I've heard back from Robert, and indeed he stopped making the stencils unfortunately so I've reached out to TJ over the Gee and ordered a set for hood and rear panel, along with a set of his radiator seal sets.   So now the time has come to determine a hood number, as close as original as I can get it. There are no remnants of one on my hood, so no help there. I have MB II0247, date of delivery January 8th, 1942 and I know that an MB with the same d.o.d. and a frame number only 20 higher than mine (II0267) had hood number 2042318 (these numbers were taken from an original WWII US Army document), so I think it's safe to assume my hood number should be in the 2042XXX range, most likely around 20 to 30 around 2042318 (can go either way). This is because when an MB came off the production line, it was parked in a lot outside where painters applied the hood numbers. So it depends if the jeep was parked of the left- or right side of the previous one, and from what side of the row the painter started.   Add to that that jeeps that didn't pass final inspection were sent back inside for repairs and the chaos is complete. An example of the latter can be seen below on this snip of a post- WW2 government auction list of surplus WW2 vehicles in Florida:     MB II0867 was most likely made on January 9th and should have had a hood number around 2042400 in an ideal world but instead has one that's 5k higher, which means repairs took 7 to 10 days to complete. I wonder if the d.o.d. as stamped on the data plate reflected this?   Another fun snip from that same list: MB II0507 has a higher hood number than MB II0539. Both were most likely made on the same day as mine (January 8th 1942), but it shows it really mattered where the jeep was parked in the row and on what side of the row the painter started.       In short, I will most likely never know the 100% correct and original hood number of my jeep but I can get relatively close as 2042XXX is at least in correct range and I have no reason to assume my jeep was pulled from the production line for repairs. Now is MB II0267 with hood number 2042318 the closest confirmed original that I could find so I think I might take the easy was and deduct 20 from hood number 2042318.    I would however be very interested in your feedback/comments  on this! 😊  

Here’s a Navy Flight Surgeon, GEMSCO A.G.O. G-2 hallmarked. 

The knives are Ontario model 498 and 498 sawback. They've had the leather handles replaced with plastic ones.

Just a bit of bird dogging, here's a CPO jacket offered on FB Mkt out of Chula Vista, CA, just a bit pricey at $100      

Hi Dom   Sure, post away, the more information that is shown, the more interest and research into what the AFS did in helping the allies especially before the US entered the war would be interesting to general readers.   All good Gazoo, glad to help out.   Also, there would be more experienced badge collectors on the forum, who could give you a more detailed answer and maybe correct me, under Hallmark section.     cheers   Phill

I've got a Palm Beach WWII Naval officer's tunic I'm going to attempt to whiten up. The thing I'm concerned about is the metal clasps around the neckband, shown in the attached photos (though I'm sure you all know them :) .)   In my experience, soaking something like this for 2 days or so is a surefire recipe for rust stains.   I can have my tailor remove them and add them back on, but I'm concerned it won't look right/original anymore.   Any suggestions? Thanks!

I have never even seen or heard of these, what Brand/Model is that?

Thanks for posting this picture.  I've heard of these in the past, but I've not got an explanation for you with any provenance.

I knew a guy who worked for a Sheriff department in the mid 80s, he said he was issued a m16a1 for his patrol rifle. He didn't say how he carried it but probably in the trunk of his car. He said for riot gear or during an active shooter situation they issued everybody M69 flak vests, he said some of the SWAT guys were issued m16a1s and surplus m56 gear. He never told me if they issued m56 gear to everybody or just the SWAT guys, but I always wondered how he would carry m16 ammo. From my understanding commercial gear for the m16 wasn't available during the 70s and 80s (I could be wrong). He worked K9, EOD, and hostage negotiation, I remember him telling me some of the SWAT guys in his department in the 80s still used Thompsons. 

No idea what type it is, but that’s a cool round!