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Captain R.J. Henry: Navy officer's USMC uniform


bayonetman
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Guys, I appreciate all the answers you have been giving me as I clean out my closets. For those of you who don't know the situation, I am having health and financial problems that absolutely require that I sell most of my 50 year collection of US militaria. I am doing this on ebay, and am not asking prices, just would like to have enough information to not look too stupid in my description. My primary collecting fields have been US Civil War and 20th Century US Bayonets and other US edged weapons. If any of you feel that I am out of place doing this, please don't hesitate to say so, I will certainly quit taking up bandwidth, I am not trying to bug anyone. Over those 50 years I picked up a lot of odds and ends of uniforms and insignia that I admit I never learned much about, they were just stuck back in the cedar closet.

 

This one is a uniform (coat, pants, khaki shirt and overseas cap) in Marine color but with Navy buttons. The name HENRY, R.J. is stamped in the pants and the shirt, can't find any markings on the coat other than a Camp Lejune uniform shop label on the inside pocket. 6th Marine Division SSI, Captain's bars (heavily tarnished) on the coat shoulders and smaller ones on the right side of the cap. In the photos I show one of the buttons inset on the shoulder of the coat because I am assuming they are standard Navy but not sure. My question is, why Marine color uniform, SSI, and rank with Navy buttons and insignia on the cap? Any information that you all can help with will be appreciated.

 

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Again, thanks for all your past help, and if this type of question is against forum rules or policy, please feel free to remove it.

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Personally, I don't think you are out of line at all. We're here to learn, and you may be asking a question someone else wants the answer to. I'm just starting to collect uniforms, so I obviously would be interested in these posts.

 

I would like to add that I'm very sorry to hear of your health issues. Always better to sell because you want to and not because you are forced to.

 

I hope you are 100% soon.

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Personally, I don't think you are out of line at all. We're here to learn, and you may be asking a question someone else wants the answer to. I'm just starting to collect uniforms, so I obviously would be interested in these posts.

 

I would like to add that I'm very sorry to hear of your health issues. Always better to sell because you want to and not because you are forced to.

 

I hope you are 100% soon.

You have a .u.s.navy doctor serving with the marines, this is a rare uniform, notice the cap badge, its bronze not gold and silver...wishing well and take care, sincerly Bob Bumbolow

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Howdy

Keeping in mind that all medical personnel and chaplains in the USMC are sailors, they may choose, if they conform to USMC grooming standards, to wear the USMC uniform. This is a great example of that, with bronze USN button and the bronze USN officer's overseas cap device. So, he is likely Lt. R.J Henry USN, possibly MC or ChC. It would appear that he was veteran of the Okinawa campaign judging by the single campaaign star on his APT ribbon and his 6th MarDiv patch. His shirt would have had his rank on the right and his branch (MC or ChC etc on the left. I looked up his name in the July 1945 Register of of Comm. Officers USN & USMC but did not find an "R.J. Henry" listed.

Bob

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Yep, this guy was either a chaplain or a doctor with the Marines. Unfortunately without researching him, I don't think there's a way to know for sure, but he was one of the two. It's a nice uniform, and yes, pretty rare to boot (they do come up from time to time, so they aren't exceedingly rare, but they aren't routine either.)

 

Dave

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My sincere thanks to all of you who have taken the time to help me with this uniform. I can't tell you how much your help means to me.

 

Several of you PM me about my health, and thank you for your good wishes. My problems are compound, including a rare blood disorder. None are life threatening, but the treatments are expensive, only part of which is covered by insurance (for those of you planning to get sick, try to make sure it is a common disease as the insurance companies will pay much better for a common disease than a rare one where the treatments are less well known). I have a great deal of debt, which I must pay off prior to being able to retire, so most all of my accumulations must be sold in the next fairly short time.

 

I checked the coat again for names or other markings and didn't find any. It appears that there were probably pinback insignia on the coat lapels, long gone I guess. The shirt collar is marked with a inked mark sort of like a gunsight, no clue why, the inside tail is stamped with his name. No other marks or insignia that I can find. The trousers are unmarked except for the name inked on a pocket. There are two ties, one khaki and one green. The cap had a label in it now unreadable from wear.

 

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Gary, First of all, good luck with your healthcare! I hope all goes well for you and your family.

 

Second: Henry, Robert J. file No. 216271, was a medical officer, USNR. His Pay entry date was 11-11-1942.

 

Sounds like a great set!

 

Good luck!

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Jeffrey Magut

A bit more information on Dr. Henry:

 

Robert J. Henry

 

 

BRANCH OF SERVICE

U.S. Navy

 

 

HOMETOWN

Lavonia, GA

 

HONORED BY

Mrs. Johnnie Miller

 

ACTIVITY DURING WWII

NAVY DOCTOR.

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Since he was a Navy MD serving with the Marines in WWII, he may have been along with them for some of the Pacific campaigns. If you can find out such info, it could really add to the value of this uniform. I have never seen a Navy officer's Marine Corps uniform: I come across enlisted ones, but never an officer's.

 

I have changed the title of the topic a bit to highlight the fact that this is such an unusual uniform and something more forum visitors should take a look at.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 8 years later...
Kurt Barickman

I purchased that from Gary several years ago and he was indeed a USN Dr. attached to the 6th Marine Division and was on Okinawa. I found the extremely rare USN darkened cadecus for wear on the collars where officer EGAs could also be worn. I sold it to somebody on the Forum I think several years ago.

 

Kurt

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