US Victory Museum Posted April 2, 2010 Share #1 Posted April 2, 2010 SPARS - from the motto 'Semper Paratus' (Always Prepared!) I currently own two enlisted SPARS uniforms; however, until recently, one of the more uncommon uniforms had always escaped my grasp. Just over 10,000 women served in the Coast Guard as SPARS, of them a much smaller number were commissioned as officers; therefore, when I had the opportunity to acquire this uniform, I jumped at it. The color of the sleeve braid gave me a moment of unease. The usual SPARS braid color is a softer paler blue. This was not a deal killer, since I have also seen WAVES officer's uniforms with darker color braid; but since SPARS uniforms are rare, this was something I was going to inspect thoroughly. Both the blouse and skirt are properly tagged to the US Coast Guard Clothing Division. For a very brief period of time, SPARS received their uniforms from WAVES procurement; however, once their own clothing division was established, this practice ended. This uniform is ranked to a Lt. Junior Grade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted April 2, 2010 Author Share #2 Posted April 2, 2010 Contrary to what many believe, the WAVES blouse is not the same as the SPARS blouse. Many of the people trying to pass off humped up uniforms don't realize this, but unfortunately many of the people buying their crap don't know this either. SPARS uniforms have sewn grommets on the collar through which their insignia's screw back post pass through; WAVES uniforms do not. The quality of the SPARS collar insignia during WWII is far superior to more modern stamped ones. I believe this reflects the experience and skill of the early tool and die maker who made the early dies. This shows in the crisp edges of the small letters in Semper Paratus. In the modern pins, one can barely read these letters. This particular blouse bears two large ribbons; the first is the easily recognized WWII victory ribbon; the second I had to look up on the I-net - it's a pistol marksmanship award. This is awarded for qualification at the higher levels of sharpshooter and expert. The gilt buttons, worn by officers, had an eagle that faced left. (to the left of the person wearing the uniform). Thus these are correct WWII era SPARS officer's buttons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted April 2, 2010 Author Share #3 Posted April 2, 2010 The stitching on all labels and the braid was compared to ALL the stitching on every inch of this blouse. The braid, as well as the labels was sewn only through the outside material and not the inner lining. This is good. Anyone trying to attach labels to a WAVES blouse would have to have opened each sleeve lining, the pocket linings, and sewn grommets on each side of the collar in order to attempt a reasonable fraud. The stitching everywhere was uniform and professional. All materials passed the black light test. This label is sewn onto one of the two inside pockets. The blouse has no exterior pockets; however, it does have a pair of faux breast pocket flaps. Inside the right inner pocket, a second coast guard clothing label for owner information can be found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted April 2, 2010 Author Share #4 Posted April 2, 2010 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted April 2, 2010 Author Share #5 Posted April 2, 2010 The only damage that I can see on the uniform is that the sleeve shields' bullion has almost tarnished completely. The downside to this excellent conditioned uniform is that the woman to whom this belonged was very small; I couldn't fit this uniform over the mannequins that I chopped to fit my Spanish-American War uniforms, and those make the WWI uniforms look big! For almost an instant I was beginning to suspect that this was small sized unused surplus since it is unnamed; however, careful observation indicates that this uniform was professionally tailored to fit an individual. (Darts sewn in the back) Following WWII, all SPARS were decommissioned and discharged. When women were again admitted into the coast guard (1949), their dress uniforms, like those of the WAVES officers' used gold sleeve braid, and the eagles on their buttons faced to the right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Victory Museum Posted April 2, 2010 Author Share #6 Posted April 2, 2010 In the final photo, the skirt label is shown. BTW: In an earlier post (on page 7) I posted one of my enlisted SPARS uniforms. If this subject is of interest to you, then clicky-the-link enclosed. http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...showtopic=13323 [END OF POST] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry K. Posted April 3, 2010 Share #7 Posted April 3, 2010 Once again, Great Uniform! I am missing that one from my collection. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutiger83 Posted April 4, 2010 Share #8 Posted April 4, 2010 Very nice uniform! Thanks for posting this....Kat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azadd Posted April 5, 2010 Share #9 Posted April 5, 2010 Very great uniform and info! I didn't know that waves and spars uniforms aren't the same! During the war , what are missions of the spars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luft Posted April 5, 2010 Share #10 Posted April 5, 2010 wow! thanks to show us this perfect uniform! Thanks too for info, it's very instructive :thumbsup: Thierry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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