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Post by kaiser on May 31, 2010 13:03:04 GMT -5
Hey guys, I'm building up a 442nd uniform and I'm curious. How common did US GIs "customize" their uniforms.....or did they ever paint graffiti on their uniforms?
Cause I was intending to write go for broke on the uniform
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on May 31, 2010 13:13:15 GMT -5
Grafitti was quite common during the Vietnam conflict with in many cases highly irreverand comments written on helmets etc.
During WW2 some adornment was done on helmets but usually a unit spirit thing >>>-A-A-A-O -> in the 9th ID for "Anytime, anywhere, anyplace, bar none. The 442nd six sided patch with lady liberty was painted on some helmets and I'm sure if someone scripted the motto down below it would have been allowed (if not sanctioned) My son has it as a tatoo in honor of his great uncle Tets Nakamura. I'm sure some GI someplace (if not several) painted the infamous "kilroy was here" cartoon on a helmet.
Many GIs painted war art on the back of their field jackets or mentioned hometowns
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Adler69
Master sergeant
Legio Patria Nostra
Posts: 2,859
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Post by Adler69 on May 31, 2010 13:33:29 GMT -5
Members of the 45th I.D would paint the Thunderbird insignia on the back of their M41 , over the insignia some guys would write their name and "45th Infantry" under it , i have seen photo's of this and was told by a few vets of the division that they would also do this to their undershirts , more as a way to make sure they got them back after sending them to being laundered. Wartime photo And the Undershirt i made one day while talking to a 45th vet
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Post by kaiser on May 31, 2010 13:44:32 GMT -5
oh ok, I was thinking of writing honolulu or something like that as the main thing I love about GI uniforms is that they were informal about it. I want to do the 442nd as it's my personal favorite. Though most of the pics I see of them I don't see much graffiti on them
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Post by Fusilier on May 31, 2010 13:55:53 GMT -5
hough most of the pics I see of them I don't see much graffiti on them >> Then there is your answer.. The idea is NOT to stand out. Stuff like that was pretty much discouraged in WW2. Did it happen? Of course it did,but not on the Vietnam level.
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Post by springfieldarmory on May 31, 2010 14:08:00 GMT -5
Graffiti did happen. but it was usually small, not big and standoutish like in a certain popular movie.
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Adler69
Master sergeant
Legio Patria Nostra
Posts: 2,859
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Post by Adler69 on May 31, 2010 14:14:31 GMT -5
Yes it was smaller than oh let's say BROOKLYN on the back of your 41 , you can see how small it was on the wartime photo i posted.
During Vietnam it was mostly done on helmet covers and flak jackets , not so much on jackets or shirts.
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Post by FlyingSquirrelcat on Oct 22, 2010 14:22:54 GMT -5
Yea, Although it makes one wonder why brooklyn? If it were me I would have something like: Why do the girls here call me Serpent de lit? or: So he tells me, Give me enough gas and I will go to berlin and kick there ass.
but history is history, and that BS about Brooklyn should have been a lot smaller...or should it have?
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gadge
Corporal
Posts: 1,199
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Post by gadge on Oct 29, 2010 3:09:56 GMT -5
The thing is in *most * armies if its not sanctioned at a unit level by a very senior NCO or officer you're looking at a charge for willfully damaging/defacing government property so most soliders probably would not risk 'individual' graffiti.
Unit insigina done 'off the cuff' like the thunderbird thing is another matter entirely.
Realistically writing some slogan on the back of your jacket and being caught with it out of th frontline would for example in the British army incur the following *at least* even today.
A charge for damaging army property A charge for briging the army into disrepute A charge for being improperly dressed
In combination or individually with you looking at either an 'unnoficial' kicking round the back of the tank sheds or several days under arrest and loss of earnings.
Then in addition you'd be fined for the item you 'destroyed' and charged for the cost of a new one....
As a conscripted soldier it pays not to try and stand out.
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gadge
Corporal
Posts: 1,199
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Post by gadge on Oct 29, 2010 3:17:11 GMT -5
In addition...
You see stuff like that in war films for a good reason.
Uniforms strangley enough provide 'uniformity' they make everyone look the same and create cohesion.... thats utterly rubbish when you want a film where the lowest common denominator member of the public has to be able to clearly recognise and diferentiate each 'character' from a distance or when the face isnt visible.
Hence characters have 'totems' to mark them out like a non uniform scarf or they have a piece of unique kit like hanks vest in SPR or they are 'the sniper guy' or 'the heavy machine gun guy' etc etc.
A film that truly depicted modern infantry combat would be incredibly dull you'd be looking at an area of countryside with sporadic muzzle flashs popping up several hundred metres away and if the soldiers were any good you'd never see them.
Classic example again is SPR. You have an entire bloody section trying to take on an mg34. YOu have ample ammounts of dead ground, you have the option to harass or indeed destroy the postion from afar with your sniper without retaliation, the enemy have no flank protection, defence in depth or even situational awareness of supporting units.
So what do you do... perhaps a right or left flank manouvre using dead ground? Perhaps infiltrate to the rear where the gun cant traverse to? Perhaps retire to the limits of the mgs effective range and have your marksman (who is allegedly good enough to put a round through an opposing snipers scope) take them out at leisure?
Nah just do a headlong charge with your medic to the front as it simply makes better cinema.
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