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Effect of sunlight on G-1 jacket collar--fading

galvestonokie

Active Member
A few years ago, I bought a G-1 jacket that had been owned by Maj. Edgar D.Pitman, USMC. The jacket is a size 46 7823 B WEP, best i can see from the tag. Major Pitman was an interesting guy, an enlisted USMC pilot during WWII, later commissioned, flying in Korea and Vietnam. He also participated in Operation Deepfreeze, making about 4 (best i can tell) trips to Anartica. I used the jacket as a daily wearer while working in the Middle East, keeping it in my truck. BTW, I have seen mention of Maj Pitman on various USMC aviation websites as a member of the Flying Peons, which was the association of enlisted USMC pilots. I met one member of this group (MGySgt Rip Shrader sp?) in 1968 at the USMC Auxiliary Landing Field at Camp Pendeton. Shrader was a friend of our squadron Sgt Maj (WT Boyland) and i was lucky enough to be introduced to Shrader, who had flown some brass down from MCAS El Toro.
Pics include the front jacket view plus 2 pics of the collar, which is the way i received the jacket. See the difference in color between the part of the collar below the fold (against his neck) and the rest of the collar above the fold. bob
 

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Last edited:

B-Man2

Well-Known Member
Yep .... ultra violet light will definitely fade mouton but I love the rich honey colored collars that develop from it. None of my business but ... with a jacket like that, with all of the Provenance and history I would consider retiring it as a keepsake and find a beater G-1 to wear. It looks awesome thanks for sharing and posting it
Cheers
 

galvestonokie

Active Member
i understand your thoughts on the daily wearer, but this was the most eligible of the jackets i had at the time. IMHO, continuing to wear these jackets won't do them any harm--may even be good for them. during my time in naval aviation, i saw G-1 and WEP jackets worn during maintenance and pre-flights, wadded up for pillows, wadded up and jammed under seats and other tight places and generally abused. other than the knits, they are very tough. as this was a 1962 model, i think, this was not pitman's first jacket. thanks for your comment. bob
 
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