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WW2 USMC uniform jacket find at flea market


Tonomachi
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I found this jacket yesterday at the flea market for 20 dollars. I added period EGAs and ribbon bar. The belt tongue is kept in place with a hidden snap but I'm guessing there used to be a buckle. It is dated 1940 to 1941 in the left shoulder sleeve and and there is a name of J.A. Weber Jr. in the right shoulder sleeve. There are three numbers BM6624, JM9582 and ZM9070 that I don't know anything about. I understand that these uniforms were re-purposed or reissued at times to different marines so this may explain these three different numbers. I wasn't able to locate a match for Corporal J. A. Weber Jr. on the Internet as it is a very common last name.

 

 

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No ghost-stitching visible for an SSI. Likely Korea issue.

Thanks I didn't know that. I knew that the practice of wearing SSIs by the USMC ended sometime after WW2 but I didn't know that all USMC uniforms worn during WW2 had SSIs?

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I looked on Ancestry and there were a ton of J A Weber records, most were post world war 2 however. The only JA Weber Jr. that I could find was Joseph A Weber Jr. who served in a repair branch of the Marine Corps in 1955. I don't think missing an SSI always means that its post ww2, some people didn't bother I think, but this seems like one of the surprising cases where early ww2 gear may have been issued long after the war ended.

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Hi Ray. Can you please cite examples or reference for your statement? Shoulder Sleeve Insignia were regulation - read, not an option - for Marines on their Alpha tunics until a 4/29/46 memo to the Commandant of the Marine Corps from Marine Corps Headquarters. I have bought and sold many named WWII USMC Alphas, and have not seen a single one without a patch.

 

 

 

 

 

I looked on Ancestry and there were a ton of J A Weber records, most were post world war 2 however. The only JA Weber Jr. that I could find was Joseph A Weber Jr. who served in a repair branch of the Marine Corps in 1955. I don't think missing an SSI always means that its post ww2, some people didn't bother I think, but this seems like one of the surprising cases where early ww2 gear may have been issued long after the war ended.

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olivedrab1970

I looked on Ancestry and there were a ton of J A Weber records, most were post world war 2 however. The only JA Weber Jr. that I could find was Joseph A Weber Jr. who served in a repair branch of the Marine Corps in 1955. I don't think missing an SSI always means that its post ww2, some people didn't bother I think, but this seems like one of the surprising cases where early ww2 gear may have been issued long after the war ended.

 

 

Hi Ray. Can you please cite examples or reference for your statement? Shoulder Sleeve Insignia were regulation - read, not an option - for Marines on their Alpha tunics until a 4/29/46 memo to the Commandant of the Marine Corps from Marine Corps Headquarters. I have bought and sold many named WWII USMC Alphas, and have not seen a single one without a patch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

USMC uniform dress code regulations is very strict and not at the decision of the individual Marine to decide what is and what is not. Marines pride themselves on the appearance of their uniform and this is very much instilled into us from Boot Camp and through out the fleet. I personally would have liked to have worn the 1ST Mar. Div. Guadalcanal patch on my Alpha and dress Blues uniform but as Blacksmith already stated the regulation changed that back in 1949.

 

Robin-

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Hi Ray. Can you please cite examples or reference for your statement? Shoulder Sleeve Insignia were regulation - read, not an option - for Marines on their Alpha tunics until a 4/29/46 memo to the Commandant of the Marine Corps from Marine Corps Headquarters. I have bought and sold many named WWII USMC Alphas, and have not seen a single one without a patch.

 

Yes I know of a few examples unfortunately none that I personally own, but the last few months I have been using ancestry to try to research the Alphas I see popping up on Ebay. I know I have seen several that I matched to various MAW units that did not have their SSI. I also know I have seen several named ship detachment marine uniforms that did not have their SSI on them. I do believe I have a screen shot of one of those uniforms that I could show as proof if you want to see it and I can find it.

Its possible I guess that I could be mistaken and the uniforms could have belonged to post 1946 Marines that happen to have the same names as Marines during world war 2 in which case I apologize for my statement, and it was not meant to offend you, it was just what I noted.

 

Edit: Now that I am thinking about it more I beleive that my cousin showed me a picture of my great Uncle who was with the 5th marine division on Iwo Jima where he did not have a patch on his Alpha, I do not know the date of the picture but he was discharged in May '46. Unfortunately you will have to wait if you want proof of that picture because I am in the process of getting a copy of all of her documents on him and currently only have pictures of him at basic and in his dress blues.

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No apologies necessary friend, just trying to avoid sweeping statements that may serve to send newer collectors in the wrong direction.

 

It would be possible to find a tunic named to a WWII Marine, with no SSI on it, if it was reissued; Or, if they stayed in post regulation change, and removed it.

 

In either of those instances, I would expect to see holes from removed stitching from where a shoulder patch once was.

 

Yes I know of a few examples unfortunately none that I personally own, but the last few months I have been using ancestry to try to research the Alphas I see popping up on Ebay. I know I have seen several that I matched to various MAW units that did not have their SSI. I also know I have seen several named ship detachment marine uniforms that did not have their SSI on them. I do believe I have a screen shot of one of those uniforms that I could show as proof if you want to see it and I can find it.

 

Its possible I guess that I could be mistaken and the uniforms could have belonged to post 1946 Marines that happen to have the same names as Marines during world war 2 in which case I apologize for my statement.

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No apologies necessary friend, just trying to avoid sweeping statements that may serve to send newer collectors in the wrong direction.

 

It would be possible to find a tunic named to a WWII Marine, with no SSI on it, if it was reissued; Or, if they stayed in post regulation change, and removed it.

 

In either of those instances, I would expect to see holes from removed stitching from where a shoulder patch once was.

 

With the OPs tunic, it looks like WWII stock issued post-war.

 

 

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Did the no patch order come in 46 or 49 i see both dates referenced in this thread?...just curious and trying to cut down on confusion.....mike

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The date I cited is from the 5/14/18 issue of Marine Corps Times, in an article entitled, *The time the Corps wore shoulder unit patches.

 

Did the no patch order come in 46 or 49 i see both dates referenced in this thread?...just curious and trying to cut down on confusion.....mike

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olivedrab1970
24 September 1947
On 24 September 1947, the Marine Corps abolished the wearing of unit patches on the basis that the Marine Corps is “a unified body organized to fight as a whole, and individual shoulder patches representing one type of service did not reflect the spirit of the Corps.”

I was wrong on the exact date as well.

 

Robin-

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Just my two cents worth-- Since the uniform is dated 1940-41 maybe the marine was discharged or died prior to the wearing of SSI. I am not a Marine collector and don't know when the USMC started wearing SSI.

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WWI

 

Just my two cents worth-- Since the uniform is dated 1940-41 maybe the marine was discharged or died prior to the wearing of SSI. I am not a Marine collector and don't know when the USMC started wearing SSI.

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Apparently the USMC began wearing SSI again (after WW1) in Feb 1943 after the Battle of Guadalcanal and received "official support" from leadership in March 1943. If J.A. Weber Jr. was killed, died or was discharged prior to Feb 1943 he would not have worn a SSI. Now it's my 3 cents worth since I did a little research.lol

 

 

https://veteranscollection.org/2016/03/29/us-marine-corps-uniform-shoulder-sleeve-insignia-introduction/

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I got lucky and found a match on Find-A-Grave. J.A.Weber Jr. is Joseph A. Weber Jr. born in Oklahoma on August 4, 1923 and died in Santa Cruz, California on September 19, 1974. The newspaper clipping obituary states that he was a veteran of both WW2 and the Korean War. His headstone indicates his rank as Staff Sergeant so he probably held the rank of corporal during WW2. For some reason I am unable to reduce the size of the headstone photograph but have attached the link below.

 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/106459577/joseph-a_-weber

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For what it's worth I have a set of named officer's Alphas from WWII that don't look like they ever had a unit patch on them from what I remember.

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EdMajor1955

I have a officer's Alpha from one of the early warning aviation units that belonged to a light colonel that i can't find a patch ghost on, so i guess it's not too uncommon?

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huntssurplus

I believe I may have a uniform belonging to a Marine without a unit patch that is named to a Marine who served in WW2. I don't necessarily think it was uncommon, I'm sure any Marine who wore their Alphas regularly would have all the necessary insignia, but rather they may have just not worn the uniform regularly enough to bother putting on the necessary patches. I think a lot of people don't realize that the majority of the military during the Second World War were citizen soldiers who were only in the military for the duration of the war plus a little extra at the end for occupation. And by the time the war was over, the main priority of most veterans was getting home to civilian life, not uniform regulations and such. This is most prevalent on Army uniforms, as my collection is predominantly WW2 US Army uniforms, i'd say a good majority of them would be considered "out of regulation", but for the reason I just mentioned I would say they are 100% accurate and most likely the same as left by the veteran when they took it off for the last time 75 years ago or so and hung up in the closet.

 

Obviously as mentioned the uniform is an important part of the tradition of the United States Marine Corps, but I don't think it was always followed 100% fully by your average joe Marine trying to get home after spending months in a combat zone. They probably didn't care as much about it at that point.

Now if the uniform was from 1948-onward it would be a different story.

 

Hunt

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