Shortly after training in France began it was discovered that the leggings of the American Army were no match for the moisture of the French countryside and so puttees were issued for the whole A.E.F. – the attached notice ordered the entire U.S. Army to wear them in place of canvas leggings.
The Doughboys were grateful to be issued European spiral-puttees in place of their canvas gaiters -which did them no good whatever in the dampness of Northern Europe; however, as the attached W.W. I photographs so clearly indicate (as does this cartoon by Walgren), not many Yanks were as proficient at wrapping them as the upper brass had hoped.
Illustrated pages from the Thresher and Glenny catalog showing how a blanket lining could be added to the trench coat in order to make the garment more suitable for winter campaigns. Also included in the advertisement were three glowing testimonials written by British officers who were simply bubbling over with excitement for their Thresher and Glenny trench coats.
The writer who toiled over the attached STARS and STRIPES article worked very hard to convince his Doughboy readership that the latest piece of U.S. Army headgear was made on a scientific plan, terribly stylish and well-worth having around:
It has neither brim nor visor…It is better made than the old cap. It fits more neatly, looks more chic, adapts itself far more genteelly to the average Doughboy braincase.
To put it in a word, the new cap is natty. And the old cap was not even hatty.
For those who think a good deal about American military uniforms in the Great War, the overseas cap was just as unique to that war as the the Brody helmet, the trench coat and the gas mask. The American Quartermaster Corps liked the hat but they were terribly confused as to what to do with it: can we put insignia on it? Yes. No. Yes. Should it be worn back home?
Click here to read a Stars & Stripes article about American W.W. I helmets.
