WW2 USMC Australian - Issue BLANKET & TAG (“V 580 1944 ") RARE Near
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:42996935 | Theme: Militaria |
| Original/Reproduction: Original | Modified Item: No |
| Region of Origin: United States | Country/Region of Manufacture: Australia |
| Conflict: WW II (1939-45) |
The BLANKET.Here is a very RARE "USMC item"!!! And when these do turn up they are in 'destroyed' condition! These saw use in combat by U.S. Marines.Not everything carried and used by the Marines in WW2 came from U.S.M.C. stores, or was made in Philadelphia at the Quartermaster Depot, or by S. FROEHLICH, Inc. of New York City, or BOYT Harness Co. of Davenport, Iowa (and especially those men, such as the 1st MARINE DIVISION, who had any contact with Australia, or other Marines w...ho had).This is in NEAR perfect condition. And examples such as this Australian Army-issue Blanket appear in wartime photographs inside MARINE'S Shelter Halves! (See photographs, Harlan Glenn’s, “782 GEAR” United States Marine Corps Field Gear & Equipment of World War II.) These Australian Blankets have also turned up in the estates of Allied POWs whom the Japanese had interned in Burma during the war and following their liberation were routed through Australia en route to repatriation in the U.K. or the States. (See the New Pamphleteer, "Australian WW2 Military Blanket 1942.") - This is made of thick, high-quality, felted 100% Australian HEATHERED GRAY Wool with three woven ROYAL BLUE longitudinal Stripes (1 3/4”) bordered by a narrow CRIMSON Pinstripe. Australian Wool is known for its exceptionally high quality. This is TWICE the thicknes of an Army or U.S.M.C. Blankets!!- Bound on both ends in ROYAL BLUS WHIP-STITCHING heavy Cotton Thread. Only TWO single Stitches are separated (on one end) -- that's it!! This may have occurred in its 77 years of storage, because this handsome piece of wool shows no real evidence of having been issued, let alone used.- Dimensions: 57” x 83”- ZERO moth bites, holes, thin spots, stains, snags, fraying, odors, stenciling, personal markings whatsoever!!*****The WOVEN TAG (1 1/2” x 1 1/4”) sewn to the bottom right corner reads, “V 580 / MADE IN AUSTRALIA / 1944". - The alpha-numeric was a manufacturer's contract code introduced in 1942, but I have been unable to determine which of Australia's famed woolen mills produced this Blanket under Australian Army contract.World War I was a major stimulus to the development of Australia's woolen mills.When World War 2 ended, Australia and its economy had significantly changed. With shipping disrupted during the war years, Australia had been forced to develop the existing manufacturing industries, rather than rely on imported goods. Wool was one of Australia’s primary products during this time. This period in Australia's history has been fittingly referred to as The Post War Wool Boom. Australia’s main export revenue came from wool products and was a significant milestone in creating a strong Australian economy.*****Background of the Australian Army-issue Blanket and the 1st MARINE DIVISION in WW2:1st Marine Division: Shortages leaving Wellington, and refitting in Melbourne.Due to the change in orders and shortage of attack and combat cargo vessels, all of the division's 2.5-ton trucks, M1918 155mm Howitzer, and the sound and flash-ranging equipment needed for counter-battery fire had to be left in Wellington, New Zealand. Also, because the Wellington dock workers were on strike at the time, the Marines had to do all the load reconfiguration from administrative to combat configuration.After 11 days of logistical challenges, the division, with 16, 000 Marines, departed Wellington in eighty-nine ships embarked for the Solomon Islands with a 60-day combat load which did NOT include tents, spare clothing or bedrolls, office equipment, unit muster rolls or pay clerks. Other things not yet available to this first wave of Marine deployments were insect repellent and mosquito netting!Following the Guadalcanal Campaign, the division's Marines were sent to Melbourne, Australia for rest and refit. It was during this time that the division took the traditional Australian folk song "Waltzing Matilda" as its battle hymn. To this day, 1st Division Marines still ship out to this song being played.*****Departure from Guadalcanal brought the 1st Marine Division to General Douglas MacArthur's Southwest Pacific Area. Initially, the exhausted division was routed to Brisbane, Australia. "Don't call it a camp, " railed one battalion commander. "Just say we were dispersed in a swamp." General Vandegrift dispatched staff officers forthwith to scout for a better location. They found the ideal tonic for the division: Melbourne, located in cool, mosquito-free southeastern Australia. When the transport USS West Point (AP-23)delivered the division there on 12 January 1943, the Melbourne population embraced the Marines in a tumultuous reception.In the first weeks, malaria laid low as many as 7, 000 men. While that was the greatest scourge, the bodies of most men further served as involuntary playgrounds for a host of other jungle diseases. Bone-deep weariness and weight loss also figured prominently in the division's ills. It took weeks of rest in the salubrious climate as well as infusions of suppressive drugs to tame malaria and the other afflictions that had wrecked the division's combat readiness. For the majority of the Marines, still extremely youthful by age but now matured beyond their years in experience, Guadalcanal radically dimmed out memories of their recent past. With its wide and lighted streets, trolleys, cars, bars, hotels, houses, and above all warm and exuberant population that greeted them as the "saviors of Australia, " beautiful Melbourne presented an idealized version of life without war. The locals literally opened their houses to provide anyone who desired his own home with family life instead of a billet. Most Marines also entertained aspirations for companionship beyond domestic tranquility. They found the Australian girls alluring, and romances flourished. "There were many engagements and a few marriages, " deadpanned the division historian.One of Melbourne's distinctions, when the Marines arrived, was the scarcity of other servicemen. That changed when the fabled 9thAustralian Division, veterans of the battles of Tobruk and El Alamein in North Africa, staged through Melbourne en route to further combat on New Guinea. After a number of pub brawls, the Leathernecks staged a joint beer party that brought peace for its time between the members of the two hard-fighting units. Training for the 1st Marine Division's next operation began as early as 18 January but initially moved at a very modest pace. The highlight of the first phase was acquainting the Leathernecks with the M-1rifle. Despite much nostalgia for the M1903 Springfield, the M-1 offered much-superior firepower.Between March and May, training progressed to small-unit tactics and then landing exercises. An Army team that inspected the division in August 1943 concluded that it "is well equipped, has high morale, a splendid spirit and approximately 75% of its personnel have had combat experience. The average age of its enlisted personnel is well below that in Army Divisions." The report further observed the division's key leadership officers from the company level up and the vital NCOs were overwhelmingly combat-savvy.The division shipped out of Melbourne in stages between August and October 1943. There is one unmistakably true measure of what Melbourne meant to the division. For a year after departure, the 1st Marine Division postmaster noted more outgoing mail went to Melbourne than to the United States! Some relationships between Marines and their hosts would endure a lifetime. ****After months of fighting and privation, the Marines were looking worse for wear. Sick from dysentery and weak, the men were just worn out. When they first docked in Brisbane, they were housed in what amounted to a series of shacks in swampland.When the Marines’ commander, General Alexander Vandegrift, ordered that the entire division be moved, the Navy told him there was no way to spare the number of ships needed — and they had nowhere to go, anyway. That’s where Admiral William “Bull” Halsey and the city of Melbourne came in. Australia’s second-largest city offered to take them with open arms and Halsey would get them there.Camps of already-pitched tents and bunks were waiting for them as they landed in Melbourne. The sick and wounded were transferred to a newly-finished hospital in nearby Parkville and the rest were given unlimited liberty for the next 90 full days. One account says the citizens of Melbourne opened their homes to the Marines. It was a mutual love affair for the guys who left their homes in the U.S. to fight with and for the Aussies.On George Washington’s birthday, Feb. 22, 1943, the Marines marched a parade through Melbourne. During this parade, the 1st Marine Division Band decided to play the Australian folk favorite, Waltzing Matilda. The Australian onlookers loved it and cheered loudly for the procession.Thus began the love affair between the 1st Marine Division and Australia.When winter came, the Australians even gave the Marines their winter jackets, which were soon adopted by the USMC uniform board (no small feat). This is also where the 1st Marine Division’s now-famous blue diamond patch was designed. Aside from the red “one” and “Guadalcanal” markings, the patch also features the constellation "Southern Cross, " which is a symbol of Australia.Every camp set up by the 1st Marine Division is called “Matilda.”
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