WWII USMC Marine Clothing Issued Items List 1944-45

Here's a list of items that Marines would have issued and in their possession, taken from one of my WWII USMC vet service record.

Korean War Khaki Pilot Marine Coat Corsair Flying Cross

A few weeks ago some amazing uniforms appeared on Ebay, too many to be honest. One of the uniforms I missed out on was this amazing Khaki Marine Officer's coat. While I am not much of a khaki coat or Marine Aviator collector or a big fan of the Corsair (My favorite WWII fighter is the Wildcat), this original owner of this coat was quite a Marine....! Earning a flying Cross for actions in the Korea War flying corsairs, really changed things up for me. There are very few things I regret missing out on but this Marine Pilot hero really tells an incredible story. Congratulations to the winner!

WWII USMC Marine Raiders Gunnery Sgt. Uniform Jacket

Every once in awhile a marine uniform appears that captures the imagination. This extremely difficult to find Raider coat appeared on our favorite auction site this week. Incredible!

WWII US Navy Lieutenant (jg) Hellcat Pilot VF-47 USS Bataan (CVL-29)

Here is a nice coat that appeared recently. It is named to a pilot who was attached to VF-47 (Fighting Cocks) flying Hellcats from the USS Bataan (CVL-29). This pilot participated in the sinking of the Yamato on April 6th 1945, where he was awarded the Flying Cross. Although not an ace, he shot down 3.5 aircraft during the Battle of Okinawa. Although not the focus of my collection, I've been looking for an excellent representation of a WWII Navy pilot attributed coat, this one being a great example.

WWII USMC Correct Ribbon Placement 1946 Marine Corps Gazette

Problems with how your Marine Corps ribbons and devices should be attached to a WWII USMC uniform? This is a great article from a 1946 Marine Corps Gazette article. What is great about it is the plain talk from the writer of the article of how ribbon and shooting badges should be attached. There is always something to learn and this article even made me reevaluate how I attached these items to my uniform restorations.

WWII USMC PFC 28th Marines 5th Marine Division Uniform Jacket

It's been while! Here is a USMC Coat IDed to a Marine in the Weapons Company 28th Marines and a vet of Iwo Jima. The Jacket was stripped when purchased but the outline of his rank and 5th MarDiv SSI is still visible. This coat was later recycled out to a Marine who served from 1946-1949. Only the second 28th Marines coat I have managed to locate.

Wileys Uniform Accessory Shop Custom WWII 1/2 Sized Marine/Navy Ribbons

Jason Foust, owner of Wileys Uniform Accessory Shop has recreated and reproduced the correctly sized USMC and Navy 1/2 sized uniform ribbons for uniform restorations. If you're not aware, during WWII the US Navy and Marines ribbons were sized differently than the 3/8 sized army Ribbons. If you restore uniforms like myself you soon realize it is difficult and cost prohibitive at times to recreate ribbons bars, as some 1/2 ribbons are difficult or near impossible to locate. Jason has taken the time to tool up and acquire original NOS WWII ribbon to recreate ribbons for a restored ribbon rack. Its amazing work he's producing. Jason was also one of the main purchasers of the Wosk hoard of WWII uniform items. Overall Jason is a great source to restore your uniform with not only newly reproduced 1/2 ribbons but NOS shoot badges, SSI Patches, Rank, Rates etc. You can visit his Fabcebook page here.