042-055, Chapter 5
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forms of headgear were copies of British items issued to American troops once overseas. This pattern all-white uniform was worn by the Boys of 76, Post No. 76 of Racine, WI. They were American Legion National Champions in 1922, 1923, 1924 and 1925. The same uniform, but with a white helmet, was worn by the Harvey W. Seeds Post No. 29 of Miami, FL; they were the Legion’s National Champion in 1927, 1928, 1930 and 1931. s These two corps not only made their style s Chapter 5 of uniform the most popular (if you wanted by Ron Da Silva your drum corps or color guard to look like a r r national champion), but also helped make it a A drum and bugle corps’ appeal is 50 symbol of the American Legion as well as its percent musical and 50 percent visual. The drum corps. o o musical half can be divided between the horn The Commonwealth Edison Post No. 118 l l and drum lines, while the visual half, or how of Chicago, IL, also wore the same white a corps looks, can be divided between what uniform, but with white “mountie” hats. the corps wears (uniform and corps colors) They won the Legion national title in 1936, o o and how they march (drill and movement). 1940 and 1941. By that time, however, most While most people don’t remember drills, corps, junior and senior, favored an authentic c everyone remembers a corps’ uniform, West Point Cadet style. c whether in a positive or negative way. The Gray Iron Casting Co. of Mount Joy, Modern drum corps uniforms had their PA, produced two versions of a toy soldier start in the early 1920s, just after World War “Legion” drum major, drummer and bugler. I, with the drum and bugle corps of the The first version had slight bodies and is d d American Legion. World War I, with its believed to have been produced in 1933. A trench warfare and stalemate, produced some second version, with robust bodies and bent of the worst conditions soldiers ever had to knees, came out in the late 1930s. n n fight in and live under. Both these cast iron drum corps, as well Uniforms were mud-colored grays, drabs as all of the Gray Iron Company’s men, were a or khaki and usually were wet and dirty. So painted khaki, except for their WWI helmets, a it’s not surprising to find the veterans of that which were painted bright silver. horrible war wearing some of the brightest The Barclay Manufacturing Co. of West and cleanest looking uniforms ever seen on a New York, NJ, manufactured hollow-cast toy s s parade ground. soldiers in lead, similar to Gray Iron. Their The most popular look of the 1920s was figures had separately cast tin helmets and, the Army officer style. This modern uniform while they also painted their soldiers in was basically a U.S. Army version of a British khaki, they left their tiny helmets bright officer’s service dress uniform. metal, very similar to the American Legion’s m m It consisted of a blouse (tunic) with the real helmets. new open collar and turned down For the 1937 American Legion National r r lapels, worn with a dress shirt and Convention in New York City, the Barclay Co. tie. Over this was worn a leather produced a larger scale marching Legionnaire “Sam Brown” sword belt. and a Legionnaire color bearer with a silk o o Trousers were jodhpur-style U.S. flag. These figures had overseas caps and riding breeches, cut full from the straight trousers and are known to have been f f hips and close fitting from the produced in 13 different color combinations, i i knee. These were tucked into from the regulation Legion blue to scarlet officer’s pattern riding boots and and cream or maroon and light gray. leather leggings. It is believed these various colored n n While the official American uniforms represented different American Legion headgear was the overseas Legion Posts or their color guards and drum cap, most Legion parade uniforms corps. Both these companies also produced featured a chromed or nickel- West Point Cadets painted all white with red U U plated version of the M1917 or blue trim and cross-belts, in addition to trench helmet. Both of these (Top to bottom) (photo from the Bcoolylesc otifo n7 6o, f 1R9o2b2 ert Zinko/American Legion archives) ; An American Legion bugler from “Ludwig Bugle Manual, circa 1930s (from the collection of Ron Da Silva); Connecticut Y(Ranokbeerts Z, inko) Stratford, CT, 1952 (Walter ; EHromlye Nl faromme tChaed ceotslle, c1t9io5n8 of Ron Da Silva) ; (right) an original set of Gray Iron and Barclay toy soldiers from the 1930s, restored( pahnod to from trheep acionltleedc tbioyn t hoef Raounth Dora Silva) . 42 their “Cadet Gray” versions. popular, certain corps had a look all their Cleveland, OH, eight of the top 12 finalists Today, collectors call these soldiers “Dime own. Capital Post No. 9 of Salem, OR, must wore West Point-style uniforms, complete Stores” because they were sold nationwide at have been fans of actor/director Eric Von with tailed coats and double cross-belts. all the major five- and ten-cent stores. Stroheim; photos at the time show the corps The Stratford, CT, Post No. 42 (see photo I have found old figures of drummers, in two very Germanic-looking uniforms. One on previous page) wore one of the more buglers and flag bearers repainted in a variety photo in which they are displaying their 1932 classic versions of the West Point uniform. It of colors. These were probably on display at American Legion National Champion flag consisted of a white shako trimmed in black their posts or with their trophies. These shows the corps dressed in a Prussian-style patent leather, white over black plumes and a uniforms with a black, full-dress, tailed coat with seven rows peaked caps and of white braid ending in trefoils and ball lancer jackets over buttons. white trousers. Over this they wore double-cross belts and Another group a waist belt. White trousers and shoes photo showed the completed the uniform. Later known as the corps dressed in a Connecticut Yankees, the corps would wear very elaborate hussar this uniform unchanged for more than 30 uniform, complete years before modifying it in the 1960s. They with a second then did away with the double-cross belts, fur-trimmed jacket, replacing them with a single cross belt and a called a pelisse, red satin waist sash. slung from their left A few junior corps, like the Bronx, NY, shoulder. These Kingsmen and the Emerald Cadets of New were worn over Haven, CT, were still wearing cadet uniforms riding breeches and with double-cross belts into the mid-1960s. boots. The Silver Sabres of Salina, KS, wore an The corps’ authentic-style West Point uniform, similar headgear was a short to the original Connecticut Yankee version, shako that had a into the 1970s. (photo from the collection of Ron Da Silva). brush A scene from Busby Berkeley’s “Gold Diggers of 1937” plume on three-inch tall toy soldiers show how the right side and a busby bag on popular American Legion and VFW the left. In this uniform, they convention parades and contests were looked more like hussars of the between the two world wars. Today, these Austro-Hungarian Empire than figures are being recast or reproduced from American Legionnaires. original molds for collectors. The Green Trojan Post No. 318 When film director and choreographer of Greenburg, PA, state champions Busby Berkeley had an all-chorus-girl drum in 1933 and 1934, wore the corps and color guard in his “Gold Diggers of officer-style uniform topped off 1937” musical, they were wearing abbreviated with authentic Italian Bersaglieri all-white Legion uniforms complete with tin (sharpshooters) hats in black with helmets. Their drum major, actress Joan a hanging plume of rooster Blondell, wore a tall shako typical of the era. tail-feathers. Even their drill movements were taken from While some Legion drum corps Legion drum corps drills of the time. adopted foreign-looking uniforms (photo by Moe Knox While the Army officer or Legion style was or headgear, all were modern, with fTrohme Sthileve cro Slleacbtrieosn, oSfa lina, KS, at the 196).8 VFW Nationals many patterned after the dress Drum Corps World uniforms of World War I. The once colorful and fancy uniforms worn by brass bands, Zouave drill teams, National Guard and State Militia units were now considered old-fashioned. A new corps or a corps on a budget could wear a simple dress shirt and tie over trousers with a side stripe and top it off with an overseas cap or tin helmet and look very neat and military. By the mid-1930s, the West Point Cadet- style uniform (right) was just as popular as the Army officer style. The Cadets’ tarbucket shako and double cross-belts were adopted at West Point, NY, at the turn of the century to help commemorate the U.S. Military Academy’s centennial in 1902. While the uniform was very traditional, it was simpler in many details than the parade dress uniforms worn by some elite units of the State Militia and National Guard, whose uniforms were heavy, with dress cords, tassels and large fringed epaulets. The U.S. Military Academy at West Point has a simp(lUer.,N c. adet- A cartoon making fun of( fBroomys thoef 7c6o’slle cchtiroonm oef hReolmn eDtas, Suislvead) .