MDScoutMom

Thanks for the dates, I need to get that book. As someone said elsewhere, information can be very sketchy looking online (also contradictory at times). I have some of the square badges, but no "tweens". Our concentration has always been on WWII. Lucky I have my father-in-law's sash as one reference. I really want to dig through the chest where he keeps some of those type of things because he says he is not sure, but he may have been at the 1937 jamboree in D.C. I'd love to see if he has the ribbon for it.

Eagle92:

At the end of February another troop is putting on a hobby show for one day near us. My son is going to join in and display his vintage Scout uniforms, some equipment, badges, and book. It's not a huge collection, it is still in its early stages. He will be displaying his 1938/WWII uniform by wearing it. it should be fun.

Thanks, he is looking forward to it.

It's nice to see other people with point of view.

As a reenactor, I'm all for wearing the old style uniform. FYI, here is a good pic of the top:

http://www.njscoutmuseum.org/treasures.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BSA_War_Service_Uniforms_1917_18.jpg

Also some great pics from through the years at:

http://histclo.com/Youth/youth/org/sco/country/us/scoutus.htm

If it comes up asking for a password, just hit cancel. Usually it lets me see all the pics anyway. Go figure.

http://bowrose.com/NewTroopContent/pages/HISTORICPHOTOS.htm

When you look at the picture from NJ (1911 top) you see how there was some lack of uniformity. The merit badges in 1910 were embroidered on square cloth; some scouts sewed them to their sleeve in that shape & some cut and tucked under the cloth so they were round. Also, I am not sure if the sash was yet part of the uniform, but I think it was. Anyway, some scouts applied badges directly to the right sleeve, whereas some used a false sleeve to display the badges for special occasions like a court of honour. At least that is what I have read.....I'm not that old, LOL. Also of interest is the fact that in 1916 the US banned all uniforms that looked similar to that of the Army, except for that of the BSA.

I am more versed about the WWII uniform, as that is what my son wears when our family does WWII reenacting. He wears an original uniform from 1938. I date it from then because we have the entire uniform, including the information on the scout they belonged to and his membership card for the BSA is dated 1938. I know he wore it up to 1941 at least because the shirt has a 1941 camp badge on it. He was still wearing the knickers at that time, even though the shorts had been introduced in the 30's. If you look at pictures of groups of WWII scouts, you often see scouts wearing both knickers and the long pants (introduced in 1943) as well as different shades of shirts. I think it depended on what they could afford and sometimes that had to wear hand-me-downs. I like the knickers better anyway.

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't it true that as long as the uniform is correct it is alright to wear past uniform styles? I know you can't wear the 1910 jacket with 1943 pants but if everything is correct I was under the impression that the uniform could be worn if the scout wished.

As for the hat, just wearing the campaign hat one day out all day in the sun and my son really wished his troop would wear them all the time. No sun burn!!

Okay, I know that there are 4 badges the Boys Scouts can work on for only the year of 2010. But I read (Scouting Magazine, I think) that 2010 will also see the addition of 4 new badges - badges that will continue past 12-31-2010 until/unless they are discontinued sometime in the future. They are to be introduced at different times throughout 2010.

As far as I am aware, the first one has already been released: Scuba. The other badges are scouting heritage merit badge, GPS/GIS merit badge (I think) but I can't recall the fourth.

My question to anyone who may be able to answer me is this: Am I correct about the scouting heritage merit badge, and if so, do you know what the requirements will be? I really hope this is a separate badge and not confused with the 2010 heritage badges because such a badge would be tailored to my son who reenacts WWII Boy Scouts and has already been researching the history of the BSA.

Anyone?

Hi,

Again, I want to say thank you for the advise and information I have received. I do get to NY now and then as my husband's family is up there. I tell you, my husband would use any excuse to get back into the city where he worked for many years.

I would have responded earlier but we have suffered a loss in our family; my nephew has succumbed to an injury sustained in battle and passed away on Wednesday the 28th. He was a Sgt with the 82nd.

When I wanted to find an old high school/college friend I used a search service online. I entered the name and it gave me several possibilities. By looking at people it listed as associated with those listed (like husband, brother, etc) I narrowed my search and paid a $20 (I think) fee to give me the minimal information I needed: current phone numbers and a home address. I believe the service I used is called People Finders, but there are many choices. I just liked this one because as I recall it gave you more information to start with and narrow your choices without having to pay anything yet. Here is a link:

http://www.peoplefinders.com/default.aspx?from=FC_0009764_0001431&gclid=CMX86_jGjIoCFSUkYAodojUFeQ

Good luck.

Thanks for the information. One of the ASM's in the troop told me he checked with our council and reports there is quite a waiting list. Plus, no one else from his troop is attending. Personally, I think they should have gotten moving and got a troop price long ago, but that's just me. If I had realized how early the application needed to be in I would have started moving things along for him (he was 12 in August 2009) but I was not wise to it. He seems pleased with the idea of going to summer camp with his friends then the idea of going down to VA to check out the Jamboree. I have stressed to him that he will not be able to participate but as of right now he feels that the most important thing is to check it out and be able to say, for at least a bit "I was there for the 100 yr Jamboree". I hope it doesn't rain for any of those days so all the boys have a great time.

When would the next Jamboree take place?

Unfortunately, he will not be able to take part in the Centennial Jamboree. It was required for the Scout to have already achieved First Class rank to apply and he was just getting his Second Class at the time. He hopes to complete the camping requirements for his F.C. during his upcoming camp (Webelos Woods) and the following month. Lucky I don't have to eat his cooking, LOL, although his bacon seems to be popular. Since we only live in Maryland though his SM suggested that we may want to drive down to AP Hill for a few days just go see it - it is a once in a lifetime event. It will take some maneuvering though as his Troop will be going to summer camp during that time as well.

I thank you all for you comments and would ask you if you could suggest 1940's era merit badges for some he has earned but did not exist then:

1. Railroading - This didn't replace any other badge so I am not sure what he would "merit"?

2. Nature - Again, this didn't replace any discontinued badges but I thought maybe zoology would be good if I can find the badge.

Thanks.

I wonder if it some combination of both stories....

Something like the bravest warrior frees his left of a shield, leaving it free to great a friend with?

JFL49,

Thanks very much for that link, I have bookmarked it and will show it to my son tomorrow. He is in bed, like I should be.

Kahuna,

Thanks for your answers. You won't believe my luck - we have an antique mall near us which we decided to just check out. Darned if they didn't have a full uniform (minus those hard to find socks!). It was worn by a Scout from before WWII to at least 1942, as there is a 1942 camper badge on the uniform. It came with shirt, 2 knickers, neckerchief, belt, campaign hat and personal items for the owner, including membership card, shoulder flash, and BSA diary. All of it for less than $200.

We scooped it up and he wore it to a WWII hanger dance we went to this evening. As luck would have it, my husband is Scottish by ancestry (wore kilt when we married) and had a pair of kilt hose for him to wear. They were a little too green, but he looked great. As usual, the press were more interested in his uniform than anyone that of anyone else, LOL!

I have ordered a pair of brown kilt hose after looking at the picture of the Scout in handbook.

SSScout,

I will tell him to check that merit badge with his Scoutmaster. I will also look at the requirements. As we homeschool our son, I commonly incorporate the Scouts into my teaching. For example, this year it was easy to design a Social Studies course: Citizenship in the Community, Nation & World badges do it perfectly. I'm sure American Citizenship would be good to be part of it as well.

And yes, he now has not 1 but 2 campaign hats. I think if he could he would have worn it to bed, he liked it so much!! Once he gets his patches sewed on good and obtains the hose (have to come from England), I'll have to take a picture and give a link to it!

Thanks again for your assistance and your well wishes to him.

shortridge,

I will most certainly suggest the Troop Historian to him. Thanks.

As for joining a reenactment unit, we have joked that he is the youngest starting reenacter ever since I personally was out in the field portraying an 18th century soldier when I was pregnant (yeah, I know that sounds weird, LOL). So he tasted black powder even before he was born and has been coming to and joining in with us since he was born. About 10.5 yrs old we were able to get him in a midshipman's uniform and from then on he has been uniformed at events. He loves to interact with the public and let them know about history for his age. He is now 12.

Getting WWII Scout items is not easy, I keep getting sniped on ebay and I can find the socks nowhere. Thank goodness for the 1942 Handbook For Boys that he now has.

Thanks, I will give him those links.

As for the Historic Trails Award, he is interested in achieving it along with interested troop members through the second option since it says "Cooperate with an adult group such as a historic society to restore and mark all or part of this trail or site. (This may be done during the hike or overnight camp.) Or cooperate with such a group to plan and stage a historic pageant, ceremony, or other public event related to this trail or site - such event should be large enough to merit coverage by the local press."

As reenactors, we camp out many times during the year at different events that get media coverage. He himself has already been in our community papers as well as in Gettysburg and Baltimore. He would like to share his love of history with his troop.

I really appreciate your help. Please, any help would be appreciated.

Hello,

I am new here and this is my first post so a warm hello to all from Maryland! Anyway, I'll start out by saying my son is a 2nd Class Scout working hard on his 1st Class. Also, along with my husband and I he is a living historian (aka reenactor) and we portray the WWII period. It was his idea to portray a Scout of the period, matching rank and badges (best as can) to those he has earned. We have been using this as well as part of our homeschool history class as it teaches him researching a topic (and one he likes!). He has a 1942 Scout handbook that has helped but he has many questions about the uniform that it can't answer. If anyone can help us, here are a few:

1. Shirt: In what year did the shirts stop having metal buttons that were attached by metal rings? Need to know if this is the wartime type or not.

2. Shirt: Again with the buttons. There are some shirts that appear to be wartime but despite BSA logo tag in the collar, the buttons are a domed (bakelite?) without any BSA markings on them - are THESE wartime?

3. I know 1943 saw the introduction of trousers, but from what I see in pictures the knickers remained pretty popular. Is this correct?

4. Stockings: What color were they and how long were they? Also, did the boys wear knee flashes with them to keep them up (I see this in many 1950's pictures)?

5. Stockings: Do you know of a source where I could find a pair or two? I have spent days scouring every sock in ebay with no luck.

6. Shoes: My father-in-law received his Eagle shortly before WWII (then went on to fight, great man). He tells me he remembers wearing ankle boots/brogans. Did they still during the war or did they wear shoes?

7. Does anyone have any suggestions for web sites or good books that may dedicated to the Scouts of WWII? My son wants to really be able to put up a display and tell people how important they were for the WWII effort.

8. Last, if he really gets this going, do any of you know if there is merit badge he apply for? That is not why he is doing it, I am just curious. I was thinking the Historic Trails Award?

Thanks so much in advance....absolutely ANY input would be appreciated. Especially if there are any WWII Scouts out there that can share stories. Thanks again.