ee oo - the new york times...made it a point to visit the local surplus-sales store for his clothing...
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PRESTIGE
of the SoldierBy MAJOR A. M. KAMP, JR.
HE MAN was wearing the uniformofa soldier. He
Mees cncarea about the bus terminal with no apparent
objective but to mingle with the people coming and
going, and to stand in front of the magazine and
newsstand, ogling the pictures of half-nude females.
Oceasionally, he would enter a room bearing a signover the door marked ‘‘Gentlemen.’’? Each time he
reappeared carrying a wire-net basket of soiled paper
handtowels, which he dumpedinto a large canvas bag
in the rearof the terminal.A smartly dressed soldier standing at the ticket
counter asked the agent, ‘‘Who is that character in
the soiled OD’s, with no hat, wandering aroundhere?
He’s a disgrace to the uniform and should be picked
up by the MP’s.”’ Theticket agent looked up, laughed,
andsaid, ‘‘He’s no soldier. He just cleans up aroundhere, and empties the trash cans. He was never inthe Armyinhis life.’’
Asearly as 1946, short months after millions of vet-erans returned to civilian life from fighting WorldWarII,street cleaners, trashmen, garbage collectors,and tramps began to appear dressed in parts of uni-forms,the typestill being worn byoursoldiers. Someof these individuals were veterans wearing out theirArmyclothing on the job. In manyother cases theuniforms were discarded by veterans to be picked upby some tramp or derelict who at once adopted thenew clothing as his Sunday-best.
Because Army clothing was inexpensive, easy toobtain, and most suitable for wear in the elements,anyone who spent a great deal of his time outdoorsmade it a point to visit the local surplus-sales storefor his clothing needs. Hunters, fishermen, construc-tion workers, and otherclasses of outside workers tookonthe appearance ofsoldiers equipped forfield duty.A farmer in Fairfax, Va., purchased complete uni-
forms for his hired help so that they would be com-fortably and warmly dressed to do the chores andother labors about his farm. One of the farm handswasarrested by the Armed Forces Police for not beingin proper uniform. He was released with an apologyafter it was ascertained that he was not a member ofthe Army.
Lieutenant George F. Corrigan, Adjutant of theArmed Forces Police in the Military District of Wash-ington, says, ‘Our men have a tough job. They areoften embarrassed andcriticized for Seemingly over-stepping their authority when civilians have been
32
mistakenly picked up as improperly dressed soldiers,
It is an awkwardsituation, and cannot be coped withunless there is a law passed to stop this business,’Tremendous stocks of surplus clothing and equip.
ment were dumpedontbe civilian market by the WarAssets Corporation for consumer, capital, and pro.ducer goods. The War Department announced inFebruary of 1946 that the Surplus Property Admin-istration had directed some $40,000,000 worth ofclothing and materials, which had been declared sur-
plus be turned over to the War Assets Corporation fdisposal in this way. §
Prisons and workhouses purchased great quantitiesof shoes, trousers, shirts, sweaters, and dungarees fortheir inmates at great savings. Road gangs from theseinstitutions seen repairing the highways took on theappearance of Army fatigue details under armedguard, which in many instances required explanationto irate citizens who witnessed suchscenes.Muchdiscredit has been heaped upon the Army as
a result of pictures of apprehended thugs or banditswearing some part of an Army uniform. The imme:diate conclusion of the publie is that another exsoldier has gone bad—the fault of the Army. Insult isSometimes added to injury when a local “badboy,”after being incarcerated for robbing somerich widow,1s pictured in an “‘Ike’? jacket and has never been il)the Army, but is identified as an ex-GI.
Police teletype lookout reports, of which there are*pproximately 100 per day received by police hquarters in the Washington area, indicate that oneof every eight descriptions of a male thug to be pieup deseribes him as wearing some item of an Arm)uniform—an implication that the individual was,1s, a soldier,
tempt shown the uniform,The uniform has taken onall the aspects of
THE QUARTER
ball. Modifications and changes have been kieked
around so much andforso long that a soldier develops
mental anguish whenever he must decide whether
or not to purchase a newone. His problem—how
much wearwill he get out of his newoutfit before a
change requires him to purchase another one.
After World WarII the Armyhad a problem. The
“Tke’? jacket was designedforfield wear, to be worn
beneath a field jacket. A blouse, similar in design to
those worn byofficers, was authorized but never was
manufactured. Therefore it became necessary to con-
sider ways and means of making the present uniform
moreattractive for general service and dress wear.
A series of War Departmentcirculars directed that
jackets be tailored to fit more snugly, and waistlines shortened to eliminate wrinkling. Chevrons,collar ornaments, service stripes, and decorations were
added, completing the dress-up plan.Although this program did tend to improve the
appearance of the uniform, an enlisted reservist who
came back on active duty for a short period as a mili-tary escort for returning war dead remarked, ‘*This
is all very fine, but no matter what youdoto this out-
fit, it’s still like trying to make a silk purse out of a
sow’s ear.”’
The reservist was not the only one whorealized thatmore than just a little tailoring and trimming was
required to improve the appearance of the soldier.In August of 1946 the Armystarted scrimmage again;
this time to kick around the idea of adopting a blue
uniform for all troops, which would replace the olive-drab service uniform for general service and dress.
The War Department began a survey throughout
the Army to learn what the individual soldier would
like in the way of a blue uniform. Six teams, of sixmen and two WAC’s each, were selected to model
several combinations of the proposed uniforms before
large groupsof soldiers stationed at posts all over the
world. A questionnaire was distributed during the
modeling sessions, and the soldiers made theirselections.
Before the program could be completed, the models
and their experimental uniforms were ordered home.
Because of large appropriation cuts the adoption ofnew uniforms for the Armyhad to be shelved. Rela-tively few soldiers were given the opportunity to viewthe new blues.
In the meantime the soldier had to be content withwearing his OD uniform, sharing it with bums, dere-
U.S. DEFENSE BONDSNow Even Better
34
Besides, the stock of “Tke»
jackets was still plentiful and hadto be used up,
4 After the Korean War began, the Department ad
the Army concluded that to raise the prestige of ¢
infantry soldier, something had to be done about nit
ing him alittle more outstanding Realizing thaig 1 was out of the question, a field goal
licts, and criminals.
touchdow1
attempted. > as :Another circular was distributed, announcing thaj
to the same old OD uniform could be added a lightblueseart, light-blue plastic dises as backingforeo]
ornaments and cap insignia, and light-blue brocadeq
shoulder cords. This attempt to improvethe appear.
ance of the uniform was not very enthusiastically re
ceived. i . =‘A Korean veteran being confronted with a sold
dressed in one of these new‘‘get-ups”’ said, ““Migawd
he looks like the doorman at the Waldorf Asto; a
dressed up in olive drab.”’ s
While the Korean conflict was at its peak, another
attempt was made by the Armyto adopt a complenew uniform, this time of gray-green color,
trimmed in gold. The entire 3rd Infantry Regimwas equipped with the new-look uniformsto test them:
for a period of one year. ;
Soldiers of the regiment apparently approvedof thuniform outside of the complaint that the mate
would not withstand normal wear. Onesoldier said“This outfit has that ‘Ike’ jacket beat a dozen diff
ent ways. Outside of wrinklin’ up fast and baggin’
the knees, it feels comfortable and looks good. Weg,
lots of compliments onit.”’
Althoughit appeared to be a stepinthe right dire
tion, particularly because it was a complete change
from the drab OD, plans to adopt it were cancelbecause the material did not wear well. However, Geral J. Lawton Collins, before he left the Departmof the Army as Chief of Staff, approved forafter regular duty hours, a dress blue uniformenlisted men. aaThe blue uniform will not be issued, but ean
purchased at the option of the individual. Man:listed menhave indicated approval of the new bbut few if any will wantto purchase oneat a eapproximately eighty dollars.A proposal to adopt a uniform similar in ¢
color to the officer semi-dress uniform forService wear by all personnel was studied reThe uniform if approved would have consistsorkereey blouse, and light-gray, or ‘‘pink”’the Proposal was disapproved and the foo!is ene again in progress, 3‘aeeeae of men who have en!
he Army since World War II andaee pe much of our uniformBrest on Re more uniforms will
considerabl y itee a soldi neand alias Joel otk uniform,Ing, is selected and maplace of the present drab OD’s.
(Continued on page 96)THE QUART!
RUFE,,,ENUE, N.Y. 18
PRESTIGE OF THE SOLDIER
(Continued from page 34)
Pemireretxtie soldier reflects on the Service as 4 ;
whole. During national emergencies he is held jp the ction
greatest esteem by the public and Congress. But When jgbroducl?”his country seemsto be out of crucial and immediate and peacetl
danger, and budgets must be trimmed, he becomes, untlesstarget for the knife wielders. i) 1
Since 1946 this has been one of the biggeststop. j thoroue
caps to the adoption of a new uniform for the Army, —Prestige and morale, the basis for building and main. h
taining a spirited, well-trained Army, have suffered Here are t
as a result, in addition to the fact that the Armyapparently has no exclusive rights to the wearing of RY
the uniform.Private Maurice Wisel, who lives in Arlington, Va
reported that, ‘‘I thought the Army took overthe
building of the underpass at Glebe Road and Arling-ton Boulevard. Several of the men working on theproject were wearing ‘Ike’ jackets, combat boots,and overseas caps. I saw one guy with the Seventh PERSONArmyshoulder patch on his sleeve.”’ (A new uniform of different style and color would ‘he handsome
tend to correct the misuse of the present one, because : A “best buy’troops would no longer wear the same itemsof cloth — *onomy. 4 (ing released to the public through surplussales. Hov- 983 cakesofever, this would be but a terporary peigite until such eetime as released servicemen either discarded the nev Iv
uniform or used it for gardening,fishing, hunting, 0 | ORYas workclothes. ithe onl
Debauchery of the uniform has becomeeasy. Exist «hj eesrai
@ «world
pein"
riginal ¢
fF large size cakPopular for t
ae laws require only that distinctive insignia be t ' M8 you wa
moved in order to change it from a uniform toaitem of clothing that can be worn by anyonenot col Vo RY
nected with the Army. The individual soldier dat 7ec using any part of his uniform for civilia” The fast fla}
—he would b ° . + Tats jforn = ingsregulations, e charged with violating wi "8S safely
cae law is clear, but what person can conclude that \
; ne dressed in an Army uniform without i ,
nee IS not a soldier when even our Armed Fores Youae are sometimes confused. g fam}
¥ ution of the problem would require the pass? Be :
a law, Settin 2 ‘
& forth additional restrictions ™Y to the civilian populace who pure
THE QUARTERMASTER review
would appl.
tbechanged. This i
There is . This is the crux of the enti
‘tniformeee more distinctiveeG
_ ‘ppearanceis foe. ar the coleman rs wholity other col nt. Dye it black, bro |
t afeae it no longer eoke like2 Sees a
Iestige of the ee to correct this situation ie
{ ‘pe Raeleeee aea be parallel to that of the
an wearin 2 read about in the newspa; ers—
g GI clothing arrested.”’ oe
*
| Bees ADVISES
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