Capture Paper from Combat Medic

[hftiii]

Hello everyone,

This soldier took home quite a collection.....30 plus items (It appears that some additional items were added onto the duplicate copy)!

Tom

[Rakkasan187]

Tom,

Very interesting items.. Fountain pens, decks of playing cards, money... then I see a bayonet and some medals.. he was very busy souvenir hunting.. It would be a great collection if all these items stayed together afterwards...

Thanks for sharing. Capture papers with items and provenance are very desirable.. It validates the groupings a little more...

Smitty

[hftiii]

Thanks Smitty. This is one of three capture papers that I have and stands out because of the quantity of souvenirs. Were the items that soldiers could keep and send home pretty much unrestricted, unless important for intelligence gathering? Or U.S. government-issued? I recall reading an article in Yank magazine a few years ago that had an article on allowable souvenirs, but focused on American government issue, which was a big no no, at least for some items. One soldier was actually caught sending home parts of a jeep, which he planned to rebuild when home. When soldiers were preparing/waiting to return home from camps like Camp Lucky Strike, were they searched for (or at least threatened with being searched) for weapons before boarding transport ships?

Tom

[Rakkasan187]

Tom,

I am sure that a lot of items escaped the "eyes" of the inspectors and I don't believe there was too much punishment, aside from the obvious like a jeep or a submachine gun or something of the like. But many units returning from the war boarded the ships with individual weapons. They weren't sure if they were being shipped to the Pacific or not so many returning units did have their weapons with them. Given what the guys had just gone through fighting and all I am sure many items that should have been turned in found homes in the veterans footlockers and duffel bags coming home from war. I know of veterans who managed to "secure" their personal weapons like .45 pistols and rifles and there was no punishment. When they arrived in the states for out processing they simply did not turn items in..

Most GIs though wanted to forget the war and anything that reminded them of the war and they dumped it all at out processing centers like Fort Dix, Camp Miles Standish and other areas here stateside.

Smitty

[hftiii]

Very interesting information. Thanks Smitty.