Yes, the "Vulcan" lighter case dates to the 1950s. 

Hey everyone, this Marine Raider stiletto came into the shop today and was hoping to get some more info and a good value on it. I believe it’s real but this topic is exotic to me. Any help is appreciated!   jake

I loved reading about this exemplary officer and the men under his command.  What a great story of this fellow Oklahoman and his troops.  The uniform is awesome!  Thank you for sharing all this and the history you put together.  — Matt

. Well it's unfinished, time ran out today.   In reality it appears that we started work on this one to one scale wooden Jeep two to three weeks too late.  We had to call it away this afternoon so that the ladies can start covering the body with knitted panels. . We have axles, springs and wheels to attach, and a windshield as well which will have to be done in the coming weeks. Friday about 11 am is the official opening being attended by the mayor of Carentan and other officials, the ladies who knit the displays and friends and family.   During the day today Tansy was interviewed by FaceTime from a television station in Scotland for a news report tonight.  Local newspapers and UK newspapers have all written articles in preparation of the opening tomorrow.  Pots of knitted flowers were assembled ready to brighten the outside approach to the porch.     The eighty one-metre panels are all back from an American tour and set up in place for tomorrow's opening .               Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, 02 April  2O26.  

Hi Ken, I know when I looked up the unit on Newspapers dot com it was definitely still around in the 50’s and 60’s.

I had never seen either the caterpillar nor the moth before. I think the markings are supposed to make predators think it is some form of a snake. It was a large caterpillar as you can see the scale of the decking wood it was on when I took that photo. One took longer to go to pupation so presumably if it survived over winter it will be turning up in a few days. Hope there are more later this year, they're welcome to munch on the vine leaves as I'm always having to cut them back later in the season to let sunlight reach the grapes. 

All, Please pardon my absence. I’ve been sorting through helmets, helmet pictures, test documents, etc.     While sorting through my photos, I spotted some gems that I had forgotten about. Several photos I have dealt with the 1919-Pattern (AKA Chaffee helmet) tanker helmet. Amazingly, the 1919-Pattern tanker helmet was used as late as 1940, assuming the photo is dated correctly. I also have several of 1937-dated photos of the 1919-Pattern helmet in use.  Why so late? Some units in the U.S. Army are more equal than others and new equipment is fielded to them first. Lower priority units use what they have until  they eventually get the newer equipment. So tankers wearing the 1919-Pattern helmets in the late 1930s and early 1940s were almost certainly in lower priority units. When I was on active duty I served in a low priority division from 1986 to 1989, the 5th Infantry Division (Mech).     If you want to see the 1937-dated photos let me know. 

. Hi Kevin,    wow can't recall seeing any of these when I lived in the UK. the head on the caterpillar looks like some type of snakes head . . . . .    Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, 02 April  2O26.   …

. Hi Johan & earlymb.   I do feel that the metal knob for the blackout switch is a hard one to find. o.d. plastic is much more common to find.      Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, 02 April  2O26.   …

Not many Navy rate collectors out there but these Chief Petty Officer Airship Rigger rates are pretty rare.