After lunch today, I hit one of the antique stores on our public square here in town. I was actually looking for old camping and outdoor gear but I went to look at a case of knives and I found this stuck in with a bunch of old kitchen knives. If anybody knows more about it and can post the actual picture I would appreciate it. It appears to me to be a WW2 era CAP cap. I don't know exactly when the khaki and red trim went out.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4746021702204&set=a.1697285645708.90463.1644892379&type=1&theater (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4746021702204&set=a.1697285645708.90463.1644892379&type=1&theater)
The prop and wing patch is what cadets wore until the 70's
The color and red piping mark it as WW II era.
Great early CAP history find. Definitely WWII. Wonder what the history is behind this one. Wonder if it was Coastal Patrol and worn by a pilot or observer.
The red piping was not unique to CAP during WW II. The Armys artillery branch also used red piping. CAP removed the red puiping at the same time the red epaulets were dropped.
The Army Artillery branch also used red piping, but this was dropped around 1950. The combination of red piping and CAP patch mark this as a WW2 CAP item.
What surprised me the most was the fact that I found this at a local store in the middle of a pretty big rural farming and coal mining area. There has nerver been a big military presence in the area. The closest military installation is bear St. Louis and the local squadron(my old unit) was not started until the 1960s and folded ten years ago. I would maybe expect to find something like this near an old established military base or in a large city but not here.
Maybe that is the reason why it was there.
Near a big city or established base it would be gone quicker than on that area, as it would be seen by more knowledgeable people or collectors...
Congrats, I did not say that earlier! :clap:
Flyer
Thanks.
Went back to the same store today. The actual owner was there and I found some modern CAP uniforms hanging on a rack upstairs. When I went downstairs to ask about them, he said he had some more that he had bought at an auction. I assume it was in Missouri somewhere. These were 1990's vintage uniforms because the all weather coats, service jackets, and blue windbreakers had MO wing patches on them. I bought an old style service coat with a MO wing patch on it and I will probably go back and get a couple more things. I also called the local squadron and let them know they could probably get the jackets very reasonably for their cadets. There was also a mess dress jacket and trousers there one of the seniors could wear.
Any of the older zip up winbreakers that have the button style cuffs?
There was one That's one of things I'm planning on getting later .