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WWII USMC Camouflage Uniforms


GIJive
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Lower hem; notice the big repair on the lower back. I bought this Coat from a friend who supplies clothing for motion pictures, so I don't know if this damage was done while the Coat was in military service, or in the course of making a movie...?

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Great stuff Flage.Like the paramarine items as well.I have a couple of shirts.One is a bit modified I guess as it was shortened a bit and has the cuffs redone but its named to a paramarine.Im in the same boat...no pants :blush:

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The back- some collectors would have turned this away due to the repair, but I couldn't resist because

a) It's combat clothing, so repairs, besides showing a little history, are no issue with me;

b)It's super rare and in otherwise clean condition;

c) It's a size 42! B)

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Hey Ron, what's up??

I remember your modified Paracoat; that was pretty common to personalize stuff in the Service, so IMHO, pieces like that are just as collectible as anything else.

The Jump Smock in the photo above was "slimmed down" as well. For some reason, a lot of Marine Corps items were repaired with a silvery white thread,

as is the case with the Smock (below, lower pockets sealed up, with a patch-slash pocket in place).

Yeah, not a whole lot of us have the Parapants in our toybox...the '42 Infantry Trousers went through as much use as they did, but there weren't nearly as many Para Suits produced, which no doubt contributes to their extreme scarcity.

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GI- sorry, didn't see your post until just now. Thanks again, but I think you got me beat with that Poncho of yours!!

Hope you folks are having a grand Christmas! :)

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Below is an example of the substantive number of Marine Parachute Smocks which were modified into Utility Coats. This one is the late '43 design; this was done to some of the early design Smocks as well, but these don't seem to show up as often...

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Hello Corpsman, and welcome aboard!

 

Thanks for sharing your fine rig; it appears that all the pieces are in equal condition, giving it a great appearance...well done!

 

I had hoped that reviving this discussion, besides creating some more good reference material, would incite the other " 'Flagists" to post their stuff.

 

Thanks again for posting your display; it will be a great start for putting up more 1944 Camo Suits. :)

 

 

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Mike, thanks for the kind words...the pleasure is mine :)

 

Keep the pics coming, guys...I know there is a lot of nice stuff out there...

 

Here is the first 1944 Utility Suit I put together years ago- the only component which has ever been washed is the Coat (I didn't do it!!! :blush:), and it doesn't appear to be more than once:

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The Coat is made of the early production camo HBT; the Cover material is virtually identical in all tones and is unissued, without even slits being cut for the chinstraps...

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These early '44 Coats feature what seem to be an experimental modification; vertical buttonholes. Also, the roomy lower pouches of the modified Jump Smocks were eliminated.

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Another obvious difference: closable cuffs. From what I understand, Col. David Shoup had a big hand in recommending these improvements following "Operation Galvanic" in early '44 over the 1942 Suits, due to the open cuffs tending to slide up the arms, patch pockets filling with sand and mud during amphibious landings, low-crawling actions, etc., and their very limited carrying capabilities.

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The britches; The front sections are made of a differing dye lot than the rest of this Suit. They feature the same baggy open-bottom legs as the earlier Utilities:

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