I was wondering if anyone finds specific WWII Items or...??? I'm trying to start a collection of Mess Kits. Sounds weird i know but i already have two: 1942 and 1944, so i decided 'what the heck' and set a little goal to get Mess Kits of every year used.
It's been on here before, but here's my collection of K98k cleaning kits... http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/jgfive/Toys/Toys123.jpg
That's a cool goal. I think the two models that would pertain to WW2 would be the M-1932 and the M-1942 , I think the M-1912 preceeded the M-1932 with the only differences between the M-1912 and M-1932 would be the absence of a Bacon tin, Condiment tin and the edge was removed from the knife and a Fork was added. If it were me I would go by manufacturer and date. There were about a dozen or so manufacturers of the War time mess kits and most are clearly marked with the intials of the manufacturer and the date of manufacture. (i.e. U.S.-1918-T.J.W.B.M.CO.) The Mess Kits and Canteen cups are stamped on their respective handles (steel portion) with the last two digits of the date they entered service or were removed from supply. (18 53) which indicates that it was issued once in 1918 and again in 1953 from General Supply Stocks (Quartermaster). The earlier models were stamped from a much heavier gauge aluminum than were the later war and current issue. When I was in the Marines my mess kit was dated 1943, utensils were 1954 and my canteen cup was a 1982. When I went into the National Guard my mess kit was 1966 utensils were 1970 and the canteen cup was 1990. The game was always to see who had the oldest mess kit. Very cool stuff and can be had relatively inexpensively.
I have my great grandfathers war booty he brought back to Canada after WWII. A silver wound badge, Infantry badge, Iron cross second class and a leather belt with a swastika on the buckle. Its not much but I guess you could call that a collection. Someday I will inherit his service medals and I will make sure it all stays together. J_S
