Service memorabilia

I was issued a flat hat in '61 when I enlisted, but never wore it. Maybe they just wanted to get rid of them.

Don
It could have just been here in the First district. They'd had a couple of Navy guys hit by cars while hitchhiking (if I remember correctly) and switched to the white hats for visibility. Long time ago but I think that was the reason given.
 

I was issued a flat hat in '61 when I enlisted, but never wore it. Maybe they just wanted to get rid of them.

Don
We should have been wearing them. That white Dixie cup hat was useless in foul weather, .... unless you were interested in collecting some rain water. The flat hat was a lot warmer and could shed a little water, … and it was better looking as well.

And that story they fed us in boot camp about using the white hat as a floatation device was nonsense. I never once went to General Quarters wearing a white hat. What were we supposed to do if we had to abandon ship, run back to our lockers before going topside.
 
I have kept my father's army uniforms. He was stationed at Los Alamos and his uniforms have the atomic bomb patch. He watched the first test at the Trinity site. He had a small box with pieces of sand that had been turned into pale green glass but it has disappeared over the years.
 

Still have some of the medals somewhere in a box, Vietnam war service medal, Army air medal, c.i.b, etc. They, however are not my prize possession. That would be the drawer full of my dad's WWII medals. (y) I suppose sometime in the future, my daughter or grand children will want mine.
 
I kept a field jacket and skivvies. The rest discarded after three months or so. Wore the field jacket
until I I wore it out working for Halliburton. Out grew the skivvies.
 
My brother made us both shadow-boxes with Dad's medals in them. One of them has his hat. Very precious to have.
My dad was a career Army man. He fought in three wars and was actually involved in four wars. I had a lot of his things from his career, along with so many other personal things or as I call them, memories. Our former house burned completely and we lost everything. It was a 100% loss. The day that house burned to the ground was the day that I lost more than just a house.
 


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