I've got my grandfather's M42s. Although highly irregular, he was a pilot on B-17s and later 29s and he wore the M42s because of the comfort and extra storage for extra K-rations and sandwiches for the long flights and extra equipmemt that he always took in case they got shot down or had to ditch like extra gloves and socks, first aid supplies and packets of coffee, assorted tools and extra ammo for his pistol. That's the story he told me anyway and they do have his Army Air Corps insignia and rank on them. They are still packed in his footlocker, like he left them.
I’d recommend to you to take them out and conserve. Make sure there are no Moles in there. It would be a shame to lose such a piece of history in such way.
Also document how he packed his uniform, the condition of everything, it would be very important. My grandfather had a similar situation from Korea, but many moth holes were in his uniform
@@kapitandemolka431 or he could just wear it, depends on the state of it of course, I have some WW2 stuff, bust mostly vietnam and korea and i wear them all the time
I would love if he did a gaming uniform video on the uniforms of the Russian military in the Battlefield game franchise, namely Battlefield 3 and 4, and possibly 2042
I think one of the funnier aspects is that the US Military implemented so many design elements from the US Paratrooper uniforms that actually had a proper field use, and made them unusable and only incorporated them as an aesthetic feature. I know when we wore ABU's we had 4 pockets on our top, but were told that we were never allowed to actually use them to store stuff so a lot of people just had them sewn down.
I hated the hyperfocus on looks over function that infects the military. I would use my pockets to the dismay of my NCOs. When I became a NCO, I would still use my pockets.
Back when I was in the Marines, during the days of the BDU, we weren't allowed to use the one slot in the chest pocket. Instead, we wer told to put our pens inside our blouses clipped to the top of the material that had the button holes. We were also not really supposed to use the bottom pockets on our lbouses, not even in the field.
@@Riceball01 Yeah, we weren't allowed to have the pen top showing. I do remember some Marines going and getting the pockets sewn down and getting busted for "Unserviceable" uniforms. That said, with ALICE gear, you couldn't really put anything in the lower pockets anyway, as your belt went right over them. Years later I was a surplus dealer buying uniforms from my local USAF base from the individual airmen, and got burned several times because not only had the pockets been sewn down (which I could fix with a seam ripper after all) but the gussets were cut away so there was no pocket anymore, just a thing to sew patches on (Something the AF loves to do). It was not only allowed but encouraged by some commands.
Hey, UH, you want a topic to dig into? ParaMarine uniforms from the brief flirtation that the Corps had with airborne forces in 1942-43. Good luck, but it's a fascinating topic!
Thanks to the old Baggy Pants Devils. I remember many staff officers in my unit during the late 80's sewing the cargo pockets flat. They actually wanted to look like a POG back then.
Please do a video on the Russian/Soviet Gymnasterka Jacket, finding info about all the different models, types, fabrics used, and ways to wear them kinda gets hard when no one is really sure what is true and what is not, especially when uniform regulations were rarely followed, be it during the wars or after.
I love the Vietnam Jungle fatigue, particularly the third pattern where they got rid of the gas flap. It really strikes me as a uniform slowly developed for field and less for garrison. The original parajump uniform is still excellent
Excellent history of an iconic US Army uniform! I was told that non-paratrooper units received and issued these uniforms as well, but have never been able to confirm it with photos or documents. What do you think?
It wouldn't surprise me if they did. Regular infantry troops probably bartered with Airborned troops for their uniforms because the either though that they were cooler looking and/or better than what they were issued. It's not exactly unheard of for regular troops to want to look like more like elite troops thinking that because the elite troops were better, their and uniforms must be better too.
I want to say the jump boots were often obtained by regular infantry, when they could. Just don’t let the paratroops catch you and you’d have you a great pair of boots!
@@TitusCastiglione1503 So, I wore Cochran Paratrooper boots as an Artillery man in the Army and it was never an issue. In fact, we fought with Infantry troops anytime were in garrison at the same time, so boots were not an issue. Cochran boots were better with spit shine than the normal issue boots, so we wore them all the time.
@@FreeAmericaChannel was this during ww2 or post ww2? Cause, I’ve heard numerous historical books mention how paratroopers during ww2 were incredibly jealous of their distinctive unit items and would be highly irritated with normal troops who obtained such items such as paratrooper boots.
The uk practically copied that with a few minor changes when we went from soldier 95/2000 to PCS in the 2010’s. The aircrew mtp variant (FACS) is pretty much that style 😂
Ironic how the brass wanted to negate useful components in battle dress for the sake of appearance in garrison, only to totally abandon the concept of garrison khakis in favor of the camo slob look. Nowadays it's camo fatigues everywhere, except for dress . Jeezus, they even have the Navy guys wearing blue camo! As if! Where did they get tis idea?.