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After 15 years of searching I finally completed my WWII Jungle First Aid Kit Roll


rambob
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Well, after what seems like 100 years, more like 15 years actually, I believe I have finally completed my WWII Jungle First Aid Roll. I have been hunting for the bottle of Sodium Chloride & Dextrose tablets as the last remaining item I needed and by blind luck I found a perfect, full bottle on Ebay last week. The only bummer is that it did not come with it’s cardboard box, but I consider myself fortunate anyways. Actually, almost all of the kit contents were extremely difficult to find and I have been picking away at the content list for many years. I have been using a gorgeous, mint, unissued, kit as my guide that was displayed on this forum, by forum member autorifle, 8 years ago. I hope that member sees this post and adds the photo of his marvelous kit to the post to show what the Jungle First Aid Kit nirvana looks like. Or with his permission, I can attach an image to this post as the supreme reference. BTW. The contents of all containers, be it liquid or tablets, are all there in their entirety. I am very proud of the results of my efforts and as always all comments are welcome.

Bob

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Rakkasan187

Congratulations on completing your kit. I know how it feels to find that final item to complete a project. The time and effort you put into the search has finally paid off. Now to begin the next project.... Leigh..

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Thanks Leigh!! I guess good things come to those who wait and I have been waiting patiently a long time to finally finish this kit.

 

Bob

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BILL THE PATCH

What patience, good on you. It looks really cool. Do you have another project in mind? After 15 years of looking. wow! I don't think I could have done it

 

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

 

 

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Congrats on completing your mission. Your patience has been rewarded. My dad graduated from pharmacy school in '42, was drafted and served as a medic with the 32nd Division from New Guinea to Japan so he would have lived with those items daily.

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Mine is likely going to take even longer... I have the "universal" version of this kit that is almost twice as long.

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My complete kit. The Dextrose Tablets were also the hardest item for me to find.

Mine is the Davis example.

 

Rich

 

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Nice kit there Rich!! Thanks for sharing. How long did it take you to find all of the correct components? BTW. My foot powder can is slightly wider and shorter than the normal 2 oz version and fits better in the pouch opposite the adhesive plaster roll where the cootie powder normally is.

 

Bob

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FYI. When I first started collecting US WWII militaria I was lucky to find a wonderful mail order dealer named Tom Gordon at Military Marketplace. He had the black Bakelite vials, empty atabrine Bakelite vials with original labels and the wood covered iodine applicators, in mint condition, really cheap and in quantity. Could kick myself for not loading up with even more examples, since now even these items have dried up. So with these three items I had a reasonable, inexpensive beginning to my jungle first aid kit quest, even before I got really serious in completing the kit.

 

Bob Law

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Brian Keith

Very Nice! Diligence pays off. I have a couple of those items, I guess I have a starter kit!

BKW

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I just checked my old The Military Marketplace catalog from 1999 and the black Bakelite vials were 6 for $12, the atabrine vials were $3.50 each and the wood encased iodine applicators were $7.50 each. Prices have gone up a bit since then though.

 

Bob

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I don't believe the can of insecticide powder is correct for your typical jungle roll up kit. I think that started because people used the illustrations from the OSS catalog books that show it. The OSS kit has different contents then the typical GI version. If there is another reference out there that shows it supposed to have insecticide powder let me know. You need a box of sixteen bandaids either Davis or MSA

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Survival, my kit is an exact duplicate of a mint, unissued kit posted about 8 years ago by a member named autorifle. When he bought it, the kit was still contained in its original manufacturers wrappings, which makes it the absolute correct configuration in my book. So regardless of the large amount of conflicting information and documentation out in the world, I am standing behind my kit as being correct and complete, using autorifles mint, unissued kit as the template.

 

Bob

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I respectably disagree. Maybe there was a change either early on or later in the history of the kit that may have included the insecticide. You never know. Someone may discover that some day in a hidden tech order. But if I was putting together that kit I would feel more comfortable going by the known published specifications. So the insecticide can would be replaced by a box of 16 Davis brand adhesive compresses.

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I finally was able to find pictures of the original kit posted by member autorifle. The pictures are gone from the Forum but the links still worked. I'll let someone else repost them if they want. The kit is in great unissued condition but I don't think its correct as issued. Heres why....

 

Contents are incorrect as per known published references from the military. (Subject to change if further references are discovered)

As I recall the kit is missing the box of 16 MSA adhesive compresses and a packet of sulfadiazine.

The Fraziers solution has a seven digit stock number which I believe came out in mid 1944. The original roll up jungle kits were produced I believe in 1942 and maybe 1943 for a short time

As I recall when you look at originally produced roll up kits from MSA and Davis MOST of the contents are branded with their company name and actually none of them (as I recall) even have a military stock number

 

Don't use pictures from the two OSS catalog books as a guide to stock your GI kits. They have different contents.

 

Its not my place to tell people how to fill their kits but what I see here is a classic example of how bad information starts and is carried on. It also happens in reference books published by collectors.

Once again having said all that someone like member Dustin who continues to dig up information from the National Archives may find that kit was correct as a different contract maybe a USMC contract or something similar..

 

On a side note in the book Grunt Gear on page 172 they have a hand drawn illustration of a roll up jungle kit with a contents list that is not even close to any of these.

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Don't drag me into this ! LOL

I do find this thread interesting and intrigued by the bottle originally posted. I think Ben Major would be the best bet to provide stock listings. I'm sure there were multiple listings or changes to the prescribed components. My most handy reference is FM 21-11 from April 1943, it illustrates the M1 with an alternate series of components, void of the salt tablet bottle. The NOS kit in question may had been repacked in an inspection period hence the seven digit stock numbered item. As of March 1944 stock numbers changed to the seven digits, you also have to calculate that production of items reflecting this change did not occur until sometime after. So at best, the second half of 1944. This is significant since the M1 had been superseded for quite sometime by the M2. I think its most probable that autorifle's kit was a re-pack. First aid kits go through mandatory inspections like most everything else, it is here, items get replaced or updated.

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Survival, I am confused here. The first two photos posted by autorifle in that original topic on the M1 Jungle First Kit clearly do show sulfadiazine tablets in the early cardboard box slipped inside the compartment with the first aid dressing. Just to eliminate any additional confusion I am attaching those two photos for reference. So assuming that this autorifle owned kit was indeed mint, unissued and still wrapped in the manufacturers paper as he stated, what do you believe is wrong with the contents of this kit. I won't discount the interesting idea that this kit may have been inspected and updated sometime in it's history. I am not trying to be difficult and I do own an FM 21-11 manual that I had been using for my supreme reference until I saw autorifle's kit, eight years ago. Also, I have numerous boxes of the WWII era adhesive compresses, I could easily substitute into my kit for the cootie powder, if needed.

 

Regards,

 

 

Bob

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Browninggunner688

Very nice set you have there you must have the patience of a saint to wait 15 years. thank you for sharing it.

 

I have the MSA roll and it is complete apart from the 100 Sodium and Dextrose tablet bottle and box, and 2 1oz scat bottles. I was fortunate to buy the set complete apart from the missing 3 items.

 

I hope you don't mind me asking here but I have put a want in the wanted section for these items if anybody can help me to complete my set I would be ever so grateful.

 

If I ever figure out how to post pictures on here I shall put pictures up.

 

Nick.

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You are correct the sulfadiazine is there. I will see if I can start a topic in the reference section under roll up kits in the med section with photos and information so it will be available as an easy reference for the future. Only can do a little at a time

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Survival, that is a great idea since there seems to be a lot of interest in these kits among the forum members.

 

Bob

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Dustin, I am now confused by the statement you made where the salt tablets were not included in the kit shown in FM 21-11. I have an April 7th 1943 dated FM 21-11 and on page 98 it specifically calls out item i. Salt Tablets (10 grain) (100) in the content list. I also believe the kit photo in the manual shows the salt tablet box in compartment 10. Just wanted to make sure I had the same FM 21-11 that you were referring to. So as Surviver has mentioned earlier and FM 21-11 bears him out, the cootie powder was not in the kit originally, but the 16 adhesive compresses were. I can accept that and will keep both components stored with my kit to handle either configuration.

 

Bob

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