warguy Posted December 11, 2020 Share #1 Posted December 11, 2020 Another forum member is studying Marine Corps field hats in the Span Am War period, a much needed topic for research. I thought I might show the four Officers field hats I have in my collection, as they represent four distinctly different designs (or insignia) reflective of hats worn from WWI to WWII. I would love it if other members would chime in with additional information or share other examples they have in their collection. First up, is a named M1911 officers cover from WWI. This one is named to a Marine Aviator who spent time training and flying in Florida and stayed stateside for the war. This hat, typical of officer uniforms, was privately produced or distributed and is marked on the sweatband to WM Burdines and Sons department store in Miami. They changed the name in 1920, so this is a pre-1920 produced hat. An Ellis pattern ega resides on the front. In WWI, Officers and EM field hats had the folded brim and the typical two stich lines around the edge of the brim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warguy Posted December 11, 2020 Author Share #2 Posted December 11, 2020 Following WWI, the folded brim disappeared from these hats and during the Banana Wars period the collector will typically find an unfolded brim with two lines of stitching. Here is a Stetson marked example which (based on the ega design) is likely late twenties or 1930's vintage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warguy Posted December 11, 2020 Author Share #3 Posted December 11, 2020 Next up is the same pattern, but has the insignia of the Garde D'Haiti on the front. Likely dates to the 1930's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warguy Posted December 11, 2020 Author Share #4 Posted December 11, 2020 Finally, one will occasionally find a WWII example. This one has a stamp on the reverse side of the sweatband dating it to 1944. No stitch line at all at the brim. Later WWII vintage ega. Once again, please feel free to share. I am photographing some of my collection and had these shots anyway, so thought that might be a platform for a discussion on these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6th.MG.BN Posted December 11, 2020 Share #5 Posted December 11, 2020 Kevin, Those are some beautiful hats! Thanks for sharing them with us. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisusa1 Posted December 11, 2020 Share #6 Posted December 11, 2020 Beautiful collection! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warguy Posted December 12, 2020 Author Share #7 Posted December 12, 2020 Thank you guys for the nice compliments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Posted December 12, 2020 Share #8 Posted December 12, 2020 Brilliant examples!!! You have built a heck of a headgear collection! I think I can throw up a few for the thread, but not as stunning as the ones you have shown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warguy Posted December 12, 2020 Author Share #9 Posted December 12, 2020 Thanks Dirk for your nice comments, I would love to see yours! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
French Sam Posted December 12, 2020 Share #10 Posted December 12, 2020 Beautiful campaign hats Kevin ! Congrats ans thanks for sharing ! 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_hinch Posted December 13, 2020 Share #11 Posted December 13, 2020 These are awesome Kevin, thanks for sharing! A great reference. I really love the Haiti insignia. Your photos are looking bomb ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith Posted December 13, 2020 Share #12 Posted December 13, 2020 Wahoo! That Ellis EGA is a stunner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted December 14, 2020 Share #13 Posted December 14, 2020 .... a superb group of Campaign Covers, material condition as good as it gets for decades old gear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SgtMaddoxUSMC Posted December 15, 2020 Share #14 Posted December 15, 2020 These are all great! Definitely going to follow this thread! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now