Maverickson
Well-Known Member
I am very pleased to be sharing these photographs with the forum. After waiting such a long time come to fruition my memorial jacket as related to my father's command of VA-152 The Mavericks has finially arrived today from Aero. This is a late 1950s size 46 G-1 made by L.W. Foster. Thanks to Aero this jacket is complete as it could posssibly be and exceeded my expectations. This jacket has been completely refurbished. Although the shell was nearly flawless and the Conmar zipper intact, the mouton collar has been replaced with a piece taken from a a vintage garment. This mouton donor material looks fabulous on the jacket. Notwithstanding, both the waist and cuff knits were expertly replaced. The jacket's original lining was in poor shape and has also been replaced. By having Aero replace the lining and simultaneously attaching father's patches gave me the opportunity to have all of his patches neatly stitched under the newly replaced lining.
The brain child for this project began prior to my father's passing and reflecting back upon my fathers life. While looking at this photograph seen below while visiting my sick and failing father. The photograph was taken on board the USS Forrestal in 1968. I decided that I would make a G-1 as a lasting tribute to him.
This jacket is modeled after the air crewman sitting just above the A-4s cockpit and wearing the G-1. My hopes were that this jacket would be a dead ringer for that one in this picture. I was lucky to have all of these patches available to me as father kept them in his dresser drawer for forty years.
This photograph was taken of my father and his airplane within the same time period as the group VA-152 seen above.
This is a photograph of that same jacket with some of his stuff. For an added tid bit and compliments of the A-4 Association, these are a few photographs of dad's squadron VA-152 operating off of the Gulf of Tonkin http://www.skyhawk.org/6e2/html/va-152_aj-513.htm , http://www.skyhawk.org/5e/g149959/html/150009.htm wearing this same helmet
You can't see it very well but the pistol seen protruding for the pocket is a completely tricked out Colt Officers 45 acp with both our initials and his VA-152 " Mavericks " squadron insignia engraved in it. Unlike the jacket he did see and loved this gun. I had the engraving work done to the gun for him just prior to him passing.
Just an interesting note about my father's ribbons as maybe this will help the forum members understand just a little as to what kind of guy he was. Although at the end of my father's acitive duty USN career he was entitled to wear a total of sixteen different medals he choose to only wear fourteen. But on the other hand, he only regularly wore eleven of those medals which are all seen in these photographs. He did this because following the withdrawl of United States forces from Vietnam my father chose to no longer wear his Vietnam campaign medals and or those given to him by the Vietnamese government for his individual valor. This was my father's way of protesting the fact that the United States had giving up the fight by not seeing the job through in Vietnam. You can believe that following his interment at Arrlington he is now wearing them all.
This jacket represents a portion his life when then as a child I believed that my father was somehow invinsible. A time when my father was truely the eye of the storm and lived out there on the tip of the lance. I am so pleased with this jacket that now when I see it, it's like a celebration that brings it all back to a time when my father was so full of life.
The brain child for this project began prior to my father's passing and reflecting back upon my fathers life. While looking at this photograph seen below while visiting my sick and failing father. The photograph was taken on board the USS Forrestal in 1968. I decided that I would make a G-1 as a lasting tribute to him.
This jacket is modeled after the air crewman sitting just above the A-4s cockpit and wearing the G-1. My hopes were that this jacket would be a dead ringer for that one in this picture. I was lucky to have all of these patches available to me as father kept them in his dresser drawer for forty years.
This photograph was taken of my father and his airplane within the same time period as the group VA-152 seen above.
This is a photograph of that same jacket with some of his stuff. For an added tid bit and compliments of the A-4 Association, these are a few photographs of dad's squadron VA-152 operating off of the Gulf of Tonkin http://www.skyhawk.org/6e2/html/va-152_aj-513.htm , http://www.skyhawk.org/5e/g149959/html/150009.htm wearing this same helmet
You can't see it very well but the pistol seen protruding for the pocket is a completely tricked out Colt Officers 45 acp with both our initials and his VA-152 " Mavericks " squadron insignia engraved in it. Unlike the jacket he did see and loved this gun. I had the engraving work done to the gun for him just prior to him passing.
Just an interesting note about my father's ribbons as maybe this will help the forum members understand just a little as to what kind of guy he was. Although at the end of my father's acitive duty USN career he was entitled to wear a total of sixteen different medals he choose to only wear fourteen. But on the other hand, he only regularly wore eleven of those medals which are all seen in these photographs. He did this because following the withdrawl of United States forces from Vietnam my father chose to no longer wear his Vietnam campaign medals and or those given to him by the Vietnamese government for his individual valor. This was my father's way of protesting the fact that the United States had giving up the fight by not seeing the job through in Vietnam. You can believe that following his interment at Arrlington he is now wearing them all.
This jacket represents a portion his life when then as a child I believed that my father was somehow invinsible. A time when my father was truely the eye of the storm and lived out there on the tip of the lance. I am so pleased with this jacket that now when I see it, it's like a celebration that brings it all back to a time when my father was so full of life.
