As I recall, the troops actually buried their berets.

You could be right. The top is rolled over and not a raw edge. That’s just what he told me.

That's true, I could just leave it alone, I'm not against that option. It actually might look better unpainted now that I think about it. 

. Hi pump150.   Thank you for reading my post above and adding a like, which was difficult to write without sounding negative to the thread.  I am as keen as everyone to try and learn the detail and complex background of this small item of issue during WWII, but so important to the war effort and the lives of the Marines using these covers.    Without  detouring too far from the topic,  back in January 2022 in the military vehicle section I posted a fascinating documentary about the making of US Jerrycans in the UK during WWII, a whole US factory was moved to the UK to manufacture in the UK thereby saving much space on the Liberty ships bringing supplies to the UK.  If only every other item of WWII equipment supplied had had a documentary made like this it would have made understanding the design and manufacturing during WWII much easier and less guess work eighty years later.  I hope this link works it is fascinating and little known about manufacturing US items in the UK.    https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/367008-astounding-documentary-on-making-us-petrol-cans-wwii/   regards lewis.   ...  

Hey all,   While combing the internet for a M51 field jacket I've come across quite a few examples. But what has stood out to me is that the length of the drawstrings don't seem to be uniform. Was the length ever standardized or did they just use what they had at hand? If anyone with some knowledge on the matter could shed a bit of light I'd be a happy man!   Two examples:   Both are listed as a size XS-R, but you can see the difference in length of the drawstrings.

Completely understand that, I follow the lines of buy right buy once. Id honestly just save for for a decent set up, you'll be glad that you did in the long run. For a more affordable that might be within your budget, De Brabander available through Quartermaster inspector do a full set as well as individual components as well. I have a set from them and its not bad at all, not as good as my ATF offering but still perfectly usable. 

Would like to show off this grouping to William Henry Thomas I recently purchased and then with the assistance of Golden Arrow research, now have his career files from each service. He was born in 1909 in Atlanta, Georgia. He would enlist in the Marines at Parris Island, SC in July of 1928. Would spend the majority of his career stateside as a Motion Picture operator with an apparent stop in Haiti with 1st Brigade from August 1929 - March 1930. Once his initial enlist was up, he would extend for two more years before discharging in September of 1934 as a PFC. Worth noting that he attempted to discharge three month early but was denied due to 55 days lost because of contracting a VD (If you're going to get in trouble, that's one way to do it!) William would then join the Coast Guard as an Apprentice Seaman in March 1942. He quickly rose through the ranks from S2C to S1C to Coxswain before the end of 1942. During this time and for the entirety of his Coast Guard service (32 months), he would be stationed in Curtis Bay, Maryland, training recruits before a medical discharge as a Boatswains Mate 1st Class in November 1944. His medical discharge was due to hearing loss and difficulties. He would live until 1991 before passing away in Ohio. This is one of my favorite groupings to date and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. Sydney      

I'd love to have a C-130 seat/chair for the office as well (I know someone who has one and it's awesome). But I fear I'm already pushing the aviation "theme" limit of the room with the spouse - we share the space and I have a bunch of other aviation-related collectables in there already (!).

I know that the ATF ones are better, I'm just hoping maybe I can get a good alternative so I wouldn't have to pay as much immediately.