Need help recreating my grandfather’s ww2 jacket

[seabees07]

Hello all, and thank you for taking the time to read my post. I’m here because I’ve been on a pretty long journey that started out as a search and rescue for my grandfathers A2, that turned into a research and rebuild situation. To make this as short and sweet as I can, here is a backstory.

My grandfather Clifford N. Ekstrom was in the 492nd also known as “the eager beavers bombing co” from 1943-1945. When my grandfather had passed back in 76 my father was in basic training for the navy and shipped out after graduating. While away, my grandmother wanted to have my grandfathers bomber jacket cleaned for display at the funeral and brought it to a local dry cleaners. I’m sure we’re all thinking that probably wasn’t the best thing to do but she meant well and was probably overwhelmed with the loss of her husband at the time. In the end the bomber jacket was “lost” (I call it stolen) during the dry cleaning process and was never returned. My father was unaware of the situation due to being overseas until months later. it has been a dream of mine to find the jacket but that dream was lost many years ago.

I’m currently trying to find someone that could help me replicate the jacket and have patches made for me. such as squadron, blood chit, cbi patch and bomber group for sleeves. I have contacted a member of this forum who has already replicated the 492nd eager beaver patch in hopes he might be able to reproduce another one for me, but I am not sure if he is still an active member or not. I have attached some photos of my grandfather as well as some photos of the jacket with the blood chit that was on the back.

If you or anyone you know with reputable skills in the business or on this forum that could maybe help me out on this journey that would be very much appreciated.

 

[CK90]

Seabees, a pleasure, I hope we find you well.

I love an epic tale like this, although I am very sorry to hear your grandfather’s jacket is lost. It is only correct that you find a true testament and tribute to your grandfather.

You have come to the right place and many of the more experienced and knowledgeable on this forum will give you great advice.

Your grandfather wore what looks to be a beautiful Star Sportswear A-2.

All I can add is this. You might have heard the name John Chapman of Good Wear Leather mentioned around if you’ve been doing research.

If you want the absolute best tribute to your grandfather, the finest you will find on planet earth, please get in contact with John and relay this story. He will create a one of a kind replica and tribute to your grandfather’s jacket.

His contact details can be found here:

Good Wear Leather Coat Company — Contact Us

www.goodwearleather.com

My very best wishes,
CK

 

[seabees07]

Seabees, a pleasure, I hope we find you well.

I love an epic tale like this, although I am very sorry to hear your grandfather’s jacket is lost. It is only correct that you find a true testament and tribute to your grandfather.

You have come to the right place and many of the more experienced and knowledgeable on this forum will give you great advice.

Your grandfather wore what looks to be a beautiful Star Sportswear A-2.

All I can add is this. You might have heard the name John Chapman of Good Wear Leather mentioned around if you’ve been doing research.

If you want the absolute best tribute to your grandfather, the finest you will find on planet earth, please get in contact with John and relay this story. He will create a one of a kind replica and tribute to your grandfather’s jacket.

His contact details can be found here:

Good Wear Leather Coat Company — Contact Us

www.goodwearleather.com

My very best wishes,

Seabees, a pleasure, I hope we find you well.

I love an epic tale like this, although I am very sorry to hear your grandfather’s jacket is lost. It is only correct that you find a true testament and tribute to your grandfather.

You have come to the right place and many of the more experienced and knowledgeable on this forum will give you great advice.

Your grandfather wore what looks to be a beautiful Star Sportswear A-2.

All I can add is this. You might have heard the name John Chapman of Good Wear Leather mentioned around if you’ve been doing research.

If you want the absolute best tribute to your grandfather, the finest you will find on planet earth, please get in contact with John and relay this story. He will create a one of a kind replica and tribute to your grandfather’s jacket.

His contact details can be found here:

Good Wear Leather Coat Company — Contact Us

www.goodwearleather.com

My very best wishes,
CK

Thank you CK! It is indeed a story worth telling, with some unfortunate details. But I’m sure in the end everything will come full circle!

I have not heard of John as of yet, but I also did join this group only a short day ago. I will look into the link you attached and reach out to him as well. I really do appreciate your help and taking the time to send that.

 

[Silver Surfer]

also, Eastman leather co, five star leather, and bill Kelso make fairly good reproductions of the star contract, with 5* being the least expensive. most star a-2s were made with a darker colored hide, but you granpas was made with lighter colored hides, same as my original star. you may consider asking whoever makes your jacket to use lighter colored hides. ties [forum member] can make the patches for you. he does outstanding work. there are a few others on this forum that make up patches as well. Sean collins [a-2 patches on Facebook] makes outstanding cbi patches. on a side note, ya might consider having your tribute jacket made in a size that is wearable for you. what better way ti honor your granpa than to wear the tribute jacket. and.. welcome aboard, seabee.

 

[Brettafett]

100% to the above.
Do your grandfathers jacket justice... Goodwear your first call, then Bill Kelso or Eastman (History Preservation Associates in the US).

For the leather patches, search for Sean Collins
Some info here.

A2jacketpatches

Custom Multi-Piece Layered Leather Squadron Patches Printed Originals, Name Tags, Ranks, Insignia, Leather Bloodchit, Leather Wings for the type A2 FLIGHT JACKET

www.a2jacketpatches.com

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com

Sean Collins Leather patches & Blood Chits

For those who want to know more, here are the link's to Sean's FB group and website. He makes some of the best leather patches and Blood Chits around. Not cheap, but then, this is art... Makes for ELC, BK and others... www.facebook.com/groups/RA2JP/ www.a2jacketpatches.com Heres my Cockpit...

www.vintageleatherjackets.org

75th FS 23rd FG Tiger Sharks CBI WW2 leather patches NEW

Here is a set of high quality leather patches, hand painted by the Sean Collins (A2 Jacket Patches), on genuine leather just like originals were. Produced to exacting details and sizes. These depict the 75th Fighter Squadron of the 23rd Fighter Group (succeeding the AVG Flying Tigers), based in...

www.thefedoralounge.com

 

[Saint-ex]

Hi @seabees07 and welcome here!

I can imagine how losing this jacket must still be a painful subject even after all these years.

As mentioned earlier, there are several suppliers who can make a more or less faithful replica of your grandfather's jacket.
Since you have a photo of the label, identifying the contract is quite easy. If you want to read more information about this contract, you'll find it here: https://www.vintageleatherjackets.o...eather-flying-jacket.35493/page-5#post-492691

From my limited experience, I can only agree with CK: Good Wear Leather can create the most accurate replica, down to the exact color and even artificial aging, which will give you the feeling of wearing the original. For example, here’s an artificially aged jacket they recently made.

However, be prepared for about a year and a half of waiting.
Eastman may allows you to request specific colors, but I think they mostly work from stock. I’m not sure if they offer custom orders.
Bill Kelso is a bit of a mystery to communicate, but they’re good.
Fivestar is very responsive and the most affordable option. Quality is really related to the choice of leather, there’s some good craftsmanship, but also some less impressive work.

As for the patches, it depends on what you need. The Blood Chit is made of leather, and Sean Collins is one of the most renowned artisans for this work today.
That said, he’s not someone I’d personally enjoy working with.
For the front patches, they seem to be painted. There are several options here, and @ties70 , a member of the forum, does excellent work.

Good luck for your research and keep us informed.

 

[seabees07]

Wow! Thank you silver surfer, brettafett and saint-ex. A little overwhelmed to say the least, was not expecting this much help and information haha..

Bill Kelso seems to be out of stock on the correct leather with no eta shown anywhere. Which leaves me with either 5star or Eastman. Being that the jacket will probably never be worn other than a very rare occasion, and I would be surprised if it ever left the house after all he’s been through with this jacket..rather it will hung up for display in his home gym where all of the other memorabilia from my grandfather is. Would it be wise to go for the five star jacket over Eastman? I can see the quality difference between them, both with Eastman and good wear. For display purposes, Would I be a fool for going with the more cost effective 5star to have more funding for quality patches instead?

Currently emailing Sean Collin’s as well as sending a private message to member @ties70 in regards to patches.

 

[B-Man2]

As you’ve learned from the above posts, your grandfathers jacket will be fairly easy to recreate. We have the people here on this forum that can make it happen. The only issue is how much of an investment are you prepared to spend to make it happen. A top tier quality jacket like a Good Wear or an Eastman with hand made leather patches exactly like the one your grandfather had, will set you back about $2500 by the time you're done. Other makers jackets will be less costly so it just depends on your finances and where and who you want to do the work.

 

[Pilot]

Honor your beloved grandfather.. go for the best and finest..

 

[Saint-ex]

The advantage of putting the budget into patches on a Fivestar is that you can always remove them and sew them onto an Eastman or a Goodwear if you feel like it.

Don't tell Sean Collins it's to sew onto a Fivestar, he's allergic.

 

[seabees07]

@B-Man2 and @Pilot thank you for that. I just sent good wear leather an email on their star sports reproduction. Think that’s the best choice, if something like this goes over my original budget at least it’s for a great reason and will make my father extremely proud and bring much closure.

 

[Saint-ex]

Good Wear is definitly the best choice in my opinion.

But I must admit that when I joined this forum over 5 years ago, spending more than 1500 bucks on a jacket that you have to wait over a year for seemed crazy to me

 

[B-Man2]

@B-Man2 and @Pilot thank you for that. I just sent good wear leather an email on their star sports reproduction. Think that’s the best choice, if something like this goes over my original budget at least it’s for a great reason and will make my father extremely proud and bring much closure.

I personally think that what youre doing is a wonderfully cool thing. Much of what the Greatest Generation accomplished during WWII has been lost by recent generations. Kudos to you sir!

 

[seabees07]

Good Wear is definitly the best choice in my opinion.

But I must admit that when I joined this forum over 5 years ago, spending more than 1500 bucks on a jacket that you have to wait over a year for seemed crazy to me

At the start I figured the price was going to be high to make this happen, thought maybe around 1500-2000. But I Wasn’t prepared at all to spend 1,500 on the jacket alone haha. You and others had made valid points to go with the quality option over a cheaper, quicker option. While nothing wrong with budget friendly options. I get the feeling that in the long run spending 1.5k on a superior quality jacket itself, will outlast my future grandchildren and even longer. That to me is worth its price when it comes to a piece of family history you know? I’m glad you guys made me realize that too.

 

[seabees07]

I personally think that what youre doing is a wonderfully cool thing. Much of what the Greatest Generation accomplished during WWII has been lost by recent generations. Kudos to you sir!

I appreciate your kindness. I have been searching for the actual jacket for almost a decade, playing detective to my best ability. What you guys have done for me in just a matter of hours in helping me make something like this come to fruition is truly amazing. With that being said, the real kudos are to all you people here, I’m dragging you on this journey with me now haha!

 

[B-Man2]

Well when you have a minute tell us about yourself in the “Members Bio Section”.
That’s the only step to becoming a full fledged member here
(not really but we’re just nosey)

 

[CK90]

Seabees, if I may say, you sound like a fantastic person.

Often times, people will join this forum in seek of knowledge or help and not always go about things as politely and patiently as you. You have earned my sincere respect my friend!

Just to reiterate, as I get the sense you’re headed in that direction, John Chapman of Good Wear leather is the finest of gentlemen you will ever talk to. He is exceptionally talented, an artist, a man of detail, an encyclopaedia of knowledge and has handled more original WWII military jackets than anyone else you will be able to find. Anywhere!

You are in good hands!

Please keep us well informed of progress and spend some time around the forum, great to have you on board.

My best,
CK

 

[Pa12]

I agree. John could probably duplicate so well you would be hard pressed to tell it from the original. He is the ultimate. Of course it all takes time and money but I think it would be worth it.

 

[B-Man2]

Absolutely agree with Pete and CK above.
This is something that will be around for the next couple of generations of your family. Your grand kids will be wearing or displaying this jacket . If at all financially possible go with something that’s going to be a family heirloom 80 years from now . Original WWII A2 jackets are still around today, this forum is full of them . On a side note, 80 years from now no one will be able to tell a John Chapman Good Wear repro from an original WWII A2.

 

[Saint-ex]

80 years from now no one will be able to tell a John Chapman Good Wear repro from an original WWII A2.

Why wait 80 years ?