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cball
04-15-07, 02:07 PM
1954 Boots hit it lucky.We were some of the last Marines to be issued the short Ike jacket,and they sure looked sharp..In fact guys that came in later would try to buy them from you,some offered a months pay.I kept mine ..Any of you old salts have yours? Sgt C Ball

devilhund1
04-15-07, 03:14 PM
I wish I still had my Ike Jacket as you call it. I went in 52 and if I can recall,we refered toit as a battle jacket. I had two of them and whenever the uniformof theday was dress greens,I wore thebattle jacket until about 1960.

cball
04-15-07, 03:38 PM
Yea, I remember they had brass buttons and hardware and we would polish the black off to make em look old .

devilhund1
04-15-07, 05:55 PM
do they still issue the GreenRaincoat andGreen overcoat? I always thought it looked weird whenwearing dress blues.

10thzodiac
04-15-07, 06:14 PM
Back in '61 I came by a battle jacket from one of guys. It was a little small and wore it only once on leave. I got into a pretty good ass whipping contest while wearing it, I finally got even with an older guy who use to bully me in school.

He asked me if I thought I was tough now that I was a Marine. He didn't even get a punch in, I decked him and was on him like stink on sh!t !

The whole bowling alley and bar emptied out to see the fight, free drinks for the 18 year old Marine in the battle jacket ! I remember the bartender giving me the you're not old enough look, but served me anyways while my under-aged buddies watched http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/04.gif

His mistake, I had grown up http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/11.gif

fmoyer
04-16-07, 02:48 PM
Still have by Battle Jacket as well as two pair of greens w a wool over coat have no idea why I keep them around could not even begin to fit into them.

cball
04-16-07, 04:26 PM
Sorry for refering to`them as Ike jackets ,they were Battle jackets.

Art Petersn
04-16-07, 04:28 PM
I still have mine. went in 10/31/55-10/30/55. We called it the Ike and also Battle Jacket. Sure wish I could get into it.

cball
04-16-07, 04:37 PM
I dont remember any wool overcoat ,we had a green nylon material raincoat with a liner that you could remove..

ggyoung
04-16-07, 07:11 PM
I was issued a battle jackit in 1964. My DI's wanted it bad. I was the only one in my series to get one.

Quinbo
08-02-07, 07:26 PM
I think it was 1988 when the Eisenhower jacket was brought back into service. 1985 when the horse blanket coat was replaced by the spie coat and wooly pully.

Phantom Winger
08-02-07, 08:38 PM
do they still issue the GreenRaincoat andGreen overcoat? I always thought it looked weird whenwearing dress blues.

Back in '82 they issued the green wool overcoat or the green rubber raincoat if you were Reserves. They were replaced by the double breasted trenchcoats in 83/84 if I remember correctly.

HMCFMFWife
08-18-07, 09:28 PM
I have two sea bags out in the garage.One for the Navy and one for the Corps. When my two sons were doing some sorting out they came across the two sea bags. It was to soon after loosing their Dad last Oct.23,2006 to open the bags. I know there are Ike Jackets there from 51-52. Paul did 8 years with the Marines as their Doc.
HMCFMFWife
Marge

Sgt Leprechaun
08-19-07, 11:07 AM
"Ike Jackets": The army basically thought these up in 1943, they were originally a cut down version of the service jacket. The original idea behind them was to conserve material for the war effort. Officers stole the idea from the british 'battle dress' jacket, and started having their own coats cut down in Brit tailor shops. Eventually, the War Dept saw how popular the things were (Ike wore one, thus the name) and began issuing them in large numbers to the troops.

The Marines took a liking to them, and started having Aussie tailors do the same things to their Service Dress Alpha blouses. General Vandegrift gave the authorization for wear, and it was later approved by HQMC, (after WWII) when they began being issued. The official name for the USMC version is the "Vangegrift" coat, but Marines called them either "Battle Dress" or Vandegrifts. They were issued well past the Korean war, and authorized for wear until approx 1963 if I recall the regs correctly. That's when it became mandatory for the "winter" and "summer" greens, as well as the khakis.

The "Horse blanket" was issued from the 1960's until 1983, if I remember right. It was also issued with the green raincoat. Both were replaced with the "All weather" coat in 1985, with a mandatory wear out date of Oct 1986 if I remember right. Those who weren't issued the AW coat had to go and buy one.

The 'tanker' jacket was also introduced for "optional" wear about the same time period. It's still an "optional" item of purchase if memory serves.

Wooly Pulleys were authorized as an 'optional' uniform item for purchase around 1979, I believe.

Yes, I'm a military uniform/collector geek. It's what I do :)

Quinbo
08-19-07, 08:33 PM
The tanker jacket was what I was thinking of as the reintroduced Ike jacket. The wooley pulleys became a mandatory uniform item in 86. Often debated but there was also a green wool scarf issued with the all weather coat.

yanacek
08-20-07, 05:32 AM
I never did understand the rationale for eliminating the Battle Jacket. It was much more comfortable that the green blouse and it looked very good. Anyone know why it was done away with?

I had a "horse blanket" although I had to buy mine. They were not issued to reservists in 1978. I wore mine many times until they were phased-out and replaced with that gray "London Fog" overcoat-thing. I'll bet someone in the DoD had stock in London Fog to make this a uniform item. It always looked sloppy to me, and on top of that it was GRAY.

The gray tanker jacket was not anything like the Battle Jacket--it has a zipper front and did not have breast pockets. I despised it almost as much as the London Fog overcoat.

I say, bring back the Horse Blanket, the Battle Jacket, and the Tropicals!

Sgt Leprechaun
08-20-07, 10:37 AM
I agree....those uniforms looked better than some of the 'newer' stuff now. My horse blanket still has LCpl chevrons on it, ready to go! LOL

kato811
08-20-07, 08:14 PM
http://marines.*********************/usmc/thumbs/319276.jpg

yanacek
08-20-07, 08:47 PM
Can't see the image. It was made of the same Kersey Wool as the blouse, but it had no visible buttons on the breast pockets or on the front of the jacket. The length was to the waist. Here is a link to a Battle Jacket photo:

http://www.usmccollectibles.com/Uniforms/Blouses&Jackets/SgtIkeJkt.JPG

kato811
08-21-07, 05:17 AM
yours is just like mine . sorry pic wont show up i tried to post it but it has the wrong words to link to this web site with there blocked here

MOUNTAINWILLIAM
08-25-07, 08:42 PM
Just a quick note on the Battle Jacket (Ike Jacket). If like me, none of the old uniforms fit there is a good market for them on EBAY. I sold 99% of stuff that has been following me around since 57 (two seabags full and then some). I think most of it went to Germany (you wouldn't believe the postage those folks pay).

Anyway, it's a good way to pick up some mad money.

Semper Fi

sempidr
07-30-11, 10:20 PM
Bought an "Eisenhower Jacket" from a Marine returning from Gitmo, at the MCRD Depot back in '64. Wore it until early '66. when an order came down, they were no longer "regulation". Was a sharp looking piece of uniform.

silverdollar
07-31-11, 06:35 AM
I wish that I knew what happened to my battle jacket, but the only things I have left is a barrack cover and the old nylon raincoat.

David R 1968
07-31-11, 08:11 AM
Silverdollar if you got kids, start with them.

Mike L
11-15-15, 10:05 AM
I was recently chatting with the wife of a former Marine, and the topic of the "Ike" jacket came up. She didn't know that a Marine Corps version had once been issued. I dug up a picture of myself in a graduation photo in 1962 wearing my prized battle jacket. I had acquired it from another Marine many years earlier--at El Toro in 1952, I think.

USMC 2571
11-15-15, 10:08 AM
You may not get much interaction from an 8 year old thread, but then again, maybe you will. Generally speaking, the folks on old threads are long gone from this site.

McT ontheRock71
11-17-15, 09:27 AM
I inherited a battle jacket from my Uncle, Jim McClaren, back in the early 60's. As a kid, I wore it during the winter months over a hooded sweatshirt. No chevrons, no EGA, just the jacket. It was warm and I looked good in it. Perhaps this was a factor in my choice of services.