Picked this USAF UH-1F Co-Pilot’s door. Pretty cool, painted blue and pretty good condition.     

This would have been on the first USS TEXAS (BB-1).   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Texas_(1892)   Per the wiki link, USS TEXAS (BB1) was renamed USS SAN MARCOS (BB1) in 1911 to allow the name to be reassigned to the new BB-35.   USS SAN MARCOS was short-lived as it was stricken from the naval records in October 1911 and used as a gunnery target in shallow waters Chesapeake Bay throughout WW2.   It is unknown whether the new name was for the at the time small Texas town of San Marcos, which is south of Austin and north of San Antonio or for some other "San Marcos".   The only other US ship named San Marcos was LSD-25 in WW2 (1944) and was named after the old Spanish fort, Castillo de San Marcos, St Augustine. FL.

I figured I’d take the chance to share this one-of-a-kind piece, and also see if anyone might know where it ended up. I originally picked up this duffel in 2023 from a local surplus store, and ended up selling it later that year to someone out West. Looking back, that’s one I really wish I had held onto. Getting it back is honestly at the top of my list right now. While I had it, I spent some time researching it and was able to tie it to Lieutenant Colonel Oscar J. Morel Jr., who passed away in 2004 in Birmingham, Alabama. I put together the following Based on what I was able to find:   Lieutenant Colonel Oscar J. Morel Jr. was born on January 12, 1921, in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. He grew up there and attended Woonsocket High School, where he stayed involved in school life. He was involved with football, being part of the French Club, and even managing the basketball team. After graduating, he went on to Rhode Island State College in 1939 as part of the Class of 1943, majoring in Agriculture. During his time there, he was active in Theta Chi Fraternity, took part in the Polygon interfraternity council, and was involved in Army ROTC.   On March 3, 1942, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Starting out as a Private First Class, he went through officer training and earned his commission as a Second Lieutenant. He was then assigned as a platoon commander with the Regimental Weapons Company, 25th Marines, 4th Marine Division.   He saw heavy combat in the Pacific, beginning with the landing on Saipan on June 15, 1944. The fighting there was intense, with thousands of casualties in just the first few days. After Saipan, his unit moved on to Tinian. For his actions during these campaigns, Lt. Morel was awarded the Bronze Star with “V” Device for heroism in combat.   From what I remember coming across while researching this years back, part of that recognition may have involved him taking out a Japanese tank using an anti-tank weapon. I haven’t been able to track that source down again, so I can’t fully confirm it—but it’s something I’m still trying to verify.   He later took part in the invasion of Iwo Jima in February 1945. During the fighting, on February 21, he was wounded in action and evacuated, receiving the Purple Heart. Despite that, he went on to serve a full 26-year career in the Marine Corps, holding leadership roles in places like Japan, Guam, and Twenty-Nine Palms.   After retiring, he lived a quieter life with his wife Mary and their children, John and Junie. He passed away on May 18, 2004, at the age of 83.   "thetachi.org" also claims he received the Silver Star in this line from their website "Lt. Oscar J. Morel, Eta/Rhode Island 1943, USMC, was wounded at Iwo Jima.  He had previously received a Silver Star for gallantry in action in Saipan, a Bronze Star and a Presidential Citation."   If anyone has any information on the current whereabouts of this duffel, or anything further on Lt. Morel’s service, I’d really appreciate hearing from you.   Thanks,  Hayden

Hello Ronnie,   Yes, the General posted that thread and I immediately went there.  You have a FANTASTIC collection and people have posted some wonderful examples as well.  Great thread and for one am grateful that you started it.   OD 

Here is a uniform I just got.

🤣🤣🤣

General,   Thanks for posting your Jeep!  While there are subtle differences, I would suspect they were made by the same company.  You prompted me to look at the bottom of my Jeep (and photo it) and I do not see any markings.  These little suckers are cool.     Thanks again!     OD 

This is a grouping of items from his time in service. The grouping consists of several undershirts, overseas caps, his awards and patches, a gun cleaning case full of foreign money, a tie clip, and what I assume is one of his brothers egas, his diary and a booklet he got in France. He was trained at Camp Croft and was supposed to be sent to Germany but his son had contracted appendicitis which almost killed him. He was granted leave but by the time he got back to Camp Croft his unit had left him behind. For the next couple months he taught type writing at Camp Croft until he was shipped out to England. From England he was supposed to be shipped out to Italy but a mistake was made causing him to not be sent. After a few days he was shipped out to the Napoleon War College where after a few weeks he was woken in the middle of the night and took in a jeep to Paris where he was told he would be a aide to General Eisenhower. He recalls for the next 1-2 years being in meetings with Eisenhower and several other generals including Patton, Bradley, Hodges, Admiral Kirk, and Richardson. He specifically remembers Patton for being unique and remembers him coming to meeting dressed in field clothes and fatigues while everyone else wore their service uniforms. He stayed an aide for Eisenhower in Paris until VE Day where he remembers the celebration. A few days later he was promoted to Sergeant and was moved to Versailles where he would write letters to the families of killed in action soldiers. He has a great story and was interviewed in 2002 and I wanted to share his interesting story 

Thanks for sharing.

I found it on page 327 of the new edition of the book. I'm certain I remember it from the first edition as well.