Engineer Special Brigade patch question

[albatrosdva]

I picked up this tunic and overseas cap on ebay. I'm sure some of you all saw it. Since it is unnamed I have no way of knowing if all of the insignia is good or not. It surprises me to have a ESB tunic with a campaign ribbon with no invasions since it seems like that's pretty much what they did. There were no ESBs that served in four campaigns in the pacific so he had to have been in some before his amphibious training. The hat matches so well it is hard for me to thing that it is not original to the tunic. So many variations of color hard to match two together. It doesn't photograph well but the pocket has an oval place where the amphibious engineers patch was and has since fallen off or been removed. I know collectors like unmessed with uniforms but would it be bad to replace the patch since it was there originally? I am trying to document what I do so people know I am not intentionally making a spurious uniform but restoring it back to the way it should be. What do you think? Is that kind of restoration allowed or does any black light indication of recent tampering ultimately harm the item.

[Phill Lockett]

Hi there

You can restore the uniform as long as you document and put the paper work with the jacket if you sell it.

Hardest points with non documented uniforms it can go both ways messed up uniforms could be legit and perfect conditioned uniforms messed with deliberately.

Going by what you have pointed out I would use this as a representation of an ESB individual who served 24 months and ended up in Central Pacific.

Phill

[gel65]

I wouldn't even mess with it, jacket looks fine to me. I wouldn't be shocked if the GI removed the patch from his pocket and added it to his side cap. The side cap is super cool, you see these few and far between.