Welcome aboard ! I hope you will enjoy your time with us. Lots of great people around, have fun !   Tony  

opseccc, You mentioned above " The factory acid etching is the same that many Mark ll knives of the same time frame have with an individuals personal information etched on the blade"   So true. Here's proof. Posted a photo of a 1968 Gerber MK ll in my collection below. The size and font are the same as a "SIGMA" MK ll. The #6 is also rising slighty above the other numbers like on a "SIGMA" MK ll.. BTW, Eddy Trent died Jan 17, 1969, in Quang Binh Province, Vietnam. So I'm guessing the Gerber MK ll knife was etched in Vietnam, possibly by the PX? 

I went to Gettysburg college and hung out at George Marinos’ right at the exit of Culps Hill.   Spent a lot of time on the battlefield.

Here is a shark mouth example from the 90th Bombardment squadron taken at either Nadzab or Gusap. The white tipped vertical stabilizer is a dead give away for identification.  Using Michael John Claringbould's Pacific Profiles Volume 3 for reference - This can be identified as one of two examples.   The shark mouth motif was widely used in the 3rd BG.   A-20G-20-DO Serial# 42-86766 MARKS HOPE and A-20G-20-DO Serial# 42-8626 JACKS HACK both used this roundel identifier on both the port and starboard with the names painted beneath the roundel on the port side.   *Note the additional 500lb bomb rack mounted to the starboard wing, 2 blocks of wood under each tire, and the fellow napping on a cot in between  the nose landing gear and the back left tire.   

A quick search.   https://www.ima-usa.com/products/original-u-s-wwii-inert-105mm-m84b1-leaflet-propaganda-artillery-round-with-original-transport-canister-dated-1943?variant=40484182327365

There was also “ cargo “ round that carried and dispersed propaganda leaflets.

The Culps Hill souvenir is great.  

I know everyone on the internet says the old Naval Clothing Factory/Depot located in Brooklyn, NY closed in 1966. However, as a young navy dependent, I have a most vivid  memory of Dad stopping by the the facility in 1973-74ish to get his service dress blue and full dress white coats altered. Dad had purchased all of his dress uniforms there since his commissioning in 1958.  The store was located in a seedy part of South Brooklyn, a few blocks from what had been the Brooklyn Yard.  When we moved to the West Coast Dad bought all uniforms through the Navy Exchange system.  I remember Dad commenting years later that the Brooklyn Depot made uniforms were by far the best, especially if you visit in person for a personal fitting.     BTW, I still remember that day five decades later. It was in the mid-seventies. The "clothing factory" was outside the Naval Support Activity, Brooklyn boundary gate/walls; most folks are unaware of the Navy's continued presence, on what had once been one of America's oldest shipyard, long after the shipbuilding function ceased. Dad had my brother and me stay in the car,  keeping the doors locked and windows rolled up (thank goodness it wasn't during summer, when humidity is extremely high). I remember wondering if someone might walk up to the car, pull out a Saturday-Night Special and attempt to take the car. Dad was only inside for maybe 15-20 minutes. But, Mom had a fit when she found out we were left alone.  

I bought a repop 45th Tac Recon Sqdn patch out of China on epray that just arrived. It is very close to one the my dad wore in Misawa Japan 57-59. I spent years looking for an original like the one he had with no luck. I think my mom tossed his patch and cap out when I was a kid. The seller had repops post when he was in a few years ago so I sent a photo of what it looked like and it looks like they made it. A filler is better than nothing. I know they did a back doored this into the states as this was post marked San Francisco.

I was told years ago that the Marine Corps in WWII would gave the Marine put his thumbprint on the reverse of the tag using India Ink and then the tag would go in an acid wash that removed the surrounding metal but not the thumbprint that was covered with India Ink.   Bill