July 23, 20206 yr #1 Hello all, As I’m sure everyone knows, right after WWII surplus items were pretty darn cheap and easy to get. As a result, many kids got ahold of militaria and fought WWII over again in their yards. From what I have seen, they sometimes camouflaged and modified the gear. I was wondering, does anyone have examples of this? Thanks, MinorInHistory
July 23, 20206 yr #2 Although I'm not old enough to have been a kid during the postwar era, When we were kids, we bought surplus liners and covered them in postwar British netting. We would tuck the netting under the liner suspension. It was very loose and would look "ghillie" drooped over our faces. When we would visit our grandpas ranch which had a 2 acre pond on the property, we would wear surplus flight suits. Since we were all tall children, the small sizes fit well. When it was time for dinner, we would just strip the suit off without bHaving to be hosed off. As a side story, my step dad's father was in the war and brought back many swords and firearms from Germany. When my stepdad and his brothers were home alone, they would go under their father's bed and pull out two bring backs that weren't locked in the rifle case and use them when they played in the back yard. The two guns, I kid you not, was one MP40 and one Stg44. The two guns ended up being turned into the police dept after the Rodney King riots years later. Regardless of the fact that kids were allowed to play with full auto sub guns, if only they knew how much those guns would be worth now is incomprehensible .
July 23, 20206 yr #3 We had an extended thread awhile ago about how many of our members were outfitted with GI Surplus for their Boy Scout camping gear. I tried finding it, but we had a number of members who went weekend camping with surplus canteens, packs, hats and fatigues, and event tents. Aside from that, I had a neighbor who's father had apparently been in the Pacific. I never had a chance to talk to him about it, but one day his son decided to play superhero and ran around the outside the house with a cape that was actually a Japanese silk good luck flag Dad had brought back.
July 24, 20206 yr Author #4 Thanks for the stories! My Grandpa was in the scouts in the 50s, and he remembers using a lot of old army gear too. I’ve noticed that some of the scout branded gear after the war looks similar to army gear. I wonder if some manufacturers just kept making their wartime items but converted them for scouts. Woody, it’s crazy that they were able to mess around with those weapons! I think the neighbors must have been a little nervous... Keep em coming! MinorInHistory
July 24, 20206 yr #5 When I was in the Boy Scouts in the mid 1950s there was a troop sponsored by Ft Stewart (US Army) in our region. When they came to summer camp they were equipped quite well with US Army gear.
July 24, 20205 yr #6 12 hours ago, MinorInHistory said: Thanks for the stories! My Grandpa was in the scouts in the 50s, and he remembers using a lot of old army gear too. I’ve noticed that some of the scout branded gear after the war looks similar to army gear. I wonder if some manufacturers just kept making their wartime items but converted them for scouts. Woody, it’s crazy that they were able to mess around with those weapons! I think the neighbors must have been a little nervous... Keep em coming! MinorInHistory I don't think so. I was in the Boy Scouts from the mid-1960's to the mid-1970's. The Official Boy Scout (OBS) gear was different from GI issue, mostly lighter. It may have been made by some of the same manufacturers, but it was distinctly different. But as I recall, we thought the military stuff was "cooler" when when we could get it.
Create an account or sign in to comment