend of mine and fellow historian/collector knew Mr. Furman personally and obtained the beret from him directly a number of years ago. When he originally obtained the beret Mr.Furman informed his that it originally had British made crossed arrows on it but he had removed the arrows to but them in a shadow box with a patch and a few other items. He replaced the British made arrows with US made Mt. Helena purchased arrows and those were what was on the beret when Gerry received it. Here is a photos of Mr.Furman holding the beret with the US made arrows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Queen Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share #3 Posted December 4, 2017 The beret with the replaced arrows was featured in Ken Joyce's book "Crimson Spearhead" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Queen Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share #4 Posted December 4, 2017 Some time later Gerry was able to obtain the original British made arrows from Mr.Furman and put them back on the beret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Queen Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share #5 Posted December 4, 2017 Close up of the British arrows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Queen Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share #6 Posted December 4, 2017 Reverse of the arrows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Queen Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share #7 Posted December 4, 2017 Very happy that Gerry was able to restore the beret to its original state just as it had been worn by Mr. Furman during the war. Here is the top of the beret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefighter Posted December 4, 2017 Share #8 Posted December 4, 2017 Holy Crap!!! That is beautiful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Keith Posted December 4, 2017 Share #9 Posted December 4, 2017 WOW! Just WOW! Excellent post! Thanks for showing this with all the history! BKW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Bast Posted December 4, 2017 Share #10 Posted December 4, 2017 Amazingly beautiful, historic and as you pointed out, rare! Thank you for sharing, Eric, I always enjoying your top-shelf FSSF collection! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith Posted December 4, 2017 Share #11 Posted December 4, 2017 Yikes! That is really a museum-worthy piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchcollector Posted December 4, 2017 Share #12 Posted December 4, 2017 Interesting piece.I never knew about these.Thanks for posting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan H. Posted December 4, 2017 Share #13 Posted December 4, 2017 Eric, As you well know, all British maroon berets from WWII are very difficult to find and command a very hefty price tag. This piece of British headgear is no exception. I'm sure that you know that Jack Furman was a Canadian and that the Canadians were carved out of the Force and sent back to England when the Force was disbanded. There are a couple of points that should be noted. These berets were issued to the Canadians AFTER they left the force and were not worn while they were assigned to the FSSF. You will not find these in the hands of Americans that served in the Force as they were not issued to Forcemen. Your photo of Stan Waters show Waters wearing a British BD, and while the caption states that the beret was khaki, I would assume that the one being worn in the photo is another one of these maroon berets. A great pick up and a rare piece of Canadian military history, Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted December 4, 2017 Share #14 Posted December 4, 2017 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/104181458 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Queen Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share #15 Posted December 4, 2017 All true Allan but disagree with the characterization that the piece is uniquely related to Canadian history. The FSSF was made up, of course, of both Americans and Canadians but it was an American unit commanded by an American. The berets were worn by (ex) Force members who served with this unit. Anything related to the FSSF is part of American history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pelseth Posted December 6, 2017 Share #16 Posted December 6, 2017 Beautiful and interesting. Thanks for sharing the photos and the details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Bias Posted December 8, 2017 Share #17 Posted December 8, 2017 Eric, thanks for starting this thread. Here is the second known example out of three. The condition is not in as good as Furman's beret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Bias Posted December 8, 2017 Share #18 Posted December 8, 2017 Close up of pins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Bias Posted December 8, 2017 Share #19 Posted December 8, 2017 Markings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Bias Posted December 8, 2017 Share #20 Posted December 8, 2017 Here is another FSSF beret named to Lt. Larry Story of 5-3. It is the exact one being worn in the photo after the force was disbanded. I also have his battledress uniform in the photo as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Bias Posted December 8, 2017 Share #21 Posted December 8, 2017 Close up of the crossed arrows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Bias Posted December 8, 2017 Share #22 Posted December 8, 2017 Lt. Larry Story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Bias Posted December 8, 2017 Share #23 Posted December 8, 2017 Lt. Story later in life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Bias Posted December 8, 2017 Share #24 Posted December 8, 2017 Here is a picture of the third FSSF beret with red backing and British made arrows. Unfortunately not in my collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kammo-man Posted December 8, 2017 Share #25 Posted December 8, 2017 Amazing. Humbled. owen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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