Hat and Gun from WWI

[DCWilson]

Some years ago I came into possession of a campaign hat that my uncle Ralph wore when he served in France in 1918. I am breaking in a new camera and used that as an excuse to shoot a few shots with a WWI theme.




I have another almost new 1917 made by a different manufacturer, and they obligingly posed together with Ralph's chapeau.

[DFrame]

Excellent. Great pix and very cool that you have that family heirloom.

[CO_Kid]

They call WWII vets the greatest generation (and you won't see me arguing the point).

However, I feel that our doughboys from WWI are the forgotten generation. Nice pic and a good momento of your uncle.

[Derry 1946]

Excellent! Thanks for sharing. interesting history.

[whitecoyote]

Very nice piece of history. Thanks for sharing.

[fitz2]

great family treasure, do you know what unit he was in? if not you should research him, anytime ww1 comes up i encourage anyone interested to buy the book,"to conquer hell, the meuse-argonne, 1918" by Edward G. Lengel, you won't be able to put it down, very nice picture btw.

[deserttrans]

Very nice and great pics too.

[thecareep]

Very nice >>> thanks

[Gatofeo]

You need to write up all the information you have on your uncle, pertaining to that hat and his military service, and put it inside the band.
Too often, family histories are lost forever because the ONE person who knows passes away, or the item gets separated.
Do the same with that old Colt, by writing a note in very small script (pt 7 or 8) on your computer, cutting the note to fit, and placing under the grips of the gun. Ensure you mention the gun's serial number in the note, for the sake of provenance and accuracy. Sign and date it too.
I bought an 1873 Winchester rifle a few years ago that had been in one family for well over 100 years. They told me quite a bit about the rifle, and its history. I wrote it all down, sent the note to them for proofreading (only a couple of minor mistakes were noted), corrected the note and then placed it under the buttplate.
I'm assured now that, if I keel over tomorrow, the story of that Winchester will remain known.
Because of computers, we can now write legibly exceedingly small, thus getting a lot of information on a small slip of paper. Take advantage of that. Even if you know nothing about an item's history, a hidden note may get it returned to you if it's stolen.