herk115
Active Member
HackerF15E said:
Tater, being neither a newbie nor a veteran to repro A-2 collecting, I'm probably where you are now. Most of what I wanted to say has already been said by the others, so I'll just add one or two points.
First, I agree with Hacker that most guys in the active military don't care who made what or how it looks, as long as it fits and the look falls within regulations. It is true now and was probably true then. In my own unit, if you took the squadron as a whole on the day we were issued our jackets, the overall average feeling was on the slightly positive side of indifference. A few guys like me were excited to get the jackets; most were happy but it was the kind of "happy" you'd feel if someone gave you a free Coke; and there were a few guys who were openly unhappy about the time spent waiting in line for the jackets when they could have been doing something useful. And one of our guys remarked, right after putting on his jacket, "These damned things make us look like we're from West Hollywood!"
Second, we weren't asked if we liked the look or fit. A piece of paper dictated which size you got, and you took what was handed to you; if you didn't like it, well, it was put your Nomex jacket back on and shut up. (Fortunately, mine fit fine...well, as fine as a Cooper could fit). We didn't have the luxury of being picky like the members of the civilian repro world do.
Third, when the guys in WWII were issued their jackets, they were months or even weeks away from going into combat. They had far greater worries than whether or not their jackets looked "cool." Yes, some played the "cool" angle when they came home on leave prior to going overseas, but if anything, it was probably a way to get their minds off what lay ahead (and maybe "get a little" while they were on leave).
And fourth, looking at all those pictures can be very misleading. When you look at a group shot of guys in A-2s, your brain sees all of the jackets as a whole and you think they look pretty cool. Try covering up part of the photo until only one jacket is visible. You will probably find flaws in the design and fit of the jacket you don't like.
And I couldn't agree more that the search for the perfect jacket never ends. You will still be searching on your deathbed! Rest assured we've all had experiences similar to you...but in some of our cases, back then we didn't have the internet to get all this great advice.
Hope this helps.
