Wednesday, July 25, 2012

WWII USMC private 2nd Division

Here is a nice example of a 2nd Marine Division service coat. Not sure if it is a private or the rank was taken off. The photography was excellent on this one.

Monday, July 23, 2012

WWII USMC Sgt. 5th Marine Division

After a year of looking I finally have managed to locate a original 5th Marine Division service coat. This jacket is named to a Marine who enlisted in 1937 and was a truck driver through his entire career and later was attached to the 5th Marine Division as a Truck Driver and an Officer Mess cook. If he was attached to the Division he must have went to Iwo but I won't know for sure until I get his service record.Update 11/12 I did receive this Marines paperwork and unfortunately some of his pages were missing. It has him leaving San Diego then the next entry has him leaving Japan! There is a lot of missing paperwork with this one. According to the Rosters he is listed in the 5th Truck Transport Battalion in January and April entries and the battalion was stationed at Iwo through February but nothing definitive. Even more odd is that he disappears off ancestry, other than his single census info from the 1930's he's USMC rosters is the only information listed on any database. It's like he only lived for the corp!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

WWII USMC M-1 Helmet Camo Cover

I only have one WWII USMC helmet with a Camo cover and this is it. I purchased it years ago at Kaiser Bills in Pomona CA. It has a first pattern cover with the Postwar EGA added to the cover. Somebody also with an ink pen drew a medical Caduceus on the side of the cover. The liner has a waterslide 4th Marine division on the side. With the prices for these helmets only going up I am glad I had purchased mine when I had.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

WWII USMC Master Technical Sergeant

I tend to collect only USMC jackets with SSI on them but here is one I passed up that now that I look at it in detail is quite a great jacket. Belonging to a Master Technical Sergeant it appears that is Marine was a regular and served before the War even started. First he earned a Bronze Star and he also received a Good Conduct medal twice. He has the Prewar American National Emergency ribbon and the American Campaign. Looks like this Marine was also in two battles. Makes me wonder if the SSI was taken off somewhere along the line. This is a great example of an Old Corp Marine jacket and the winner really got a unique rank that doesn't often appear.

WWII USMC Sgt. Shirt 1st Marine Division

Here is an exceptional WWII wool shirt with a SSI patch of a Marine Sgt. that was in the 1st Marine Division. Once again SSI shirts are quite difficult to locate and worth picking up if you see one for sale.

Monday, July 16, 2012

USMC Corporal 5th Marine Division

Legit 5th Marine Division service coats I believe are the toughest to locate. The many I see for sale are usually made up fakes or if they are original they are not named. This follows the second category. Although it is unnamed I feel this is an original example. Why so many 5th Division jackets are unnamed I do not know but it seems most common in 5th Marine Division Jackets.

Monday, July 9, 2012

USN S2c USS Mullany DD528

It's been a bit top heavy with Navy items here at MIFG but I have just been stumbling into some great Iwo Jima and Navy related items recently. The latest pick up is this S2c jumper belonging to a Bluejacket who was the the USS Mullany (DD528) a Destroyer that participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima in a fire support role and the Battle Of Okinawa where it was hit by a wayward Japanese aircraft that nearly sunk the ship. The sailor that this Jumper is named to is listed on the ship roster and participated in both events.