COLLECTING WWII US ARMY UNIFORMS: THE STUDY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTION by Mary Kathryn Caughran (Under the Direction of José Blanco F.) ABSTRACT Individuals have collected artifacts for thousands of years. Collections can include anything from traditional paintings to china to pop culture artifacts to military uniforms. Museums and similar institutions collect based on a mission statement. Private collectors, however, are motivated by individual goals, desires and tastes. World War II was a global conflict with far-reaching influence and a lasting impact on humanity. It also motivated the collecting of objects and associated memorabilia by private collectors. The objectives of this research were to analyze the motivations of a private collector of World War II U.S. Army uniforms, to understand the purchasing practices of this collector, to catalogue artifacts in his collection, and to create a checklist of suggested guidelines for future collectors of World War II Army uniforms. INDEX WORDS: WWII, Army, Uniforms, US, Collector, Collecting, Collection COLLECTING WWII US ARMY UNIFORMS: THE STUDY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTION by MARY KATHRYN CAUGHRAN B.S.F.C.S The University of Georgia A Thesis Proposal Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science Athens, GA 2012 © 2012 The University of Georgia All Rights Reserved COLLECTING WWII US ARMY UNIFORMS: THE STUDY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTION by MARY KATHRYN CAUGHRAN Major Professor: José Blanco F. Committee: Jan Hathcote Patricia Hunt-Hurst Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia August 2012 ! Dedication This thesis is dedicated to the Greatest Generation. These men and women were the citizens and soldiers who served during World War II. These brave men and women fought against seemingly insurmountable odds: a Great Depression, attack on the Pacific Fleet, rapidly expanding Japanese Empire, devastating European Lightning War (blitzkrieg), and won. The successful outcome of their bravery affected subsequent generations and changed the course of history. ! "#! Acknowledgements This thesis has been a labor of love over the past year. I did not think that it was possible for me to complete this but this is a testament to hard work. I would not have been able to complete this without the help of so many people. I especially want to thank those members of my committee- Dr. Blanco, Dr. Hathcote, and Dr. Hunt-Hurst. You provided such encouragement, support, and wonderful advice. All of your suggestions made this thesis even better than I could have thought. Specifically, there is a huge thank you to Dr. Blanco for all of your direction and help over the past two years. In addition to my professors, there have been so many other people who have contributed to this thesis. A thank you is to the Mr. Killblane as he directed me to wonderful resources including the Office of Quartermaster General Museum as well as Mr. Sammis. The biggest thank you is to Mr. Sammis. Thank you for answering all of my emails and providing a wealth of information about WWII including uniforms, regulations, and so much more. In addition, there were so many people who answered all of my questions and provided help in one way or another. So thank you to Monica, Raul, Major Fracassa, Dr. Morrow, the UGA ROTC program, and anyone else I consulted. So if I forgot to mention you, thank you for all your help! Finally I would like to thank my family and friends. Mom and Dad thank you for encouraging me to follow my passion wherever it took me and especially for inspiring me to love all aspects of history. In addition, thank you to all of my friends who listened and encouraged me. You all provided wonderful support to me over the past two years and made me laugh, especially when I didn’t want to or couldn’t. ! "! Table of Contents Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………...…………………………………………………….V LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………………….....IX Chapter 1 Introduction……………………...………………………………………………...1 Statement of Purpose…………….………………………………………………..2 Objectives…………………………………………………………………………2 Limitations……………………………….………………………………………..2 Assumptions…………………………...…………………………………………..3 Importance of study.……………………....………………………………………3 Definition of terms………………………..……………………………………….5 Chapter 2 Literature Review...………………………...…………………………………… 10 History of World War II…………………….…………………………………...10 Collection and collecting……………………………………………………….. 17 US Army uniforms……………………………..……………………………….. 21 Duty uniform……………………………………………………………………. 22 Dress uniform…………………………………………………………………… 24 Service uniform………………………………………….……………………… 25 Combat uniform………………………………………………….……………... 27 Improvements in design………………………………………...………………. 28 Cold and wet weather…………………………………………..………………..30 Accessories…………………………………………………………..…………. 31 Helmet………………………………………………...………………………… 31 ! 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Garrison cap…………………...………………...……………………………… 32 Service cap……………………………………………..……………………….. 33 Shoes…………………………………………………………..…………………34 Identification……………………………………………………………………. 35 Insignia………………………………………………………………………….. 36 Uniform distinction…………………………...………………………………… 37 Special uniforms………………………………….……………………………...38 Chapter 3 Methodology…………………………...……………………………………….. 44 Rationale…………………………………………………………………………44 Methods and procedure………………………...………………………………...45 Data needed and methods of collection………………………………………….45 Sample/sampling procedure……………………………………...……………... 46 Research methodology………………………………………..………………… 47 Data analysis…………………………………………………...……………….. 48 Chapter 4 Data analysis and discussion………………..…………………………………... 50 Objective 1…………………………………..………………………………….. 52 Objective 2……………………………………..……………………………….. 61 Objective 3…………………………………………..………………………….. 66 Objective 4…………………………………………..…………………………..77 Chapter 5 Applied results……………………………………….…………………………. 84 Exhibit Wall Text……………………………………….………………………. 85 Chapter 6 Conclusion…………………………………………….………………………..106 Statement of purpose……………………………………...…………………….106 ! "##! Findings…………………………………………………….…………………..106 Future research……………………………………………...…………………..109 References……………………………………………………………...……………………… 110 Appendices…………………………………………………………...………………………... 114 A Full Interview Transcripts………………………………..…………………..114 Interview 1……………………………………………………...………………114 Interview 2…………………………………………………………………….. 126 Interview 3…………………………………………………………………….. 136 Interview 4…………………………………………………………………….. 145 B Collection List…………………………….………………………………….150 C Exhibit Photos……………………………….……………………………… 170 D Individual Artifact Photos……………………………………………………176 ! "###! List of Tables Page Table 1 [Interview Questions as related to Objectives]……………..…………………..……. 51 Table 2 [Guidelines for Future Collectors]………………..……………………………..….. 104 Table 3 [Warnings for Future Collectors]……………………………………………..…….. 105 ! "#! Chapter I Introduction World War II, which lasted from 1939 to 1945, was a global conflict that had significant impact on the lives of all the citizens who lived through it as well as subsequent generations. The outcomes of the war impacted global political regimes and cultural values for years in the future. Many in the United States wanted to preserve a policy of isolationism after World War I to keep the United States out of another global conflict. With this policy, the leaders of the country specifically focused their energies on building up the nation. Unfortunately a significant tragedy- the attack on Pearl Harbor- would force the policy makers to reverse this decision and the United States was drawn into a second global conflict. The combined efforts of all Allied nations brought about a decisive victory. Once the “citizen soldiers” returned home, many returned to their normal lives (Ambrose, 1997). While some men preserved their uniforms as mementos of what they had gone through, others chose to discard them. Today museums all over the world, including the World War II Museum in New Orleans, LA, Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. and the U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum in Fort Lee, VA preserve these artifacts in commemoration of those who sacrificed their lives for our freedoms today. Private citizens have collected artifacts for thousands of years. These items can range from traditional art paintings to photographs or decorative arts. Museums create mission statements concerning their collections and act as guardians to protect assets for future generations. These mission statements are a guiding policy for collecting practices and proper preservation of those artifacts so that “Museums do function as stewards, responsible for ! "! collecting, preserving, interpreting, and displaying collections for the public” (Buck, Gilmore, & Museums, 1998, p. XVI). It is the responsibility of the museum to utilize the artifacts in their care effectively and preserve them for future generations. In contrast to a museum, a private collector is not guided by official practices and regulations thus allowing collectors the freedom to purchase those artifacts that are deemed personally interesting and use them as they please. Statement of Purpose The purpose of this thesis was to analyze the motivations of a private collector to purchase specific artifacts. In this case, the collector purchased World War II Army uniforms, both men’s and women’s, and associated memorabilia. This study was a case study based upon an in-depth analysis of this collector’s motivations through narrative analysis. In addition, this paper attempted to look at the economics, decision-making,