I have located this Wool Armored patch, which started its existence as a 2nd Armored Division Woolie. The numbers "3" and "8" have been added. stitched, if you will.   Looking for some plausible identification?     

I’m also a ‘Cold War Warrior’. Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (‘small, but perfectly formed. Just like my thing’).Finding legit, period made WW2 Russian gear is pretty torturous. So much same pattern gear made post war. But I’ve had some help from expert collectors and dealers, so it should all be authentic. I’m pretty sure period cans were imported from the UK, although it’s possible they were fabricated here in our one Car assembly plant. We did make steel helmets and grenade bodies but I’m not sure about anything else.

Edward J. Wirth Jr. was born September 22, 1893 to Edward and Bertha Wirth of St. Louis, Missouri. He worked as a purchasing agent before the war.    Enlisting June 21, 1917 in Parris Island, South Carolina and becoming a qualified Marksman that August, he joined the 83rd Company, 6th Marine Regiment. Embarking aboard the USS Van Steuben out of Philadelphia on October 24, 1917, Wirfs arrived in Brest, France on November 19, 1917.    As the 5th and 6th Marines arrived in France, they initially unloaded cargo until coming together to form the 4th Brigade, 2nd US Division.   On March 17, 1918, the Marine Brigade went into the trenches southeast of Verdun. They earned a crash course in trench warfare, learning about the filth, rats, raids, wire parties, and poison gas. This went on for two months until their induction into world war one was abruptly upended.    Beginning on May 27, the Germans launched an offensive that sliced the northern sector of the allied line in half and caused a gap wide enough for the Germans to reach the Marne river near Chateau-Thierry, close to Paris. Several allied divisions were pressed into line to fill the gap, including the 2nd Division, 4th Brigade.   Stopping the German march toward Paris in what is known as the Aisne Defense, the Marines excellent rifle and machine gun fire helped raise the moral of the allies. Following their halt on Paris, German forces dug in like a tick within the forrest of Belleau Wood, so densely packed it made visibility difficult, and with boulders and rocky ground that provided excellent cover, the Marines were going to have a tough go digging the Germans out of the forrest.    Charging across open wheat fields toward Belleau Wood, the Marines lacked adequate cover in the face of relentless German machine gun fire. The 3rd battalion, 6th Marines is noted for their relentless drive across the wheat and plunging into the woods.   Following their assault into the woods the day before, the 6th Marine regiment prepared to move further into the woods on June 7th. Being raked by German machine guns as they advanced, the 3rd Battalion, 6th marines was forced to withdraw and allow artillery to shell the German position.   In mid June, the Germans eventually counterattacked using high explosive and mustard gas shells, but the determined Marines held their lines. It was during this fighting for Belleau Wood that the Marines earned their nickname Teufelhunden, Devil Dogs, for their tenaciousness. The exhausted Marines were eventually relieved by the Army, but on the evening of June 22/23, the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines took over the line along the edge of the woods. On June 25, a heavy American artillery barrage demoralized the Germans and by June 26th a message was received to AEF headquarters that “Belleau Wood now U.S. Marine Corps’ Entirely.”    During their actions at Belleau Wood, the Marine Brigade suffered 55 percent casualties, the most of any American brigade during a single offensive in World War One. For their actions the French renamed the Woods after the Marine Corps.   After being relieved the first week of July, the 4th Brigade took up defensive positions near Nanteuil-sur-Marne. By mid July the Germans were ready for their Aisne-Marne offensive, another attempt at shattering Allied lines, following their failed attempt near Chateau-Thierry the previous month.   The 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, Wirfs unit, were rushed to the front lines by truck near the town of Soissons. The Marine Brigade began their attack against the German offensive on July 18th, with the 6th Marines in reserve until the following day, July 19th.   On July 19th, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Harry Lee, 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 6th Marines advanced against the Germans on a 2,500 yard front. The 3rd Battalion, under Major Berton W. Sibley, was in reserve. Advancing on level ground with no cover, and being slowed by their tank support, the Marines were decimated in the face of German artillery and machine gun fire. This required the 3rd Battalion to be committed to the advance. With so many casualties in the face of withering German fire, the Marines were ordered to dig in and were later relieved shortly before midnight on July 19th. As “A Brief History of the 6th Marines” states, within the Marine Brigade, “The 5th Marines had enjoyed pursuing a demoralized enemy the first day. The 6th Marines had the bitter experience of trying to overcome the enemy with little more than their bare bodies.”    It was during their actions at Soissions that Edward J. Wirfs Jr., 83rd Co, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, was wounded in action with a gunshot wound to the right hip. During one exam taken in February 1919, the bullet was still in his back to the right of his lumbar spine. The sciatic nerve of his right leg was painful and caused fits.   On January 20, 1919, Wirfs embarked aboard the USS Connecticut at Brest, France, headed home to the United States. He arrived at Hoboken, New Jersey on  February 2, 1919. He was discharged from the Marine Corps that April. Following the war he went to Washington University in St. Louis and studied to be a cartoonist. Later applying for his Purple Heart in 1932, he was awarded the medal on January 24, 1933.   Edward J. Wirfs Jr. passed away in 1954 and is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Eustis, Florida.     

I didn’t think of that.just checked with black light and the Threads don’t glow. I thought it was interesting enough. It has character. 

Hello. Maybe this helps. https://woodclinched.com/2013/09/16/bullet-pencils/

Ted, I had to look up the time difference, you are 16 hours ahead of us!!!  As a former soldier of the Cold war we had to study all manner of Russian Army uniforms, field gear, vehicles and ordnance.  I knew many guys who collected bits from the mid 1960''s thru 1990's, lots of items were recovered during Desert Storm.  However the WWII sets like you have are just splendid, something I have rarely seen even in museums around the free world.  My main focus of collecting and study is, world-wide jerricans, if you have any made in NZ, I would be most interested in a photo or two.  Cheers, Armygas

I should have a take-out set of valves somewhere, but I doubt they are marked like this. Nice find though 😊    

Yeah - that’s a beauty!

That’s a nice jacket! Just ‘salty’ enough to be interesting. Unless you can black light the thread on the repairs, I think it’s a 50/50 call as to wether it’s a period job.

Does anyone know what these thingamajiggers  are? I spotted a box of them at the monthly flea market a few weeks ago. Most were marked with advertising but one had the V for Victory logo, so legitimate question on the forum. One end has what seems to be an eraser, but cannot tell what the other end is for. The market is back this weekend, so if they are something cool and interesting, I may have to get some if still there.  mikie