Leather Flying Jackets Last Forever....Shame The Owners Do Not!

[SASless]

Remember your first leather flying jacket....how proud you were to have the thing? Then you wear it on 40 Bombing Missions in the Pacific where you flew B-24's. Sometime after the War you get separated from the jacket and one day a guy calls you on the Phone and asks if you want your jacket back!

WWII bomber jacket rescued from Goodwill, returned to 90-year-old vet | Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/30/wwii-bomber-jacket-rescued-from-goodwill-returned-to-0-year-old-vet/?test=latestnews)

[Dan Winterland]

What a great story. I would never part with mine - even though it's a bit tight in the chest as well!

[Lima Juliet]

Mine's still going strong after 19 years, although it did go back to Aviation Leathercraft to get re-lined recently. A bit of blue shoe polish keeps it looking smart and fortunately I had the insight to buy a slightly bigger one in the 90s so it still fits fine.

Like Dan, I would never part with mine.

Cracking story though and well done to Mr John Dodds for stumping up 17 Bucks to return it to its rightful owner. :D

LJ

[chopper2004]

SAS,


Nice moving story though..very touching and restores someones faith in humanity still

Speaking of which I've seen a number of your army aviators wearing A2 with leather wings brevet and if they're EUCOM Flight, then sport the EUCOM patch as where your air force brethren have the various ACC, AMC, AFSOC patches on their issue.

I was at RAF Mildenhall Air Fete 98 a CWO who flew the C-12J had a leather A2 with his Master Army Aviator wings and at Farnborough 2002 , there was another EUCOM Flt army aviator had an A2.

I dont know when the Dept of the Army allowed the aircrew to be issued with A2 (also seen your Golden Knights posing in theirs) but assuming it must have been around the same time as the USAF in the 80s authorised the return of the A2.


Cheers

[Hydromet]

I still have my uncle's ~60 yeor old lambswool lined leather flying jacket, in excellent condition. Generally no real maintenance apart from rare treatment with leather dressing and Dubbin.

[SASless]

Unless things have changed....Army Uniform Regs allow the wearing of the Wings, current Unit patch on the left shoulder, combat unit patch on the right shoulder. The Air Force tends to add "Command" patches to their jackets, and the US Navy will add Squadron Patches and other eye catching Patches to every vacant inch of their jackets.

The choice of Uniform Apparel can be modified by the Local Commander in Army units thus the wearing of Leather Jackets can be a unit choice I guess....as in the Golden Knights.

I do find it interesting a Brit would ever suggest US Army uniform practices might be unusual.....knowing a bit about the British Army and its wearing of headgear and hat badges, red trousers, and sometimes hat badges on front and rear of headgear.:E

That being said....I do love the "Tradition" all that carries forth.

[sisemen]

Notice that it was his wife that made the decision to get rid of it in 1950. They're bloody dangerous things wives. I've lost a stack of stuff because of 'em. Still got my jacket tho :ok: and the present one knows that it goes over my dead body.

[SASless]

She is probably trying to figure out what the down side of that situation is!:uhoh:

[airborne_artist]

$17.00 for it? That's barely a tenner.

I'm off to the land of the free with several large suitcases and some spare cash. Those jackets sell for > £200 in Camden :ok:

[GeeRam]

$17.00 for it? That's barely a tenner.

I'm off to the land of the free with several large suitcases and some spare cash. Those jackets sell for > £200 in Camden

£200...... you'll be lucky.

What sells in Camden for £200 are not genuine WW2 A2 named jackets, they are post war 'style' bomber jackets.

That $17 A2 with traceable history is actually worth several thousand dollars.

See what this one went for......:ok:

WWII A 2 Flight Jacket w Nose Art 381st 525th B 17 | eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/WWII-A-2-FLIGHT-JACKET-w-NOSE-ART-381st-525th-B-17-/170611228652?#ht_18455wt_1141)

[Desert185]

Returning that jacket to the old, warrior gentleman was the feel good story of the day. We need more of this thoughtfulness in this thoughtless and often self-centered world.