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need help dating green army coat


MilitariaMan
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I bought an army coat thinking it was a WWII uniform but when i got back to my house and started doing some research on it i noticed some things i hadnt before. it has a blue bar with a golden rim sewn onto the right pocket. I think it is a Presidential Unit Citation but I don't know what years they would have been sewn on. it is a 4th Armored and a 94th Infantry coat. I also have the pants which have two black lines running down each side. also the end of the sleeve has a black band going around it just underneath the overseas bars. im not sure if the black band and lines are standard issue as I am not a uniform guy. any help would be appreciated.

regards,

Andrew

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Your uniform was worn by an Army GENERAL!!!!. The wide cuff stripe and double striped trou were distinctive for GO's. Given that the SSI's are cut-edged and not merrowed/rolled, I would date them as pre 1968. I assume he served overseas with the 94th ID and later with the 4th AD.

 

Good luck on IDing the original owner.

 

G

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Worn either when the unit, as the 94th Infantry Division, a division of the Army Reserves, was inactivated and redesignated as the 94th Command Headquarters (Divisional), or when this new unit is redesignated as a ARmy Command, in short the 94th ARCOM. Will have to look around a bit to see what generals we can find, I got a lot of books that list senior commanders in the 60s, these being the ARMY GREEN BOOK.

 

This unit was in Massachusetts, U.S. Army Reserve, are you from Mass MM?

 

In the mean time, check around for a name in the inside breast pocket.

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Here's a photo posted by seanmc1114 in the Patches in Action topic of the 94th ARCOM in February 1970, but we can rule this general out since we see no 4th Armfd Div combat patch or any combat patch, nor a PUC for that matter.

 

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Another candidate but another miss, a 1960 photo of the commander of the then 94th Infantry Div, Chauncey D. Merrill, photo really is from May or so of 1959. But Merrill as we see was in the 5th Infantry Div in WWII.

 

Caption tell us more.

 

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Phooey, these books I have start at 1964, and does not list Reserve Commanders till the 1967 issue, the 94th doesn't appear till the 1968 issue when the 94th is reactivated as an ARCOM, here the CG is Cronkhite.

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I found him, he's Brigadier General Costas Caraganis, I think he was the CO when the old 94th was reseginated as a Command Headquarters (Divisional) which may have been a Brigadier General slot.

 

A photo of him is for sale here, not sure I want to post it as it is for sale.

 

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/1965-Press-Photo-Military-General-Costas-Caraganis-Leonard-Cronkhite-Uniform-7X9-/323428362330?hash=item4b4dd5285a

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Some stuff on Caraganis,

 

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Costas L. Caraganis was born in Lowell, MA, in 1910. He received a B.S. degree from Massachusetts State College in 1933. General Caraganis was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 1933 and entered active duty in January 1941. He served with the 84th Reconnaissance Battalion and with Headquarters of the 4th Armored Division. He was released from active duty in January 1946.

 

In Reserve status, General Caraganis served with the 321st Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, the 304th Armored Cavalry Regiment/Group and eventually as Assistant Division Commander of the 94th Infantry Division. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1961. General Caraganis died in December 1998.

 

 

https://www.thenationalherald.com/109247/one-left-greek-american-wwii-family-valor/

 

http://www.armslist.com/posts/7666017/texas-handguns-for-sale--colt-1903--32acp-general-officers-pistol---c13243-

 

 

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By the way, are the buttons on this coat Nickle rather than Brass?

 

They appear to be anodized (a popular custom feature for buttons and branch insignia).

 

Nice job on the ID!

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  • 2 weeks later...
MilitariaMan

Also there is a signature under one of the pockets in the pants. I couldn't read it because it was kind of faded but I'll try to match it to the letters

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I think you pretty well have all of the information that you were looking for. The uniform itself is in shade AG44 which began wear in 1955 and became the official standard uniform in 1957 when the old OD Ike jackets were phased out. The uniform was probably worn prior to the officer, Costas L. Caraganis,achieving flag rank and was then upgraded with the new piping on the cuffs and down the trouser legs. If it was purchased new as a general officer's uniform, it would date to 1961 or slightly later. As Patches has alluded, the buttons are not the standard gilt buttons, but rather nickel finish which was a bit unusual, but authorized.

As was stated previously, the general saw WWII combat with the 4th Armored Division and later served in the Army Reserve in Massachusetts where he wore the insignia of the 94th ID.

 

Even though your uniform isn't WWII vintage, it was worn by a WWII veteran who made flag rank. It is very collectible.

Allan

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  • 11 months later...

Ah what the heck, lets post the Ebay item here, never know how long item will be up for viewing, things like this can removed from there any day. note the PUC, this is the exact uniform in the OP.

 

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