USMC WWII Marine Alpha uniform with black star on sleeve

[AZPhil]

Not a Dumb one at all.
Its a US Marine Uniform designation.
You check in wearing your Alpha's(Full uniform)
Bravo's: No jacket but long sleeve shirt with tie.
Charles: Short sleeves.
In my day we had Winter(Wool) and Summer(Poly) service uniforms. so winter or summer Alpha, Bravo, Charlies Uniform of the Day.
Dress Blues are a different story.

I wore Cammies or Blue coveralls on the flight line.
Depended how dirty I was going to get.

But I was a "Alpha Marine". Bad Ass ,Highly Motivated , Hard Charger!!!

Semper Fi
Phil

[reneblacky]

Not a Dumb one at all.
Its a US Marine Uniform designation.
You check in wearing your Alpha(Full uniform)
Bravo: No jacket but long sleeve shirt with tie.
Charles: Short sleeves.
In my day we had Winter(Wool) and Summer(Poly) service uniforms. so winter or summer Alpha, Bravo, Charlies.
Dress Blues are a different story.

Semper Fi
Phil

Cheers Mate, never knew that! Thanks

[Philo]

AZPhil, that star definitely looks the same, and I spent an enormous amount of time online and in a couple reference books looking for black stars on USMC uniforms, to no avail. I asked him to send pictures of the buttons and will post them when he does. I have a pic I asked for before I actually saw the uniform, and it's blurry, but recognizable. The buttons look to be EGA.

This uniform, along with another Alpha Jacket, belonged to the grandfather of a friend of mine. The grandfather was an infantry Lt in the Pacific Theater in WWII, and the other Alpha blouse has the color three-point star patch of 3rd Mar Div, but no stars or other marking. I brought in my Alpha jacket, and the two were nearly identical, aside from slight differences in material and construction, and his had a tag saying it was made in Quantico. Obviously, we never used shoulder patches during my time in the Marines, and the only place I've even seen a patch of 2nd Mar Div(my division)is on the signs at Lejeune. In the infantry, we never even referred to ourselves by division, but by Bn/Regt, in my case, 1/8, 2/8 and 2/4. And, like you, I almost never used any dress uniform; the only time I wore Alphas was boot camp graduation, Infantry School graduation, NCO school graduation, and one USMC birthday when I happened to be in the US.

What puzzled me was why the 3rd Div patch was in color, while the star is subdued, since subdued is not used on dress uniforms. Your link points out that this was a working uniform, which would make sense. There are a few things that still don't make sense. You noted there is no stripe on the sleeve. The pockets and lapels of your example and the one I posted are slightly different, which could be due to different makers. My friend is positive these jackets both belonged to his grandfather, who was never in the Navy, and both jackets are exactly the same size, which lends credence to that claim. There is no evidence of flight insignia having been sewn above the pocket.

Perhaps Marine officers were issued these uniforms for use during admin down time between island invasions? It's extremely close to the grandfather's other Alpha jacket and my own, although it seems the belt is sewn in, rather than a separate piece, as with mine. The Alpha jacket with the patch had no belt with it either, having been lost over the years, along with the cover, trousers, etc, so I assumed it was the same with the black star jacket. I appreciate your link and information, and it's always a pleasure to interact with another Marine.

[Philo]

This is the other jacket, with the 3rd Mar Div patch.

This is a close-up of the buttons I had asked for when I first saw the black star. Looking at it now, I realize the black star uniform has no lapel insignia, so these pictures must be close-ups of the 3rd Mar Div uniform. I will post more pictures when I receive them.

[RH1941]

Is the jacket WWII dated I was under the impression that the strap on the shoulder on WWII jackets had an X pattern sewn on the corner closest to the shoulder. Gary

[08SMLE48]

I believe the first coat posted is a US Navy coat. The cuff of the coat is smooth. Marine Service coat cuffs (officer and enlisted) look like the picture below. You can see it in your picture of the 3rd MarDiv coat as well.

[harmonica]

...I was in the USMC 8 years --a little less,[ re-upped before my initial time was up ] ....yes, not even close to a USMC outfit
..Marines have very little ''extra''' patches/etc on their uniforms --which I like
..Phil were you in the Corps? I was in Marine Barracks Hawaii and then 3-6 out of Lejeune

[harmonica]

Philo, the USMC emblem is in the wrong direction on that coat

[AZPhil]

..Phil were you in the Corps? I was in Marine Barracks Hawaii and then 3-6 out of Lejeune

If that question is to me.
Yes from 79-86.
Airwinger.
NAS Willow Grove & MCAS Yuma.
I still work for them as Civil Service.

Semper Fi
Phil

[sargetom]

Interesting, I have a set of three WWII Navy Jackets including one similar to the one shown that I purchased several years ago at a second hand store for a very low price. Two of the jackets were tailored and the rank was for an Ensign which seemed to be a very low rank for an aviator. In researching this Aviator it turns out he was killed in action in the battle of the Coral Sea and his body was never recovered, he was however awarded the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart for his actions in assisting to sink a Japanese Aircraft carrier. I was always kind of surprised that the family or whomever donated these didn't wish to keep them but I guess to each their own!!