Uniforms you aren't entitled to

Odd one for a re-enactor to come up with but this really grinds my gears! Just sitting in the IT room and a guy walked in wearing a Coldstream Guards No.2 jacket complete with Northern Ireland medal. Now it's one thing to wear a uniform or badge out of respect or as a tribute, even for historical reasons, but this current fashion over here for wearing modern military uniforms as casual clothing complete with medals, rank insignia and so on is really starting to get my goat.

Sorry for ranting but figured there are probably a couple of others on here who share my annoyance.

 

Ok, so what's your criteria? What if the fellow had showed up dressed as a Papal Swiss Guard, or a Guard of the Principality of Monaco (fine for the Grand Prix), pith helmet and all?

What's the difference between re-enacting a Grenadier Guard of today or one of Waterloo times?

 

Hi Stefan

When I first started posting on another WW2 site I noticed that one of the avatars automatically supplied by the site was a uniform sleeve showing corporals stripes & the 78 Div flash (the Golden Battleaxe).

As someone who had proudly worn the same flash between 1943 & 1944 I have to confess that I felt the same feelings as yourself, i.e. annoyance at someone wearing a "flash" that they were not entitled to.

I believe I hinted that I wouldn't mind being given the same avatar myself but as I was promptly given a Brigadiers Hat and promoted to Veteran status I felt I couldn't complain too much

 

I don't see it as much but a while back I did see some in betweeners (19ish) that were wearing the full desert BDU ensemble looking like an attempt to look military but with sloppy blousing, unbuttoned shirt, the long hair and peach fuzz. Very tacky indeed and it did strike a note with me.

I have a "combat crew" badge that is not a common badge awarded within the Air Force and of which I am proud of. It would definitely irk me if I saw some hoolligan wearing it in a disrespective way or if he did not earn it.

 

Ahh, I'm not talking about re-enacting though, I mean people walking around the streets wearing odds and ends of uniform complete with medals. I have nothing against people wearing combat jackets, hats, trousers etc as they are generally hard wearing and inexpensive, I tend to wear an old field jacket myself. The bit I object to is the wearing of medals and insignia with no understanding of what they mean. If you are commemorating something or wearing it out of respect then no problem, but wearing a medal that others had to get shot at to earn, well, its disrespectful to say the least.

 

And, the US Government does prosecute cases of this happening.

 

It reminds me a recent (and unimportant) affair, a model was pictured for a cloth add, and in one picture she was wearing a vest with a whole lot of medals replicas pinned on it.

The people in charge of the medals actualy did not paid attention to them, these were medal from different countires and different times.

In the end, when you looked closely at the picture, you could clearly see a swastika lol ! The publication of this picture was ended.

Medals are symbols, and this kind of story is what you get when you mess around with medals and don't care or pay attention about the symbols they are.

 

Stefan, i know exactly what you mean, i don't see it much around here, but in the 80's i saw alot of it, anyway i strongly agree with you, to wear something that you know nothing about, to wear it because it looks cool is disrespectful to all those brave men who were awarded these medals. Call me old fashioned but i will not tolerate this. I was raised to respect my elders and to be respectful to those who deserve it. don't mean to be wishy washy here, but maybe this is a good opportunity to explain to them what these men went thru to acquire these medals, and maybe teach them respect? just a thought.
Also, Mr. Goldstein, good to hear from you again Sir!! All the best!

 

Sorry, I had understood you were talking about serious reenactors.

 

Isn't it all about respect? Stefan, i agree with you. Some things must be earnt in life. Regards, Pete M

 

Pete -- you really had to dig deep for this one! I have not seen many threads from 2007 resurrected!

 

Yeah, this is a blast from the past!

 

I have to agree with you guys on this one. Yeasr ago-before this guy passed away-a guy by the name of Robert Jongema-who is supposed to have been a German-lived in the Corpus Christi area-and always haunted all of the gun and antique shows. This guy wore an original but very beat-up Afrika Korps Officers M-43 cap-still complete with its original insignia. Also, this was back in the day when smoking was allowed in the expo centers and such and this guy always had in between his teeth-a half-smoked Stogie.

Anyway, I met him about 1990 at a show in Corpus and this guy was talking to everyone who would listen to him-talking about how he had been the youngest Major in the German Army-and talked about his eh hem "service in the DAK" which nobody believed him. All of his info was wrong as well. Anyway-that aside-he was later proven to be a poseur. Well, on the news about his passing away-made the militaria collecting community in South Texas--a bit happier.

This guy was a poseur in every since of the word-just like a certain newish member of this website-who is posing to be an American vet-who in reality-is NOT an Ami-and who is Irishman from Ireland who basically has no real place he can call home-except for the place in FRANCE that he resides in. Also, he has hoodwinked many members here already.

For further details-send me a PM or an email and I will gladly let you "in" on "it." ;-)) If I trust you-I will tell you who said poseur is.

 

Interesting that, though not exactly what I was talking about. Walts (the term common in the forces over here) for that kind of poser are common enough, but what annoys me in particular is people who wear awards, rank, uniform etc that they aren't entitled to. If someone is doing it out of respect fair enough, but wearing something others had to earn because you think it looks cool, now that is shabby!

 

Hi Stefan, I know it wasn't what you had been talking about but figured I would mention it anyway-because of knowing the full story behind the mentioning.

Heh heh, I guess this means that I can no longer go out wearing my German Artillery Majors tunic-peaked visored cap-EKI w/ 1939 EKI Spange, EKII ribbon w/ Spange-and ribbon for the Frozen Meat Medal, Army Artillery Badge, Gold Wound Badge-8 place ribbonbar amd German Cross in Gold. :lol:

 

Carl, I'm shocked and appalled at you! Surely you know that legally you can only wear that range if you add a VC and a MoH to it as well!

 

I never knew that, thanks for the link. I'm curious what the laws are in Canada? I see lots of pawn shops around that have signs asking for "Military Items". I have yet to see anyone wearing medals they are not entitled to though...it just sounds like bad form.