[QUOTE=Dos;2343846]Thanks komet, Thats why i pulled the trigger on this one a few years back. I still don't know what HR 301 stands for
Smitty, "cherish" is exactly the word I would use to describe those memories and mementos, and every reminder that they grow fewer year by year becomes that much more hateful. A constant reminder to seize the day and enjoy the moments you can share together, if you can. Amongst the seemingly endless list of things I owe my Dad for, one of the most important was his introduction of World War 2 to me.
These two pieces, an M1942 mess kit and a M1942 canteen, are what started a lifelong interest in collecting the artifacts of this conflict. Their significance to me is greater than any monetary value and I would trade ANY other piece I own to keep them in my collection. My Grandfather, who was a welder at the Newport News Shipyard from the mid 1930s until his death in the late 1980s, found these items amongst many others while clearing out ships returning home from Europe. He brought them home for his son, my Dad, to play with. Somehow they survived his childhood during the 50s and 60s, and when I was old enough he gave them to me to enjoy (guilt free!) just as he had. I played with these, an M1910 shovel, a Clyde machete (supposedly "found" on a submarine), M1 helmet liners, Carlisle bandages and hundreds of rounds of original 30s .45 ACP ammunition and pistol magazines; all spoils left behind on those boats by the soldiers coming home. Looking back now, it feels like I was lucky enough to experience the last unfettered childhood of the 20th Century.
I love to find pieces with names on them, even if "Billy" turned out not to be a US GI but instead the proud son of that GI. Or a Boy Scout who found something neat at the A&N or local surplus store. To put your name on an object is special. It is yours and you have claimed it, and though there might be others like it, this one is yours. My Dad "made his mark" on both of these pieces, joining into a special relationship with the men of the past who also "named" them. Our last name was originally "Schreiber," and all of the men in my family have loved putting their name or initials on just about everything they owned. I am no different, and embrace the practice as it is truly a part of who I am.
The mess kit is really a unique piece and it deserves it's own thread. If you take a close look you will see an amazing itinerary of exotic locations this kit has traveled to, as well as the soldier's name, rank and identification number. Included in this list of destinations is inscribed: "CAPE HATTERAS." This was my Dad's contribution, as he took it camping with him on a family vacation down to North Carolina. The dialog continues!
About twenty years ago I was able to track down the soldier who carried this kit and was able to speak with him on the telephone. He really could not believe I had found his mess kit and thought I was trying to play a trick on him. When I read his identification number out loud he confessed I must have it! The one thing I vividly remember him saying several times was "You have REALLY got a souvenir there." I offered to return it to him but he told me to keep it as he had no one to leave it to.
Would I be writing this reply today if I had never received these two simple gifts?
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