US WWII Soldiers LOVED These Pieces of Gear (5 More Items!)

Edited by Hudson Louie

Sources and Additional Resources:
Paratrooper Boots
M42 Uniform
TL122 Flashlight

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[andrewcombe]

Best piece of kit ever made by the US is the Canteen Cup. I’ve cooked, brewed up, shaved, bathed and dug using this brilliant piece of equipment.

[stephenurban]

I can appreciate how much soldiers loved the one burner stove. As a Marine (77-95) I tactically acquired the later M1950 version from an unguarded supply tent and used it a LOT while in the field.

[danielstickney]

Bill Mauldin was given a pair of jump boots by some admirers in the airborne and wrote that he appreciated them for being warm and sturdy but actually wearing them made him feel like he was being followed by a barefoot, shivering paratrooper everywhere he went.

[baronedipiemonte]

The "pocket" gasoline stove is well illustrated in the Audie Murphy movie "To Hell and Back". Specifically being used 2-3 times in the movie by the U.S. Army Polish heritage soldier who was studying for his citizenship. After he was KIA the American Indian soldier is depicted burying it.

[lurkk]

You should do a “eating like a GI for a week” where you only eat what could be available, c/ K rations (made to be most like how they would be with modern stuff), bread from villages, instant coffee, and ONE hot meal. Bonus points if you prep the meals with soldier equipment.

[kenbb]

Kid of the early 1960's here, and the WW2 surplus galoshes were everywhere when I was young. Cheap, practical. When your family was cutting corners to get by, these were great options. All the kids in my neighborhood had these.

[sgtgoodygoodman]

Your comment about setting up field kitchens at the front just reminded me of all the work our cooks put in. As much guff as we infantry give the cooks those guys worked their butts off and you are absolutely correct, nothing compared to hot chow after a long op. The best meal I ever had was still some cheeseburgers and fries that they had waiting for us after a particularly long night.

[christopherwilson]

My dad, a veteran of the battle of the bulge, never forgot the value of rubber overshoes. Although he spoke sparingly about the war he often talked about delays in getting winter equipment to the front lines. He was most upset about overshoes showing up on troops in the rear long before the guys on the line got them. Growing up in Minnesota my dad made sure all of his kids had them. He also made sure that they were buckled all the way to the top whenever we were outside. I’m pretty sure that he thought that one of the best modern improvements ever was putting zippers in rubber overshoes.

[donaldboomer]

As a kid growing up in the 50s these rubber boots were everywhere. They fit over your shoes and the metal buckles kept them closed! Kids and adults wore them even business men because they could wear their good shoes under them. I never knew they came out of the war. As a matter of fact almost every thing in civilian life in the 50s came out of the war, especially our toys!

[colinmcclelland]

I'm a Viet-Nam Vet USMC and I'll never forget the first time we were issued our jungle utilities. I said to my men ."Damn these are like what they issued to the ww2 paratroopers except a lighter material." Man we loved the pockets. Carried almost as much in those pockets then we could in our pack.

[Aspen]

Hot chow is definitely a morale booster still today. I’d say at least 1 marine per platoon has a JetBoil or other camping stove that they bring to the field, being able to heat up your main meal is a game changer.

[olivedrabwool]

It's worth mentionjng that in "Uniforms of the Korean War", the author says that the paratroopers disliked the M1943 double-buckle boots as it was much harder to roll when they hit the ground during a jump and they had a tendency to snag on brush.

[MacDorsai]

I've watched a number of your videos and I have to compliment you as a historian. First, you are accurate and thorough. Second, you make it interesting and third, you include the context so the information is relevant. Keep it up!

[FLStelth]

You are an exceptional young man and your channel gives me hope that others of your generation have the potential to sucessfully lead our country into the future.

[lancefletcher]

The jump boots also had/have a specific lacing method, that's still commonly called the "paratrooper lace, " the ladder lace. It's great if you want your boot laces to have absolutely zero give and keep the ankle stiff. In winter campaigns, normal troops would try to get the jump boots (or have them modified like you say), and run the gaiters on top for extra warmth and waterproofing, especially nearing the battle of the bulge, since most units were trudging through deep snow in a particularly rough winter in the Ardennes.

The motor skills thing is actually a neat little bit of medical history – a lot of those cases seem to be linked to combat PTSD, which can adversely affect motor skills. At the time, medics, nurses, and field docs didn't really have a great idea about psychiatry, they just knew the joes were struggling with the laces. There were also cases of neurological damage from mortar teams and a lot of frostbite cases in the Ardennes campaign. It wasn't that they couldn't figure it out — "mental acuity, " was a then-code-word for psychiatric issues. Not enough to get them a psych discharge, but enough to limit their fine motor skills.

[stekarknugen]

for someone who did field exercises in the scandinavian winter, I would've guarded that field stove with my life

[cora]

Watching this video makes you truly appreciate the amount of work and the attention to detail that the costume and props departments had in the HBOWar series. From the accuracy of the uniforms to the small came of the gasoline stove and the off-hand mention of shoepacs in Haguenau i can only tip my hat to the amazing amount of research and work put in by those people!!

[jeffreyhansen]

A note to collectors: That white bloom that appears on WWII GI flashlights is caused by a mold releasing agent. Hit it with heat from a hair dryer and it will melt and then can be wiped off. I think that will also get rid of that odd smell.

[haylookatthis]

There's a channel called rose anvil and he's got a series about military boots wher he cuts them in half and tells you how they where made he's done para boots and the double buckle boots it's really interesting

[jeffreygraf]

The best piece of kit that my Great Uncle said he had, was the poncho. In the cold winter during and after the Battle of the Bulge, he would blast a foxhole in the ground with some "borrowed" C-4, put his poncho on top like a tent, and use some C-4 to heat his C rations and keep warm. He loved it so much, he brought it home with him. It was all about small creature comforts in that extremely cold winter of 44-45.