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WW2 USMC Overcoat, 1st Marine Provisional Brigade w/ British 49th Div Patch


amberg1853
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amberg1853

So I was fortunate enough to purchase a collection of USMC uniforms.  This overcoat was in there, at first I had no idea what the patch was for, the collector who assembled the collection is deceased so no chance to ask.  Figured out its a British 49th West Riding patch and the overcoat would have been used by the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade who were stationed in Iceland prior to our entry into WW2.  I am usually suspicious of anything unusual, question is does this have any chance to be original?  One the one hand the Marines were authorized to wear the patch in Iceland but were to remove it when they left, since they came back between January and March of 1941 makes sense to find it on an overcoat.  Appears to have been reissued to W L Marshmann, original owner has maybe a L N Swarkowski?  A little hard to read under the over stamp.  Any way to tell if either of these guys were in Iceland?  There was a scarf with it, you can't tell but Corporal stripes have been removed from the overcoat. 

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Willard L Marshmann mustered in around April 1943, looks like he went to the Pacific and  I couldn’t find anything Iceland related. I wasn’t able to locate anything on Swarovski but I am not the best at searching ancestry though so maybe someone else could give it a try. Doesn’t make sense to me though if Marshmann had the jacket reissued why the patch would  have remained in there. As you indicated, these patches were ordered removed upon leaving Iceland, BUT there is at least one photo of a Marine at a train station in the US wearing one. I think it was very rare though. I have some doubts this patch is original to this jacket. Hopefully someone else might find more. Best, Kevin 

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Are there formation signs on both sleeves? To be completely honest, I am not a big fan of the insignia shown....

 

Allan

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The Polar Bear insignia with the raised head was used by the Brits after their involvement in Iceland. I also doubt this is original to the overcoat.

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13 hours ago, jweitkamp said:

The Polar Bear insignia with the raised head was used by the Brits after their involvement in Iceland. I also doubt this is original to the overcoat.

 

Exactly! The insignia wasn't changed until well after the marines left Iceland.

 

Allan

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Definite put-together...evidence is stacked against it. The Marine didn't muster in until 43, the dates are later than I'd expect to see on an Iceland used overcoat, and the patch is not the style associated with 1st Provisional Brigade

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Got it fellas, thanks for your input.  Suspicious from the start but always good to get a few more opinions.  Got a little education as I knew nothing about the 1st Marine Provisional Brigade, interesting history. 

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