Thanks for posting a really nice piece.  

USMC caps, do not have the black band around them

You'll also note on the diagram that the eyelets are laced from inside to outside.  That is, the running part of the lace is inside passing up and out of the eyelets and then back down inside.  Each pair of eyelets are secured with a round turn and half-hitch with the hitch on the inside.

. Hi Flibble,   yes it was / is the Panther at Houffalize, a couple of more photos of it from more recent trips...       Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, 09 July  2O26.   ..    

Thank you again Dan for your great contributions. You took time out of your day to do this research and for the benefit of others, which I hold in high respect. I was able to find out about his pacific service but lacked the details you have found. I am working on his binder, which I'll post here when I'm finished. Here is an excerpt from my research: "Marion’s early service was with the 27th Infantry Division, departing San Francisco on April 7, 1942, for Hawaii in the Central Pacific Theater. While stationed in Hawaii, the 27th Infantry Division was reorganized, and the 108th Infantry Regiment was transferred to the 40th Infantry Division on September 1, 1942. If Marion remained with the 108th Infantry Regiment, his service would have continued under the 40th Infantry Division, though his exact assignment during this period has not yet been determined. If this was the case, Marion would have spent roughly eight months serving in the Pacific with the 40th Infantry Division. Marion departed from the pacific theater on the 6th of May, 1943 and returned to the United States on the 14th." I'll be sure to update what I have with what you were able to find. This has been an immense help and makes Marion's story much more interesting. I'd like to assure members of the forum that I do not intend to sell this grouping if the deal goes through. Part of me asked out of curiosity along with gauging an appropriate price to give his son. Thanks again for everyone's help on this. I'll continue to update as I go. 

Very interesting thread.

This Lock and the twin 1862 were the first locks put out by the Bridesburg.  There are several reasons for the mismatched barrels in 1863-64-65.  Battle repairs, the Fenian Brotherhood purchase, or just someone replacing or building a period musket barrel.   I am working on a book about locks. Would you give me permission to use this photo if needed?  Also, how would you like to be credited?   The Fenian Brotherhood is credited with stamping "O" on their locks/plates.  

Those two pictures, no.5 and 6, with the Panther are in Houfalize, right? That one was restored a few years ago.  Heh, Grottes de Remouchamps. I remember the first time visiting those as a little kid, back in the 80s.  

I posted this in another thread, but it probably belongs here.   Pic of USCG guys on Iwo Jima, while most don't have helmet covers, slits can be clearly seen on the helmet of the guy in the N1 cleaning his '03.    The guy at the the forefront of the pic with the very stretched cover seems to have no slits in his. 

This is a somewhat rare design, made-in-the-Philippines buckle: “CLASSIC WIZARD” is the code name for a historically classified signals intelligence system operated by the United States Navy and the National Security Agency (NSA). It is directly tied to naval cryptology and the monitoring of maritime communications.     “POCG”, the acronym at the bottom stands for “Program Operation Command Group”.