Putting Together a WWII Era U.S. Field Pack

[langston302]

are you building this kit for a marine or army combatant? There are many knives that you can utilize to fit your kit and theater of operation. Hell I may even have some in my drawer I could let go if you were wanting one or two.

 

[coolhandluke]

are you building this kit for a marine or army combatant? There are many knives that you can utilize to fit your kit and theater of operation. Hell I may even have some in my drawer I could let go if you were wanting one or two.

PM sent.

I wasn't planning to make it branch specific. If I end up doing so I will put it together as an Army Pacific theater kit since my Great Grandfather served in the 96th during WWII. Technically, if I were making it "correct" I shouldn't even have a trench / fighting knife on the ammo belt since the knives were issued to non-riflemen. The belt would have been issued to an Army rifleman with a Garand or a Marine with a 1903 or Garand.

BTW...here's a picture of my Great Grandfather (on right in photo) along with a scanned article regarding his service on Okinawa (Ryukyus Islands, he also saw action in Leyte). He was awarded a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Bronze Service Arrowhead, Phillippine Liberation Ribbon, and Good Conduct Metal for his service.

 

[yanksdad3]

Lucas knows his stuff. He has been my wiki on numerous occasions for mil-surp items. Thanks for sharing that article about your great grandpa! I look at the obits every day or so and see that we are losing members of the Greatest Generation almost every day. I really enjoy reading about their service record as well.

John

 

[coolhandluke]

Lucas knows his stuff. He has been my wiki on numerous occasions for mil-surp items. Thanks for sharing that article about your great grandpa! I look at the obits every day or so and see that we are losing members of the Greatest Generation almost every day. I really enjoy reading about their service record as well.

John

Thanks John. I'm sure that I only have a fraction of the knowledge that some of the guys on here have...Ronny, ldp4570, flatwins...just to name a few. I'm thinking that warpusher may have us all beat though after seeing the photos of his ridiculous milsurp collection.

Thankfully my great grandfather is still with us. His health is beginning to deteriorate but his mind is still incredibly sharp, even at the age of 94.

 

[coolhandluke]

I ended up finding a nice meat can pouch on eBay. I was a little iffy on the color based on the photos in the listing, but it ended up being a dead match on the khaki color and the condition compared to the haversack. Just gotta find an early WWII dated mess kit and utensils to fill it with...

I also made a return trip to Weatherford and bought a few more items. I picked up a M1945 pack, e-tool, pick mattock, and a side opening 50 cal ammo can for only $40. Afterwards, an employee of the Ft. Sill museum purchased nearly everything else that was left. Here are some pics of the items...


M1945 pack (1944 dated, converted to M1945 specs before being issued) with 1944 Wood e-tool (in 1943 dated carrier cover) attached. Need to find a matching lower pack, suspenders, and belt to attach. My Korean era M5A1 Garand bayonet is stuck on there just to fill some space. Now if I could only find a couple 10" M1 bayonets for cheap.

More photos of the entrenching tool...

Photos of the pick mattock...

Handle is stamped 1943 Plumb, but there are too many coats of paint on the pick head to make out any markings other than a US stamp. The markings on the carrier are too faint to be legible.

Photo of the ammo can...

Artcraft side hinge M2 50 cal. Photos don't do it justice. It's definitely one of the nicer WWII era cans that I've run across. Almost excellent condition aside from a few paint runs, small scratches and paint chips. I was suprised that the original enamel finish was almost glossy. I thought that all US military paints were completely lusterless?