The fate of most uniforms

[MilitaryCollect]

On my friend Edgar's(uboot vet) release document there is a stamp in blue ink stateing that he had so long think it was 30 days after being released to get a civilian suit or take his uniform to the bergermeister for redyeing.

Hello,

That must have been a common practice. I recently bought a DAK blanketcoat from someomne in Germany. The exterior of which had been dyed black (water soluable dye). It washed out nicely but there are a few spots needing special attention (oxyclean).

Christopher

[MilitaryCollect]

The fate of most uniforms

Here's the stamp which is located iside the wearer's left breast. It's the same stamp as on the other DAK blanketcoat which came from a Heer.Fla.606 vet's family in Germany. That one has black "PW" stamps on the backside and on each upper arm. He was a POW here in the US.

Christopher

[Dubar1]

My mom was Welsh and a nurse during WW2. She "acquired" a German Officer's uniform and gave it to my dad who was in the 9th AAF. On his way back home on the ship he said they announced for everybody to haul out their duffle bags. He said the MPs walked the ship and (what they didn't want for themselves) went over the side of the ship. He never saw the uniform again. He did bring home a Colt .45 though and a few other items.

I seriously doubt a lot of folks had any idea any of this stuff would be worth anything and were probably glad to get rid of it.

[Johnny R]

My mom was Welsh and a nurse during WW2. She "acquired" a German Officer's uniform and gave it to my dad who was in the 9th AAF. On his way back home on the ship he said they announced for everybody to haul out their duffle bags. He said the MPs walked the ship and (what they didn't want for themselves) went over the side of the ship. He never saw the uniform again. He did bring home a Colt .45 though and a few other items.

I seriously doubt a lot of folks had any idea any of this stuff would be worth anything and were probably glad to get rid of it.

That happened to my Father to on the dock before they boarded the ship. You needed to have a capture certificate or they could take it away, he said they were looking for weapons and explosives and usually did not take other items. Officers were not searched only NCOs and EMs, Bad luck on your Dad's part. A lot of stuff was stolen in the mail as well.

[airborne_steve]

All my family members who fought in the war were officers so they were not scrutinized as much and brought some stuff back. However, not much in the way of military things other than guns, mostly antiques.

Steve

[DonC]

This still goes on today. Guys in a Nebraska Guard unit that went overseas in Gulf I had to pile all their trophies on the tarmac at the airport - some made it out with bayonets or caps, but that was about it. The idea was to keep them from bringing explosives back - and there were RPG's, grenades, ammo, etc. They watched the pile burn as their plane taxied out.

Don