Collecting Military Pocket Prizes
Old U.S. military uniforms sometimes provide unexpected finds.
As a longtime U.S. military uniform collector I’ve always enjoyed adding to my collection. While I started collecting U.S. uniforms primarily from the First World War, I have often picked up a uniform from the Korean War or World War II if they struck my eye. One of the first things I learned to do upon getting a new addition home is to carefully check every pocket, seam, and lining carefully as there sometimes are treasures hidden in those areas.
Following are some examples of the unexpected things I have found in uniforms.
{Alexander F. Barnes is a former Marine and retired Army Warrant Officer. His most recent book Bullets, Bandages, and Beans: United States Army Logistics in France in WWI, co-written with Peter L. Belmonte, was released in July 2023. He currently serves as the Virginia National Guard Command Historian.}
Alexander F. Barnes was born in Niagara Falls, New York, and grew up in an Air Force family. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1974 and then joined the Army National Guard in 1977, retiring as a Virginia Army National Guard chief warrant officer in 2004. He retired as a US Army Civilian at Fort Lee in July 2015. Barnes has a master’s degree in Anthropology and has authored 7 military history books His most recent World War One books have told the story of immigrants in the US Army and the close linkage of the Doughboys and baseball. He currently serves as the Command Historian for the Virginia National Guard.
