Article about: Good day fellas. It has been in the works for a long time, for me to move from the state of Kentucky, to Pennsylvania to be hired on to a railroad job. This meant leaving my home, my pets an
It has been in the works for a long time, for me to move from the state of Kentucky, to Pennsylvania to be hired on to a railroad job. This meant leaving my home, my pets and my family behind. I had to sell a large chunk of my collection so I could travel to Pennsylvania in my little Toyota and have everything fit I kept my favorites, like my German Artilleryman's tunic, my first German helmet, among other things. The day I left was very sad and emotional for me and my family. The trip was long and melancholy, but went well.
I made a stop at my grandmothers house in Western PA before I continued my journey east. I dug up some bottles on the old farm dumps for a bit and completed projects for her around the house. Then I decided to see what the local antique shops had for sale, and that's when I hit the literal motherload.
I will break up what I found in different threads, but the totals are two Ike jackets, Three identified Navy jumpers with pants, an unidentified navy jumper with pants, and another Navy jumper without ID. I also received two Ikes that came in the mail that I had sent ahead of me to PA.
So without any further ado, I will now showcase the beautiful Ikes that belonged to the same soldier, and the bizarre story that goes with them...
This Ike is dated April 21st, 1945. The owner probably wore this during late occupation duty, into the Korean war, es evidenced by the later period rank patches. Everything looks original to the jacket and is period. The 7th army patch is a beautiful theater made piece. I'm not quite sure what the rope thingie is. I forget the name of it, but I don't think it is an American award.
The two DI's are for the 201st Field Artillery and 28th Field Artillery regiments.
This one seems closer to the 1946-1949 period of occupation. It belonged to the same soldier as evidenced by the laundry number, M5769. Here is where it gets interesting.
When I bought the first Ike, I was having a conversation with the shop owner about my search for WWII uniforms. An older lady in the shop heard me, and said that she had a uniform that her dad brought home from the war. She said that I could pick it up from her house later that week.
The appointed date rolls around, and my GPS takes me out to this house in the middle of nowhere. I walk up to the house and ring the doorbell and as I'm standing on the porch, I notice that there are multiples of everything, like Garden gnomes, and different things, all in perfect neat little rows. The door opens, and the lady appears, but she has no idea who I was, or at least she acted that way. I told her that we had agreed on me buying her dads uniform from her that day. She made me stand on the porch and when she finally brought it out, I swear I had hypothermia. I paid her $50 which was what she asked. When I asked her who her dads name was, she refused to answer by saying quite bluntly, "I don't wanna say.". I asked her her name and she gave the same response. I thanked her and made my way, but I'm still quite perplexed by it all. I think something wasn't right upstairs. It's really unfortunate that no name goes with this piece.
Perhaps with a bit of detective work on the laundry number, I can find the owner. The DI that is on each jackets, the 201st FA Btl. is a West Virginia National Guard unit. He had to be a West Virginian, or someone from a bordering state I believe. I'll get to the bottom of it eventually.
Nice finds Rusty! And interesting story.
To answer your question about the “rope thingie “ on the first Ike, it is a fourragere for the croix de guerre. As worn looped around the left shoulder it would have been a unit award If it was a personal award a ribbon would have been worn on the ribbon rack above the left breast pocket.
Occupation and beyond Ikes
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