Airborne Ike 101st/82nd

[101combatvet]

Well, I got one from the vet that is exactly the same as the one pictured. It is post war then he lied to me.

 

101combatvet,

 

The reason why I say that the wings are post WWII is because the two pin devices on the back appear to be the very neat, cleanly attached pins, as seen on post war wings. WWII clutch backs were attached with a slightly sloppy soldering technique. One thing that IS for certain, is that the clutches are what is often referred to as the "1946" pattern clutches, with the dimpled faces.

 

Chris

[101combatvet]

The ovals are rarely sewn on. I have heard of CIBs awarded to FOs during the war by their Infantry counterpart.... unauthorized but it was done. I like this uniform.

 

I agree with Chris, these wings look to be post war, and the whole uniform just screams of being a put-together. CIB above the jump wings? Oval not sewn, but pinned - via wings - to the uniform? Pacific theater ribbon? Collar disc snafu? This is a terrible put-together (the only redeeming feature being the 101st patch).

 

Beau

[Jim Baker]

This one is a stretch I wouldn't put my money on. Put together I think.

[vzemke]

I agree with Jim and Beau on this one, there are just too may things incorrect to make me feel comfortable.

 

Even IF the wing and oval are WWII, and IF the CIB is correct, and IF the AAF brass was somehow his, the ribbons top it off for me. There is no concievable reason why that ribbon bar should be on there, not even a far-fetched reason. So unfortunatly that just calls everything else into question.

 

As for the wing, I am no expert but I have one almost exactly like that except it has "Sterling" stamped in the back. It came in a group of 1950s'-1960's officer insignia. It is now the wing I wear on my dress blues.

 

Vance

[Allan H.]

I really like this Ike jacket and the o/seas cap and would scoop it up immediately if it showed up in a flea market. Of course, I would immediately strip off the brass, ribbons, wing and oval and throw them in a box of misc. insignia. I think what we have here is a completely original Ike jacket with sewn on 101st patch with embellishment and a nice, wartime economy made o/seas cap. The uniform has to have come devoid of insignia and the seller either got another man's (with AAF service in the Pacific) insignia mixed up with the uniform or he just added some doo-dads and called it good.

The only thing that I am POSITIVE is not correct is the jump wing and the oval. Neither are WWII vintage. Sorry 101Combatvet, but your veteran either lied to you or things have gotten foggy for him over time.

As Chris stated previously, the wing just doesn't hold up to scrutiny. As for the oval, WWII vintage ovals are usually shaped differently with the only large ovals being ones with felt centers, not twill. Immediately after the war, these background trimming began to be standardized in size and method of manufacture. This one looks like all of the other post- WWII ovals out there. Finally, did anyone notice that the clutch fasteners were dimpled? Not kosher for a WWII vintage piece.

 

My two cents,

Allan

[101combatvet]

That's cool..... if we didn't disagree I wouldn't be able to clean up after you left the show.

 

The jump wing that I have that is exactly the same and was pined to a home made two piece 513th oval when I got it. This is prior to the date when the 513th had anyone making ovals for their Regt, the 513th was activated 11 January 1943. I can see that it's been on the oval for 60 plus years.... really! The pins line up exactly..... the other wing I got from the vet was straight pin back and was his issued wing from Benning and the pins do not line up. So as the story goes he made Operation Market Garden then transfered out of the 17th to the OSS until the end of the war. To date I have only seen two of these unmarked pot metal wings. Oh, the last time I saw the vet he was as sharp as a whip.

 

As far as the oval is concerned yes there is a large artillery felt center but I have large twill ones too and they also came from the vet. On looking at the pics of the oval it might be post war.... but I have seen this backing on the smaller WW2 ovals. I'll give you post war on this one but if this uniform was mine I would keep it as is. The owner may have worn the uniform into the late 40s.

 

Yup, on this one if it was mine I might now just pull the ribbon bar and stick it in the pocket. By removing anything else you risk what may collectors do.... screw stuff up.

 

I really like this Ike jacket and the o/seas cap and would scoop it up immediately if it showed up in a flea market. Of course, I would immediately strip off the brass, ribbons, wing and oval and throw them in a box of misc. insignia. I think what we have here is a completely original Ike jacket with sewn on 101st patch with embellishment and a nice, wartime economy made o/seas cap. The uniform has to have come devoid of insignia and the seller either got another man's (with AAF service in the Pacific) insignia mixed up with the uniform or he just added some doo-dads and called it good.

The only thing that I am POSITIVE is not correct is the jump wing and the oval. Neither are WWII vintage. Sorry 101Combatvet, but your veteran either lied to you or things have gotten foggy for him over time.

As Chris stated previously, the wing just doesn't hold up to scrutiny. As for the oval, WWII vintage ovals are usually shaped differently with the only large ovals being ones with felt centers, not twill. Immediately after the war, these background trimming began to be standardized in size and method of manufacture. This one looks like all of the other post- WWII ovals out there. Finally, did anyone notice that the clutch fasteners were dimpled? Not kosher for a WWII vintage piece.

 

My two cents,

Allan

[Kurt Barickman]

The British made eagle with red cord possibly denoting artillery is a killer in my opinion. The patch is real. Can

t comment on the other items.

 

Kurt Barickman

[Allan H.]

That's cool..... if we didn't disagree I wouldn't be able to clean up after you left the show.

 

The jump wing that I have that is exactly the same and was pined to a home made two piece 513th oval when I got it. This is prior to the date when the 513th had anyone making ovals for their Regt, the 513th was activated 11 January 1943. I can see that it's been on the oval for 60 plus years.... really! The pins line up exactly..... the other wing I got from the vet was straight pin back and was his issued wing from Benning and the pins do not line up. So as the story goes he made Operation Market Garden then transfered out of the 17th to the OSS until the end of the war. To date I have only seen two of these unmarked pot metal wings. Oh, the last time I saw the vet he was as sharp as a whip.

 

As far as the oval is concerned yes there is a large artillery felt center but I have large twill ones too and they also came from the vet. On looking at the pics of the oval it might be post war.... but I have seen this backing on the smaller WW2 ovals. I'll give you post war on this one but if this uniform was mine I would keep it as is. The owner may have worn the uniform into the late 40s.

 

Yup, on this one if it was mine I might now just pull the ribbon bar and stick it in the pocket. By removing anything else you risk what may collectors do.... screw stuff up.

 

Well, I guess I would start by telling you that if a 513th veteran is telling you that he left the unit after jumping on Market Garden and went into the OSS that there are more problems than whether the jump wings he gave you are period. The 513th didn't go into action until the Battle of the Bulge and didn't jump until Operation VARSITY. There wouldn't be much need for an OSS operative much after Varsity as the war was all but over by then.

 

Perhaps you could post some photos of your matching wing?

Allan

[Brian Keith]

A few more thoughts on this uniform. If I saw it on a militaria dealers table, I would laugh! If I found it in a thrift store or the like, I would think it was used as a theatre prop or costume (I may even buy it, depending on the price). If it was handed to me from the vet’s estate, I would have a few questions for the person handing it to me. First would be, can I get a copy of his discharge?

Let’s analyze what we have here: Jacket itself; Dec. 4, 1945 contract date, very late. When did the bulk of the Airborne combat troops come home from Europe? After VJ day these guys were going home. Notice the label’s have been washed out some. A lot of guys wore these home from the state side discharge station and put them away for the next 50-60 years. This one has been laundered several times.

Sewn on insignia, from what I can see is all hand sewn, that is a big red flag for a discharge uniform issued probably in 1946! Discharge stations had sections set up to sew on insignia for soldiers (some stations used POW’s). 101st AB combat service and 82nd current assignment, possible. An example would be a 101 guy wounded in Normandy, recuperation took long enough he was then assigned to the 82nd as a replacement. Or another example would be a “high point” 101 vet, going home with a unit of the 82nd. But, when did the last of the 82nd come home from Europe? I think before the end of 1945. So why the Dec ’45 jacket? The artillery piped 101 patch is a nice touch and was done by soldiers them selves when they could get away with it.

Rank insignia; Sgt. rank, looks ok, other than hand sewn. He has four overseas bars, looks ok, and one would expect a 101 vet to have had at least two years overseas service. But, no service stripe for three years of service. One would expect that a soldier with two years over seas would probably have three years total service in by the time this uniform would have been issued in 1946 (remember the contract date of Dec. ’45). I have several uniforms directly from the vets with non-regulation “problems” many due to the fact the discharging station was out of a certain thing, such as collar brass, but by 1946 I would think the discharge stations would not have supply problems. Honorable discharge insignia looks ok. I can’t tell but it looks like it is machine sewn, if it is, why would the SSI’s be hand sewn?

As has been noted, most of the pin on insignia is FUBAR, but again “could” be some legit (not regulation) reasons it could come from the vet’s hands that way. Normal ways pin on insignia is FUBAR is when a uniform is sent to the cleaners and insignia is mixed up with another person’s insignia who lives in the same home. Or vet loses original insignia and goes to a surplus store and gets incorrect (or non period) insignia and doesn’t remember how it is supposed to go. Or the children wear it for Halloween or in the school play, etc.

Even if the non-sewn on insignia is removed, I don’t think this uniform was worn by a WW II veteran walking out of a discharge station. At the very least, the vet rebuilt it to replace a lost one. But, I think the OS cap is real, and probably worn with the sweetheart pin on it like that post-war in the annual Memorial Day Parade. I would like to see a better close up of the pin.

My 2 cents!

BKW

[Allan H.]

I believe that the 508th PIR was the last 82nd A/B unit to return from the ETO and that they came home in May of 1946. The Ike jacket can't date much later than that because by 1947 the 82nd patch would have been worn without the airborne tab. There were no exceptions to this regulation- the airborne tab was verboten during this time-frame.

Keith makes some excellent points in his post and the late pattern date, the amount of laundering and the inclusion of the airborne tab all lead me to believe that this has been, at best, re-assembled. I do believe that if the o/seas cap came with the artillery piped and English made 101st SSI.

 

Allan

[101combatvet]

Over 200 key NCOs and officers from the 17th jumped with the 101 and 82nd during Operation Market Garden. I have personally spoke to

one enlistedman and one officer both from the 513th that jumped Market Garden. This was done to give the 17th battle experienced cadre to bring back lessons learned to the untested 17th. Not sure when the 513th officer (later OSS) went back to England but trained for several missions that did in fact get cancelled. He also ran parachute training for OSS agents at one of the British jump schools and I have a set of those wings also. Actually, it's all a rare lot of stuff but I wasn't at all shocked by hearing any of this. I also have a commerical 38 Smith&Wesson which he carried throughout the war, it is fitted with a ring on the butt of the hand grip and a British lanyard is attached.

 

Well, I guess I would start by telling you that if a 513th veteran is telling you that he left the unit after jumping on Market Garden and went into the OSS that there are more problems than whether the jump wings he gave you are period. The 513th didn't go into action until the Battle of the Bulge and didn't jump until Operation VARSITY. There wouldn't be much need for an OSS operative much after Varsity as the war was all but over by then.

 

Perhaps you could post some photos of your matching wing?

Allan

[Ricardo]

I believe that the 508th PIR was the last 82nd A/B unit to return from the ETO and that they came home in May of 1946. The Ike jacket can't date much later than that because by 1947 the 82nd patch would have been worn without the airborne tab. There were no exceptions to this regulation- the airborne tab was verboten during this time-frame.

Keith makes some excellent points in his post and the late pattern date, the amount of laundering and the inclusion of the airborne tab all lead me to believe that this has been, at best, re-assembled. I do believe that if the o/seas cap came with the artillery piped and English made 101st SSI.

 

Allan

 

One example:

 

 

 

Best regards,

 

Ricardo.

[cpatrick]

Keith,

 

While I agree with 95% of your post, I do, however, disagree on a couple things. (Most respectfully)

 

99% of the "ruptured duck" diamonds that are on the walking out uniform are machine sewn, but there are exceptions to this rule. I own a 104th Infantry Division Class "A", which has a ruptured duck that was pinned on. In memory, I have never seen this configuration before, but I know that it is 100% correct and original to the uniform. You can see the tell tale, minute rust stains under the pins, giving evidence that the pins have been in that position for ever. (Not to mention the source by which I received the coat) We all have seen the pictures of the GI's standing in line before a government seamstress, having their RD's sewn on upon discharge. However, it is evident that there are indeed exceptions to this rule. Sometimes, there are no RD's attached at all, which is interesting.

 

As far as the mixture of hand sewn SSI vs. machine sewn insignia, I don't see anything wrong with this. I have seen examples in my collection, as well as that of others, where there is a mixture of machine and hand sewn insignia. I think that it just depended on the circumstances of the soldier. If he was on base, he could have his insignia machine sewn for a neater appearance. Later on during his service, he might receive a field promotion, and he would just hand sew his Sgt. chevrons.

 

Personally, my beef with this jacket is not the manner by which the insignia were attached, but rather, as I said, the appearance of the thread itself. While different atmospheric conditions may dictate why a thread color ages the way that it does, the thread on this jacket does raise some concerns. If you look at the thread that was used to sew on the 101st ABD patch, you can sew a very uneven age toning, and it almost looks contrived, i.e., artificially aged. Since it appears that virtually everything else on the jacket was added, I don't see any reason why the patch could not have been added either. (Why in hell would you mess up a great patch like that?? But I have seen it done before, sadly)

 

The contract label may, or may not raise some concerns for me. While I am inclined to agree with you, Keith, I am also inclined to disagree as well. Contract dates don't really offer any evidence as to when a jacket may have been issued. We have to remember that in 1945/1946, there were thousands of 1943 dated uniforms and equipment in government stores. It was just a matter of getting these things to the troops. America, at this time, was probably the greatest manufacturer of war material, next only to Russia. There was a steady supply of uniforms, guns, equipment, ammo, tanks, bombers, and yes, even humans, that were being sent to the front, ready to be issued. However, not all of it was issued months, or even a year after the contract date. They were issued "as needed". I hope that this makes sense. So, in essence, this, in and of itself, does not make this coat a fake.

 

The fact that it has been washed, as evident by the spec label? This could lend credence to your theory. But it could also suggest that this coat was re-issued, or just ONE of several uniform coats that the soldier was issued. (And they owned more than one, of course)

 

However, as I have made very clear in previous posts on this thread - I do not believe that this coat is righteous. It looks to be very much put together. I am not defending this coat in any way, but I did see a couple things that have been said that may not be entirely true.

 

Chris

[cpatrick]

Ricardo,

 

Great looking uniform, and a fine example of what an authentic AB Ike ought to look like. Nice example of how the 82nd patch was worn as well. The only problem that I see with this uniform, which is a very serious problem, is that it is NOT in my collection! lol.

 

Chris

[LtRGFRANK]

My 1 1/2 cents worth. I had a friend that went to war with the 101st-Market Garden,Bulge, Etc- but transferred to the 82nd post war occupation. Then was recalled for the Korean War. His Ike jacket he put together didn't conform to all the regs but still was "right" to him. Just look at the different pictures Of Major Winters Posted on this forum. Every picture is different. Lots of guys came home and was glad they made it then redid their Uniforms later and would have used some postwar items. My dad went over as a medic with the 16th AD and came back with the 1st ID

[GIKyle]

Here is my thought process on why this uniform probably is real and not a put together. While most of this is conjecture, it will hopefully get us all out of the mindset that while yes, there are things on this jacket that are not within the norm, they are not out of the realm of possibility and that, agreeing with 101st vet, we as collectors usually destroy out of arrogance and ignorance.

 

Ike Jacket: It’s a late 1945 jacket so it was worn during the occupation: lets say he was in the 101st then transferred to the 82nd for awhile after the war. Most early occupation pictures are showing 82nd troopers wearing their Ikes on parade, guard, or just out and about the town- Anyone who’s been in uniform knows you sweat a lot- necessitating the need to be laundered. Patches don’t fade as easy as print- but maybe the laundering worked out some threads, necessitating a re-sew of the 101 patch. Or he caught it on something – this may explain different thread “brightness”

 

Wing and oval: There were clutchback wings during the war- sterling even. Whether or not this one qualifies I can’t say, I’m not a wing expert- What I do know is that it does not bear a mark such as “L-52” which began in the 50s. So its possible the wing is ‘period’ but not ‘wartime’ The oval looks similar in manufacture to an 82nd HQ oval on an officers uniform I have. His is pinned on too. We in the 101st pin on the Air Assault badge through our Oval onto our greens the same way- Because if you didn’t, next time you got a ribbon it’d be F-ed up.

 

CIB: Have seen one other example of an arty ike with a CIB. Maybe an FO as was said before. Why above the wings? Well the airborne was more proud of their wings than CIB because fewer got the wings. Well it wasn’t regulation but due to the war they could get away with this because there were better things to worry about- Reenter the garrison army in the occupation- and the NCOs and officers could go back to being nitpicks. Or, he may have been more proud of being arty with a CIB he placed it higher.

 

Air Corps Brass: Does anyone else remember the picture of the GI coming home with the 8th AF Ike, AC Brass, but was wearing a Jumpwing with star, an INF OS cap with the Airborne cap device? Bizarre- but pictures don’t lie. Sadly, from what I’m reading here, many would have taken that uniform apart to make it a correct Air Corps jacket- Though the joke would have been on you! This man may have been transferred to an Air Corps unit to get him home. Much like the 101st ike my friend has with Railroad DIs. They are in correct occupation configuration- the double stack. He may have been told (or elected to) throw on the brass for ID rather than spend the money on new patches and taking the time to sew. Speaking of which!

 

Sewing: Some soldiers live on the cheap where they can to save money for booze and broads. Why not use some time out of your duty day to put your Ike together yourself so you have the money to go out that weekend? Then whilst getting discharged you pay the money to do it quick because you can’t leave till that sucker is on there?

 

 

Ribbons: There was a fellow in the Air Force who got his ribbon group put together as he was walking out in the 1970s. Instead of the National Defense Ribbon, He was given the American Defense Ribbon of Pre-Pearl Harbor days- Now those two ribbons don’t look anything alike, whats to say some fellow who’d been handing out ribbons all day just gave him whatever got into his hand- and this guy- not knowing or caring any better- took it?

 

Like I said, all conjecture, but hopefully it will get us thinking past what we see on the uniform. The people who do not research and only go off on what they have or see at shows are the ones who pass up an enlisted AC Ike with a bronze star ribbon because a bronze star is not for aerial flight… true but grounds crew were awarded them for meritorious service. Or they pass up a Navy/ USMC group because the Bronze Star is not “navy Issue” thick, but fail to think that there were probably for stars awarded than there were that were made thick- or got to the unit. Just something to think on.

 

If you don’t like it, contact me, I’ll buy.

 

Kyle

 

1-502

[cpatrick]

LT.,

 

I agree. Not all uniforms need to be "textbook". I am by no means a conformist, however, this jacket just reaks of sillyness.

 

Chris

[cpatrick]

GI,

 

I wonder if WWII soldier's glued on their patches??? Since they had glue back then, and some soldier's were lazy, and liked to take short cuts - why not?

 

I'll tell you why...

 

The idiot that owned this jacket before me had glued on AB patches, and removed them before giving me this jacket. (He was also a collector) I kept it because I can't see throwing it out, but he ruined it.

 

See what I am saying? We can make arguments as to why this jacket COULD be right, but it's not.

 

I understand your point of view, but because of the vast amount of fakes on the market, we MUST have certain criteria and guidelines to go by in judging authenticity. A little variation is OK, or sometimes a lot, if the item is documented, but we must follow certain guidelines. Otherwise, you, and many other collectors will be out a lot of money. If this jacket came with a picture of the soldier wearing this jacket exactly like this, then this would be a totally different story.

 

Chris

[GIKyle]

CP- Not really sure where you were going with the glue example, but I won't say no one ever did use glue because i obviously have not seen every ike in existence.

 

Anyways, I agree with you that there is a general guideline we all follow in determining if something is correct- However many are guilty of being too narrowminded- especially in collecting WWII uniforms of an Army that hadover millions pass through its ranks in a few short years and had a very loose uniform regulation when it came to insignia and its wear. Hence, without a name or paperwork, its value is only that of the insignia and the uniform items; but, without knowing the source from which it was obtained, my first instinct would not be to rip off all of the insignia and call it a phony. I just think if it was a collector job it would be more perfect- two theatre patches with the piping, pinback wings, ribbons in correct order, etc. And if it was someone who didnt know what they were doing, just throwing stuffon there, there would have been who knows what.

 

Thats just me, which is why the guy behind me will buy something at a show i pass up and vice versa.

 

 

Kyle

 

1-502

[Brian Keith]

This is where a forum like this is really GREAT! A collector posts photo’s of an interesting uniform and various people from all over look at it and offer opinions. Many of us agree on a lot of the different aspects of the uniform, there is some disagreement on different aspects of it. But we discuss it and we learn things. At least I learn a lot. Many here have collected/studied minutiae of various things and bring that experience to the forum. Some of us are just starting out and may not have noticed or even known what some things on the uniform are. But anyone who reads this thread will probably learn something. I didn’t know the Airborne tab for the active duty 82nd went away about 1947! The more I learn, the more I know I don’t know!

Ricardo posts an excellent photo of what a post-war active duty 82nd soldier, a combat vet of WW II wore. Great Uniform!

Chris responds to my posts with his observations and I don’t think he and I really disagree as he initially states. I listed several things that are “red flag” issues, many of the uniforms I have or have observed directly from the vet’s or there families have some of these “red flag” issues and are still “100% real-as the vet wore it home from the discharge station” . Very few are totally in regulation and have every ribbon the vet earned. But this example we are discussing has way too many “red flag” issues to be believable that the vet wore it this way home from the discharge station. I think Chris has better eyes than me when he observes the way the thread looks on the hand sewn 101 SSI.

Chris, you made a good and well thought out response to my comments. You are totally correct that the contract date (not the pattern date) does not tell us when it was issued, it does tell us when it was NOT issued. I don’t think it could have been issued very close to the contract date. This jacket was produced on a contract dated Dec. 4, 1945. I really don’t see how it could have been issued sooner that late February or March, ’46 (my speculation). It does give us some information.

While we all know vets often carried or sent home all kinds of uniforms (and souvenirs and guns and etc.), most usually only had one Class A jacket when they were discharged and sent home. I have from one vet, two of the heavy wool overcoats, he brought home. He told me when he was discharged, he was issued another one, he told them he already had one but they made him take another any way. He brought them both home because he couldn’t bring himself to throw one away. Remember, he grew up during the depression. This would be the exception.

Generally, my observations have been that most soldiers being discharged post war, through the large discharge stations, have sewn on insignia. Yes, there are some with hand sewn but it is another piece of information we get from this uniform. The uniform of yours with the pinned on Honorable Discharge insignia is really neat and a nice, non typical variation. That in itself, would not be hard to believe.

I have a WW II four pocket jacket with a Marine division SSI on the combat side and an army SSI on the other, I was told it was from a local vet who first served in the Marines then went into the Army after discharge from the Marines, yet still during the war, hard to believe but I suppose it is possible, I haven't been able to document it yet but I also have't taken the patch off the uniform.

Chris said in response to Kyle;

“I understand your point of view, but because of the vast amount of fakes on the market, we MUST have certain criteria and guidelines to go by in judging authenticity. A little variation is OK, or sometimes a lot, if the item is documented, but we must follow certain guidelines. Otherwise, you, and many other collectors will be out a lot of money. If this jacket came with a picture of the soldier wearing this jacket exactly like this, then this would be a totally different story.”

I cannot agree more!

My extra 2 cents!

BKW

[Ricardo]

Thank you Brian and Chris!

 

YES! The Forum is GREAT!!

 

Best regards,

 

Ricardo.

[101combatvet]

BKW writes:

 

"I have a WW II four pocket jacket with a Marine division SSI on the combat side and an army SSI on the other, I was told it was from a local vet who first served in the Marines then went into the Army after discharge from the Marines, yet still during the war, hard to believe but I suppose it is possible, I haven't been able to document it yet but I also have't taken the patch off the uniform."

 

Thank God you didn't take off that patch because you would have ruined that uniform. It is more likely that he was in the Army and attached to a Marine Division.... hence the Marine patch.

[Brian Keith]

101,

I never thought about that possibility! Good point! It is one of those "research projects" I need to get done(one of about 1000). As an aside, I "almost" never take patches or insignia off uniforms. We usually get the uniforms and a box of insignia that we have to reattach! I think the last time was over 15 years ago when I took a patch off a wool shirt because I was doing a display and needed that SSI. I justified it to my self because there were multiple shirts in the group with SSI's and I could still restore it back.

One I really regret taking off was a theatre made, "MARS Task Force" I took it off a four pocket jacket (right sleeve). There was no pin on insignia still on the jacket. While there was no chance of a vet ID, it still haunts me. I can only plead ignorance, it was about 25 years ago and I think I sold the jacket to a reenactor. I’ll bend over while you all line up and kick me! (kicking only, no other touching allowed!). At least, I do still have the patch!

BKW

[101combatvet]

BKW.

 

My point exactly..... more often then not collectors screw stuff up..... seen it a million times. The 101 uniform in question here would meet the same fate in most collectors hands.... because they didn't know.

[cpatrick]

I am glad no one screwed this non regulation WWII uniform up....

 

I see your points exactly...

 

Chris