1940'S US COAST GUARD SOUVENIR JACKET

Today's pick is a nice example of a private purchase 1940's "varsity type" buttoned down jacket ,that belonged to a Coast Guard who served in Europe.

Roy's jacket is adorned with a beautiful ww2 CG patch and a second version of the 1944 USN amphibious forces patch....As not a regulation item i doubt that Roy wore it during his time in service but most likely after the war like a souvenir jacket maybe !?.None the less it has a good place in my collection ......   

 Coast Guard's units were assigned to the Navy during the spring 1941.It's on November of the same year that the Coast Guards were ordered to operate as part of the Navy.  Among the most important Coast Guard undertakings were cold weather operations in Greenland, anti-submarine warfare escort in the Atlantic, amphibious landings, search and rescue, beach patrol, and LORAN [long range navigation] duty.

Coast Guard personnel manned amphibious ships and craft from the largest troop transports to the smallest attack craft.  These guys landed Army and Marine forces in every important invasion: from North Africa to Italy,Normandy and Iwo Jima in the Pacific.  Also, due to their experience in handling boats, Coast Guardsmen helped train members of the other military services in the use of amphibious craft. 

Two hundred and thirty one thousand men and 10,000 women served in the Coast Guard during World War II.  Of these, 1,918 died, a third losing their life in action.     Almost 2,000 Coast Guardsmen were decorated, one receiving the Medal of Honor, six the Navy Cross, and one the Distinguished Service Cross. The Coast Guard returned to the Treasury Department on 1 January 1946.

WW2 USN N4 WITH ARTWORK

During WW2 composite sqdn 41 was operating from USS Makin Island (CVE93) the squadron's patch was designed by Disney's studio and depicts a boxing gloves wearing vulture carrying a torpedo......                                                                                                                                                                                             Composite squadrons( VC ) were operating from small carrier( CVE ).The CVE was an escort carrier built, in the beginning, on an oiler or merchant-ship hull. They had the smallest flight decks and slowest top speed of all the U.S. carriers. There were also far more of them commissioned during World War II than any other carrier type.A composite squadron at the time, by the way, was called that because it operated more that one type of airplane, e.g. fighters as well as bombers. They came to existence because the small number of airplanes they could carry didn't justify the bureaucracy associated with two or three squadrons and an air group commander...... 

A MILE IN MY SHOES part8....40's THOROGOOD BOOTS

Weinbrenner Shoe Company was established in 1892 ......

At 27 Albert Weinbrenner  starts a business with partner Joseph Pfeifer repairing and selling boots and shoes out of a storefront in Milwaukee.Wi ,calling their new venture: "Weinbrenner and Pfeifer." Their specialty:"work boots".

In 1900 After eight years in the repair and sales business the partners decide to go into manufacturing and purchased the Knoll Shoe Company for $1,500. The new company is named:"Albert H. Weinbrenner Company". Manufacturer of military, work and uniform footwear,Weinbrenner  is better known nowadays for their Thorogood brand first introduced in 1918 .Thorogood has now grown into the company's premiere collection....... 

THE CONVOY CAP ....A PAPA NUI SPECIAL EDITION

Cargo is king ! and the PAPA knows it.For that reason,PAPA's HQ decided it was safer for our boys most needed supplies,to be sailed out onboard the Captain's own schooner,making this "life line" less of a target than your usual" Liberty ship"convoy.Few days earlier the Captain and his crew received a little surprise from the red cross : a beautifully hand knitted beanie that will surely keep them warm while heading to their secret destination .......