Recent content by MarcW

I'm so grateful for all the generous comments above. Thank you all. I had thought that maybe people would respond with their own stories of their first jackets, but the thread took a turn :) I'm also happy to know that the interest in these jackets is still strong and that it continues to...

Yes, indeed. It only says Size 40R. No production numbers way back then.

Thanks! It was pretty wild back then. This site seems to have done a better job of weathering the storms and hanging on.

Thanks! And great to hear you've still got your early Eastman as well.

Thank you and thank you. "Abusement park," eh? Some here may recall that I started the first jacket forum way back when as a way to connect the people who were emailing me through the website. It was rare to find people with the same interest to talk to and compare notes and get more...

I like the M-51 the best among the versions over the years. The zipper and additional length over the M-43 make it more practical and better looking to me, and I prefer the normal collar compared to the M-65. I still have one vintage M-51 which is quite wearable, but it's been tucked away for...

Thanks so much! I feel badly that I haven't kept it up over the years, and the photos are so tiny from the slow dial-up modem days. But the information has gotten copied around and expanded by others, so I just let it stay there like the dusty book it's become. As I said before, I moved on to...

Yes, that's me. The site is pretty ancient at this point, like a dusty old book among the cobwebs deep down in the musty basement of small town library.

Thanks. Given the years, it hasn't been worn much at all. Certainly, when it was new and my only jacket, it was getting all the wear. But once original maker jackets started coming out, I moved on to those for most of my wearing. After a while, as I alluded to, this jacket started feeling...

Thank you. Yep, I've been around a while, but out of sight as I moved on to other things. I also recall those complaints about grainy jackets, and especially asymmetrically grainy, jackets, despite being authentic. That was followed by jackets so free of features that they looked almost like...

I feel similarly about a goatskin Flight Suits Gibson & Barnes I have. It's not original maker and much of the hardware doesn't even resemble vintage, but the surface of the goatskin appears in color, character, and wear very much like a vintage Doniger I had for years. Even the lining has...

Thanks! I'm getting to the age where buying more jackets in general doesn't quite make sense anyway.

The year was 1990. I had recently begun indulging my interest in WWII and the 8th Air Force through books and magazines, and being naturally drawn to all those A-2 clad young men in so many photos. I was probably aware of the jacket to some degree, certainly from seeing war movies over the...

This terrific book has stirred me out of jacket retirement, and I've written a review. Find it at http://www.acmedepot.com/a2jacket/Eastman_book.html Back to retirement and more time with this book…. Marc

Thanks for all the kind words, gents. Not to worry, though. I won't be doing anything drastic anytime soon. If I'm good at anything, it's procrastination :D Marc