Greg Robinson Posted January 9, 2009 Share #1 Posted January 9, 2009 I just bought these and they're on the way to me. A set of rare USMC contract field suspenders made to the Army M1936 pattern. According to Alec Tulkoff, author of "Grunt Gear", the Marine Corps contracted to have these made pre WW2 and early war photos of Raider officers show them being worn. While not a Raider specific item they seem to have mainly been worn by officers. There are two known contractors, Sam Froehlich and A Rief & Co. Not sure how long they stayed in production or how many were made but they're seldom seen today and most collectors have never heard of them. Here are two of the seller's pics......will post more when I receive the item in the mail. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Flage Guy Posted January 10, 2009 Share #2 Posted January 10, 2009 Way to go, Greg...I just nabbed a pair of those from Ebay a couple years back, identical markings and all. You said it- they're a mighty scarce item. I'm thinking that the production on them was pretty low, what with the advent of the M1941 Pack/Suspender rig around that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Robinson Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share #3 Posted January 10, 2009 Way to go, Greg...I just nabbed a pair of those from Ebay a couple years back, identical markings and all. You said it- they're a mighty scarce item. I'm thinking that the production on them was pretty low, what with the advent of the M1941 Pack/Suspender rig around that time. Thanks, Jim. I figure they're scarce since the contract was pre ww2 when the Marine Corps was a small force. And most likely they quit buying those once the M1941's went into production. I'd never heard of these until three or four years ago. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Flage Guy Posted January 10, 2009 Share #4 Posted January 10, 2009 Yeah, when I saw the photos of Evans Carlson, Jimmy Roosevelt and other Raiders using these suspenders, I just figured they were specially requisitioned (or "liberated") from Army stocks, but I'll bet they were the very ones we've come to learn about in recent years. Kinda funny how much difference a lousy ink stamp makes in items like this...I think a lot of guys must be suspicious of these, as I only paid $56.00 for mine, and I bid a whole lot more than that. A mint pair of Army '36's will bring twice that much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Robinson Posted January 11, 2009 Author Share #5 Posted January 11, 2009 Yeah, when I saw the photos of Evans Carlson, Jimmy Roosevelt and other Raiders using these suspenders, I just figured they were specially requisitioned (or "liberated") from Army stocks, but I'll bet they were the very ones we've come to learn about in recent years. Kinda funny how much difference a lousy ink stamp makes in items like this...I think a lot of guys must be suspicious of these, as I only paid $56.00 for mine, and I bid a whole lot more than that. A mint pair of Army '36's will bring twice that much Yep....like you I always assumed they'd bought, borrowed, or stole them from the Army. And those worn by Marines later in the war may have been Army. But I believe those early war photos of Raider officeres wearing M1936 suspenders show the USMC specific version. Like you say....same item but for an inkstamp. It took me several years to find an example but then I better not brag too much since I've not received them yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveR Posted January 11, 2009 Share #6 Posted January 11, 2009 Great find. WWII Marine fieldgear is tough to get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Robinson Posted January 11, 2009 Author Share #7 Posted January 11, 2009 The photo of Marine Raider Lt Col Evans Carlson that 'flage guy was referring to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Flage Guy Posted January 11, 2009 Share #8 Posted January 11, 2009 Thanks, Greg...that's precisely one of the shots I had in mind...if we could scan photos into our computer, I'd put up the other ones as well. Another good one is of 2nd Raider Bat. E.M. Bud Hodlin posing on a beach in Hawaii with a B.A.R. right before the Makin Raid (if I remember right, he was K.I.A.). This is found in the Raider history entitled "Our Kind of War", which is a wealth of photos, data and first-hand stories...couldn't recommend it enough, though I think it's pretty hard to come by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Robinson Posted January 11, 2009 Author Share #9 Posted January 11, 2009 Thanks, Greg...that's precisely one of the shots I had in mind...if we could scan photos into our computer, I'd put up the other ones as well. Another good one is of 2nd Raider Bat. E.M. Bud Hodlin posing on a beach in Hawaii with a B.A.R. right before the Makin Raid (if I remember right, he was K.I.A.). This is found in the Raider history entitled "Our Kind of War", which is a wealth of photos, data and first-hand stories...couldn't recommend it enough, though I think it's pretty hard to come by now. I own a copy of "Our Kind of War" and will dig it out and look for that photo. Here's another of a Raider officer wearing M1936 suspenders.....believe he's Teddy Roosevelt's son. Wasn't he CO of 4th Raiders? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Flage Guy Posted January 11, 2009 Share #10 Posted January 11, 2009 You got it, buddy, that is Col. James Roosevelt, son of F.D.R. (Teddy's cousin), of the 4th Raider Battallion; and I believe that when this shot was made he was accompanied in this patrol/maneuver by Col. Harry Liversedge, who also seved as C.O. of the 4th Raiders during the War. On that note, Teddy's son served as a 2 or 3 star General in North Africa alongside George Patton, and was K.I.A. before the War ended (don't recall where, though ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Robinson Posted January 11, 2009 Author Share #11 Posted January 11, 2009 You got it, buddy, that is Col. James Roosevelt, son of F.D.R. (Teddy's cousin), of the 4th Raider Battallion; and I believe that when this shot was made he was accompanied in this patrol/maneuver by Col. Harry Liversedge, who also seved as C.O. of the 4th Raiders during the War. On that note, Teddy's son served as a 2 or 3 star General in North Africa alongside George Patton, and was K.I.A. before the War ended (don't recall where, though ). Right......Teddy Roosevelt's son would have been much older. I wasn't thinking. And if you look at the pic he looks a lot like his dad. Col. Liversedge? Wasn't he the one called "Harry the Horse"? a regimental CO on Iwo JIma?....believe he commanded the 28th Marines on Iwo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Flage Guy Posted January 12, 2009 Share #12 Posted January 12, 2009 "Harry the Horse" was the handle Liversedge picked up due to his offensive abilities at football in Annapolis, I believe. And I think I was all wet about him commanding the 4th Raiders...it was, rather, the 3rd- sorry And I didn't know he was at Iwo; I'll have to go back and check that out...if it was the 28th Marines, that would've been of the 5th Division, right? I think I have a 3-pocket Utility Coat that was worn by a man who was W.I.A. from the 28th, with his name and tactical markings all over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Robinson Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share #13 Posted January 12, 2009 They just arrived in the mail. They're made in a pea green color that I've seen before on pre war Marine officer's field packs. The color doesn't show well in my pics but it's much greener than early Army suspenders. All hardware is brass with cast buckles....not the later seen stamped steel. After looking at these I believe they might have been intended for use by officers to go with their field packs. For those of you not familiar with the pre war USMC officer's field pack, it was a close copy of the Army M1936 field ("musette") bag but was designed for back pack wear only. It was made from 1940-1942. If intended for officers use that would explain the scarcity of these suspenders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Robinson Posted January 12, 2009 Author Share #14 Posted January 12, 2009 "Harry the Horse" was the handle Liversedge picked up due to his offensive abilities at football in Annapolis, I believe. And I think I was all wet about him commanding the 4th Raiders...it was, rather, the 3rd- sorry And I didn't know he was at Iwo; I'll have to go back and check that out...if it was the 28th Marines, that would've been of the 5th Division, right? I think I have a 3-pocket Utility Coat that was worn by a man who was W.I.A. from the 28th, with his name and tactical markings all over it. Harry Liversedge was the CO of the 28th Marines on Iwo Jima. I just confirmed this. So he commanded the Marines who captured Mt Suribachi and raised the flag. Before he joined the 5th Marine Division he commanded the 3rd Raider Battalion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Flage Guy Posted January 12, 2009 Share #15 Posted January 12, 2009 Yeah, that's right...and among the 6 guys hefting the Flag up was at least one ex-Paramarine (Ira Hayes) and an ex-Raider (Mike Strank). What a campaign...even though I grew up watching "Sands of Iwo Jima", the movie does no justice to what really went down on Betio and Iwo; but then, they couldn't make 'em very realistic back then because the censors wouldn't have allowed that kind of brutal carnage on the screen...folks had to be content with just a small hole in Sgt. Stryker's back. Looks like you really scored; those suspenders are identical to mine in every respect, buckles and all, and unused. I wonder how many of them are "Out There" (the collector's favorite term )...I've seen 3 in my whole life, and you and I have 2 of 'em. Wouldn't be surprised if somebody scrounged up a box of 'em somewhere...it does happen once in a while... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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