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What jacket(s) are you wearing at the moment?

Griffon_301

Well-Known Member
B-15C for me today...
still cold here with a chilly wind and some snowy showers in between... perfect for the 15
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Erwin

Well-Known Member
Questions for the Cousins, do you think anyone there on the Sceptered Isle would be offended by my B-10 with its War Lover nose-art and 703d patches, plus a flag (I have another one) worn on the right sleeve?
Well, in my opinion wearing a flight jacket with that motto in any city which was heavily destroyed during air raids in Germany or Japan would be really tasteless for an adult. This is my opinion regarding the idea of wearing a jacket like mentioned. It is the same as wearing a rising sun patch or logo in ROK, you can but it is a lack of respect.
 

John Luder

Well-Known Member
Thank you, all, for your thoughts. Erwin, are you German? I only ask as a matter of perspective.
As to the risque nose art from the movie, I'd remove that since it wasn't real nose-art or a real squadron patch. Come to think of it, I think my wife told me not to wear the jacket when we went to Mass recently.
I appreciate all of your thoughts. It's a year away, but the question is fresh in my mind.
I can certainly imagine an old grandmother's reaction to anything RAF or 8th AF, especially in Frankfort or Dresden, where she was lucky to survive as a child.
The 'stolen valor' statute would be a very hard case to prove against a 69 year-old man like me, wearing odd bits of WW2 uniform, or even a full uniform with out-of-date ribbons at an WW2 plane museum. I do pull things off before I drive home.
It's intended for men and women who dress like, &/or claim to be, veterans, especially if done as part of a fraudulent scheme to get money or promotions.
Cheers,
John
 

Thomas Koehle

Well-Known Member
Thank you, all, for your thoughts. Erwin, are you German? I only ask as a matter of perspective.
As to the risque nose art from the movie, I'd remove that since it wasn't real nose-art or a real squadron patch. Come to think of it, I think my wife told me not to wear the jacket when we went to Mass recently.
I appreciate all of your thoughts. It's a year away, but the question is fresh in my mind.
I can certainly imagine an old grandmother's reaction to anything RAF or 8th AF, especially in Frankfort or Dresden, where she was lucky to survive as a child.
The 'stolen valor' statute would be a very hard case to prove against a 69 year-old man like me, wearing odd bits of WW2 uniform, or even a full uniform with out-of-date ribbons at an WW2 plane museum. I do pull things off before I drive home.
It's intended for men and women who dress like, &/or claim to be, veterans, especially if done as part of a fraudulent scheme to get money or promotions.
Cheers,
John
John,

I‘m indeed German and I think Erwin was not directly referring to Germany itself but a general thought.

I’d rarely imagine that anyone even took notice if you‘d wear a jacket with some noseart displaying any WW2 themes.

The WW2 survivors getting more and more rare as a matter of time and the few which are still alive are most likely under support of retirement homes or something but not on the streets.

I myself getting 60 this year - one of my granduncles (i obviously never met him but his widow) was a Luftwaffe-pilot and was killed by Czech partisans when he wanted to surrender. Well I’m in the Czech Republic frequently for business but never had any kind of bad emotions for people over there.

As for that „stolen valor“ thing you’re right - usually wearing WW2 gear no one should feel offended or suspicious you‘d try to impersonate any military ranks you might had not achieved. It was rathermore a general question coz I noted it’s a big deal in the US.

Cheers
Thomas
 

Erwin

Well-Known Member
Hey John,

You don't need to be German, Japanese, or from any other country to understand - what can be not appropriate in certain conditions. You can have a different opinion [this is great that people, in general, have different opinions and can articulate this] and wear whatever you like to feel good. I wanted to just add my opinion regarding how people can react to certain markings on flight jackets in certain World locations. Hopefully, my opinion was not too direct.
 

Chandler

Well-Known Member
Speaking of not appropriate in certain conditions, since the Hell's Angels vacated their club house, I'm no longer looking over my shoulder when cycling around the lower east side wearing my Eastman 303rd BG A-2!
See, if you'd been wearing an M-422 with AVG 3rd Sqd insignia they'd have run the other way! ;)
 

ZuZu

Well-Known Member
Speaking of not appropriate in certain conditions, since the Hell's Angels vacated their club house, I'm no longer looking over my shoulder when cycling around the lower east side wearing my Eastman 303rd BG A-2!

In San Francisco in the late 1970s I was denied access to clubs when wearing my Bronco A-2 which had a skull and tophat patch on it. Too many biker fights. Hell's Angels still would take over Haight Street back then. They're still around. Often as not when I see them here in Oakland they're in limos going to funerals, most not riding bikes. I met Sonny Barger a few times at the VA hospital. A classy guy and one who parked where he wanted to even there!
 

Pa12

Well-Known Member
Speaking of not appropriate in certain conditions, since the Hell's Angels vacated their club house, I'm no longer looking over my shoulder when cycling around the lower east side wearing my Eastman 303rd BG A-2!
Those are patches you do not want to wear. That’s just plain dangerous.
 

John Luder

Well-Known Member
To all, especially Erwin and Thomas: This is California,after all: I could do damn-near anything and not be noticed. In England and Europe, there's not a snowball's chance in hell that I would be mistaken for anything but a Yank. My face, clothing, posture, and general over-all appearance scream American, even before I open my mouth.
Here, I know what's expected, and what to expect. If I did some things there that are considered 'normal' here, I would not merely be an American, I would be the Ugly American, which I always aim to avoid and which I absolutely hate to see when I'm over there. The under-50 travelers give us all a bad name. 'Amerikanis eunt domus? What's this, then?' 'It says Americans go home'. 'No it doesn't...' 'Goes like...' 'Now write it a hundred times before dawn or I'll cut your balls off.'
Aber jetzt, a question für unsere Freunde, do you think the average German would find this A-2 patch generisch und unauffällig oder beleidigend?
Erwin, I'm a Calfornia American, you can never be too direct. Auch, as a lawyer, I'm not easily offended, and I prefer clarity over consensus.
I asked because I'm interested in the differences of opinion based on one's homeland. It's always easier to avoid trouble than to get out of trouble. Also spracht Mark Twain.
Cheers,
John


IMG_8741.jpg
 

Chandler

Well-Known Member
I made most of my trips abroad when I was younger than 50. Never was that "ugly American" and made a lot of friends from Ireland to Austria.

I learned German so I could get by better in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland -- hell, even Western France. I even prided myself at being mistaken for a native in Salzburg because of my accent.

Of course I've since forgotten more German than I remember ( @Thomas Koehle ), but I really made it a point to show respect.

Point being, don't paint us all with the same brush.
 

John Luder

Well-Known Member
I made most of my trips abroad when I was younger than 50. Never was that "ugly American" and made a lot of friends from Ireland to Austria.

I learned German so I could get by better in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland -- hell, even Western France. I even prided myself at being mistaken for a native in Salzburg because of my accent.

Of course I've since forgotten more German than I remember ( @Thomas Koehle ), but I really made it a point to show respect.

Point being, don't paint us all with the same brush.
Pa12 hit the nail on the head with the few spoiling it for the rest of us.
As my wife always points out, there's no nuance or subtlety in texts and emails. So, to be clear, I'm not painting any of us as ugly Americans other than ugly Americans. And they are out there. Here and abroad.
I don't think any of us here, from what I've seen, would behave in such a way as to be considered ugly Americans.
The reason I was asking for thoughts from the members, especially in UK and Europe, was to get different perspectives so that I could avoid the avoidable, and not be a bad guest. What happens in the US stays in the US.
 

Pa12

Well-Known Member
Pa12 hit the nail on the head with the few spoiling it for the rest of us.
As my wife always points out, there's no nuance or subtlety in texts and emails. So, to be clear, I'm not painting any of us as ugly Americans other than ugly Americans. And they are out there. Here and abroad.
I don't think any of us here, from what I've seen, would behave in such a way as to be considered ugly Americans.
The reason I was asking for thoughts from the members, especially in UK and Europe, was to get different perspectives so that I could avoid the avoidable, and not be a bad guest. What happens in the US stays in the US.
Every country has some. Just human beings. Like the old Brit com “some mothers do ave em”.
 

Pa12

Well-Known Member
My brother, and a couple buddies, have spent most of their careers working around the world as aircraft mechanics. The company always insisted they wear Canadian flag insignia so as not to be mistaken for Americans :oops:;)
And that’s not a shot. Just a fact. But in all fairness it was more for the Middle East countries. One of my buddies went into Afghanistan with the first marines. He was a mechanic working for one of the humanitarian outfits. Had to wear a vest, a sig, and carry an m4 working on the aircraft. Crazy.
 
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