Below is a section of articles related to WW1 and WW2 Reenacting. These are articles that go into detail regarding different aspects of historical reenacting or related topics.
The articles include original resources and research (like my Voting in WW2 or The SCR300 for Reenactments articles), links to primary resources (like field manuals, technical manuals, and other guides) as well as paperwork and “How To” guides for reproducing different field equipment items.
If you liked these articles you can also check out my project on 78 records for the WW2 Reenactor.
If you want historical research on The War of 1812 you can check out War of 1812 Primary Resources List. Be sure to grab a beer or two before you start reading!
Enjoy the content!
Below are some links to a Google Drive that contains files related radio chatter during combat. They are really interesting as they show how soldiers communicated during firefights.
The last one are a series of 4 files which are chatter during a base attack
We Are the Mighty includes a brief analysis of the life expectancy of a Vietnam War Radioman.
Different units often create service menus for special occasions such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, or New Year’s. These are some examples
Camp Lejeune Signal Battalion Christmas Dinner Menu 1943 – Christmas Menu for Marines
2nd Mess Group Christmas Greetings, Keesler Field, Mississippi, Dec 25th 1944 – Christmas Menu
Images courtesy of Joanne Krasselt, whose Uncle, Clarence Jepperson, saved them. Clarence would go on to partake in Operation Ivory Soap. The training for the operation was held at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, where they treated the hotel as a naval ship. He saved the rate sheet from the hotel as well, with rates effective October 20, 1943, and underlined that he was in a Suite for 4 occupants.
This has a bit more about the selection and training of the operation: https://sikorskyarchives.com/operation-ivory-soap-and-the-largest-helicopter-rescue-of-wwii/
The library of the University of Georgia has a digitized collection of 6th Cavalry Troop menus. The 6th Cavalry was out of Fort Oglethorpe.
The 35th Replacement Battalion is a unit that replacement soldiers would be assigned to before heading to their actual unit. The copy is from January 1946.
The menu below is from the 443rd Fighter Squadron of the 327th Fighter Group out of Richmond, VA (the base is where the Richmond Airport currently is). This unit was a training unit and provided mid-Atlantic defense.
This is a service menu for Division School No. 2, New Area at Camp Bowie, Texas, on October 17th, 1944. It’s hard to find much information about the unit, but according to the US Army Lineage, it was in Europe and presumably came home before being transferred to the Pacific. I guess that this Victory Party is the result of them coming home from Europe.
Below is the base brochure handed out to personnel when they arrive at base and are expecting to stay awhile. This one is from Harmon Field in Stephenville, Newfoundland. Dated Feb 1945
Thalhimers Basement Luncheonette – A civilian menu probably from the 1930s. It was a diner in Richmond, VA.
People’s Drug Stores, Nov 1943 – Includes a flyer for Specials
John E Fahed Menu 1943 – Includes a flyer for specials. Located at 602 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA. Which is now home to a Rite Aid.
Sol Scher’s Restaurant, Dec 1943. – Includes a flyer for specials. Located at 827 East Broad Street, Richmond, VA. Which is now a parking garage.
The Nook Restaurant Sept, 1943 – Includes a flyer for specials. Located at 111 North Second Street, Richmond, VA. Which is now a parking garage. Now it’s advertised as being “air conditioned,” but the individual room ones, as well as any portable ones, were brand new technology at the time and costly. It’s unlikely the business had that but used some other tool or technology to condition the air.
These could often be found at post exchanges or other on-base facilities.
American Expeditionary Field Service Post Card – Sent to Marg (or Mary?) W Ostrander in Grenola, KS. Grenola is a super small town in KS. Probably by her brother or another relative. I’m guessing based on research that she married TJ Starker. The field service postcard is just a way to send a quick message home letting family know what’s happened to you. In this case, it looks like the signer wanted to get a quick message out that he got their letter and will send a letter soon. Postcard is dated Oct 16th, 1918. Size is 5.5in length by 3.5in width.
Remembrance From France Postcard – This is a thank-you note from a WW1 soldier (American Expeditionary Forces, 7th Division, 3rd Infantry (?), Machine Gun Company). He’s writing to a girl named Frances, thanking her for a New Year’s card she sent him and telling her how much it meant to him while stationed in France. Dated Jan 19th, 1919. Size is 5.5in length by 3.5in width.
Old Nick’s Here With Greetings to You WW1 Christmas Postcard – A soldier named Prestin (?) or Herby (?) describing how the shift works at the switchboard he’s stuck at. The shifts are 4 hours on and 12 hours off. It looks like just a quick New Year’s/Christmas card he sent home. Dated Dec 25th, 1918.
Sized 4in in length by 3.5in in width.
Below are some pdfs which show the blueprints of the M1 Garand Rifle
80th Infantry Division drew men from VA, West VA, PA
Chinese Restaurants
DC in the 1890s first ones appear: https://ggwash.org/view/32254/then-now-the-only-chinese-restaurant-east-of-the-river
Pittsburgh, Early 1900s: http://old.post-gazette.com/lifestyle/20031209chinatown1209p1.asp
Philadelphia: http://www.ushistory.org/tour/chinatown.htm Restaurant NAME: Mei-Hsian Lou
Montana: http://mentalfloss.com/article/88648/delicious-history-nations-oldest-chinese-american-restaurant
I had the opportunity to do a little research at the Anti-Saloon League Museum. I pulled out some documents you might be able to use to enhance your World War One Impression.
It is produced by hand-cutting glass. Cut glass used to contain heavy amounts of lead, and to get the right designs, glass-makers would add crystal or “flint” to it. Cut glass is used primarily for tableware and comes in many styles. Most glassware was signed with the name of the producer, etched into the glass. Reproductions of cut glass tend to have signatures embossed.
Carnival Glass is pressed glassware produced in the 1900s-1930s. The glass came in many colors, including brights (like red, green, blue, purple, etc.) and pastel colors (like clear, white, smoke, lavender, and opalescent). The pastel colors have less of a finish. Red is the most highly collectible color as it requires fair amounts of gold oxides to produce it. Marigold is the most widely available color. When the depression hit and glass styles changed, producers of carnival glass gave it away to…carnivals as prizes.
It was sprayed with a metallic finish that made it look oily in nature. Five companies produced the majority of it in the US.
1. Fenton Art Glass Co. of Williamstown WV
2. Imperial Glass Corporation of Bellaire, OH
3. Millersburg Glass Company of Millersburg, OH
4. Northwood Glass Company of Wheeling, WV
5. Dugan Glass Company of Indiana, PA
Cheaply produced colored glassware, as automation and industrialization finally caught up to glassmaking. This glassware was marketed for middle-income and working-class Americans. This glassware came with purchases from stores or mail-order catalogs. Glassware was of any kind, including bowls, shakers, dishes (all kinds), creamers, sugars, vases, jars, pitchers, measuring cups, etc. Pink is the most common glass color, followed by Green and Amber. The rarer Depression glass colors are red, black, cobalt blue, and yellow. The rarest types of Depression Glass are the ones that incorporate glass bases for citrus juices (reamers).
Fiestaware is brightly colored pottery. It was produced from 1936 to 1973. It was restarted in 1986. Collectors seek the original colors: Red, Yellow, Cobalt, Light-Green, Ivory, Turquoise. Fiesta Red was pulled from the market in 1943 as it used uranium to help create its color, and the uranium was needed for the war effort. Chartreuse(gray and rose-colored) was added as a color scheme in the 1950s, and earthy tones arrived by the 1970s. The rarest color is medium green.
Produced glass from the early 1900s to the 1950s. Focused mostly on crystal or cut glass. Can find designs of stars, swirls, squares, etc. Produced mostly bowls, plates, tumblers, and cocktail glasses. The most collectible of Cambridge Glass is the Square Series, produced shortly before it went out of business. It would eventually be bought by Imperial Glass.
This company began reproducing Carnival glass in the 1960s using some of the original molds; however, the difference between period-correct Carnival glass and Imperial Glass Reproductions is that the new glass is marked IG at the bottom.
Produced Carnival and then Depression glass. Before 1970, most Fenton glass had a sticker. If no sticker look for an absence of the pontil mark (typically seen as a dimple, chipped-looking section, or lumpy bump that indicates the punty rod was detached from the glass as it was cooling). Fenton Glass used a different kind of punty rod that left clean breaks. After 1970, Fenton glass will mark the piece of an “F” or “Fenton” somewhere on the item
See: https://web.archive.org/web/20130126045835/http://www.ehow.com/how_7330459_authenticate-fenton-glass.html
http://entertainmentguide.local.com/detect-fake-fenton-glassware-8067.html
Produced Art Glass, Cut-Glass, and Carnival Glass. The symbol is an “H” inside a diamond.
Produced all kinds of glassware, but not much of Carnival or Depression. Glass marked with the word “Libbey”
Produced some carnival and depression, but mainly milk glass. Early Westmoreland marks were a “W” within what appears to be an upside-down lampshade. The intertwined “W” and “G” were not developed until 1949. In 1983, all Westmoreland glass was marked “Westmoreland.”
Anchor-Hocking and Fire King:
Jeannette Glass Company
Liberty Works
MacBeth-Evans Glass Company
US Glass Company
Hazel Atlas Company
Indiana Glass Company
Fostoria Glass Company
Federal Glass Company
Paden City Glass Company
McKee Glass Company
New Martinsville
L.E. Smith Company
Lancaster Glass Company
US Company (?)
Belmont Tumbler Company
Dell Glass
Diamond Glassware Company
Homer-Laughlin China Company-Fiesta Ware
1. Florence, Gene. 1999. The Pocket Guide to Depression Glass and More: 1920s-1960s. 11th Ed. Collector Books. This is a Good source that puts pictures with the different pattern types.
2. Pickvet, Mark. 1996. Collecting Glassware. Alliance Publishers. This is a general overview of glass history, glass styles, and glass companies.
Below are some scanned copies and information related to Zippos in World War two for the reenactors.
The two PDFs below outline a general progression of Zippo from 1932 to 1950, including the famed black crackle Zippo of the World War Two Era.
The following PDFs show a specific progression of Zippo lighters from 1933 to early 1941.
Zippo also had wartime ads to promote Zippos
Here is the message Zippo had, which announced the change to the black crackle
The next PDF shows a specific progression from 1941 to the early 1950s.
In the 1990s, there was a market for nostalgia, and Zippo manufactured Zippos in the same style as the 1930s and 1940s
The final PDF shows the change in packaging throughout the years
Below are some specific details and analysis of the Zippo from 1932 to 1954
Zippo: The Great American Lighter by David Poore, 1997, Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
During World War I and again during World War II, the American Red Cross launched nationwide, volunteer-driven knitting campaigns to supply soldiers and war refugees with warm clothing. These volunteer knitters belonged to a Red Cross unit called the Production Corps that also produced bandages and sewn garments (such as pajamas) for veterans and civilian hospitals.
Military knitting patterns were designed to be compatible with soldiers’ and sailors’ uniforms and were required to be knitted in olive drab or navy blue. Production Corps volunteers would also knit from patterns designed for convalescing soldiers, such as the “Walking Cast Toe Sock,” the “Cap for the Bandaged Head,” and the “Man’s Coat Sweater.”
The chart below shows some different patterns for knitting. The Wristlets pattern comes courtesy of the Estate of Ray and Anita Sexton, Oneida, TN (*).
**The pattern calls for 4/8 sweater yarn and has no needle size or gauge. Above are approximations based on pattern description. The Center for Knit and Crochet, Inc, says:
…the Woman’s Bureau decided to specify three standard “Red Cross Needle” sizes, and printed their diameters in inches. Because knitting needles were not yet standardized…
During World War II, the Red Cross Production Corps was by far the most popular unit with over 3.5 million members, spread throughout 3,304 chapters. Unlike other volunteer jobs, there was no prerequisite training, and recruitment and task assignments were accomplished quickly. The women, and in some cases the men, who volunteered enjoyed the camaraderie and the fact that workrooms were set up not only at chapter buildings, but also at schools, churches, and other public or private facilities for their convenience.
From 1939 to 1946, the volunteers of the Production Corps made: 63,552,649 garments for civilians and the military, 1,403,158 infant garments, 31,237,900 kit bags containing cigarettes, playing cards, soap, etc., and 2,481,951,637 surgical dressings. The Production Corps volunteers were broken down into committees organized by task. They included surgical dressings, sewing, and knitting.
Detailed instructions, patterns, and supplies were issued by the National Headquarters to chapters and each was assigned a quota to fill. Chapters had volunteers in charge of inspection, planning and supplies, workrooms and equipment, instruction, and packing and shipping
This was a knitting booklet made in 1942 by Chadwick’s Red Heart Wools, a knitting company. It’s 22 pages long and has knitting instructions for the following garments
You can download the Men’s Sweaters at Work and Play Book No.188 as a PDF here.
This was a knitting booklet made in 1941 by Chadwick’s Red Heart Wools, a knitting company. It’s 22 pages long and has knitting instructions for the following garments. It has instructions for the following patterns
You can download the Knit for Defense No.172 book as a pdf here.
This is another Red Cross knitting pattern. The booklet is Volume 318, dated 1940. Below are some images from the booklet and external links which explain more about the patterns.
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The links below are a digitized copy of the content found in the Red Cross knitting document, Warm Hand Knits for Servicemen. Read Me First: WWII Knitting FAQ
| WWII Plain Socks | WWII Hats and Helmets | WWII Mittens and Gloves | WWII V-Neck Sweater |
| WWII Turtleneck | WWII Sweater Vest | WWII Ear Muffs, Wristlets, Knee Caps, Muffler |
This is a 26-page book that includes 40 different knitting patterns. It was copyrighted in 1944 by Book Productions Industries Inc and published by Ethel Evans.
The book contains knitting patterns for:
Hand Knits for Servicemen can be downloaded as a PDF here.
Ethel Evans is actually the pen name of Ethel Rodman. She is a minor celebrity in the world of knitting and crocheting, as she published several authoritative books in this manner. Her brother is Edward Ray Goetz, a Hollywood producer, songwriter, and musician, who at one time was married to actress Irene Bordoni.
Ethel’s sister was Dorothy Goetz, who at one time was married to Irving Berlin. Ethel and her sister are buried with their parents in Buffalo’s Forest Lawn Cemetery (section 9, Lot 282).
Now, oddly, she has a connection to UFOs. She witnessed a UFO incident called “Incident 88” or “Hackensack Event” because it was reported on Aug 3rd, 1947, in Hackensack, NJ. She sent letters and photos to the Air Force for about a year but stopped near the end of 1948. Incident 88 has a redacted archived copy that you can see.
This is a knitting guide made in 1947 by the Jack Frost Yarn Company. The company itself may have first started in 1928, according to the date it was trademarked.
The booklet contains the following patterns. Much of it seems to be kid-focused, and there may not be much use for WW2 Reenacting, but the Men’s or Lady’s mittens might work
You can download the booklet as a pdf here.
While this page covers US knitting instructions, you can find a listing of British Knitting instructions: 1940s knitting patterns. It includes the following patterns
Sirdar is a British Knitting company founded in the 1800s. For a history of the company, this article from Knit and Nibble is pretty condensed. Sirdar produced knitting patterns such as the pullover with collar and as a vest seen below. You can download this pattern here. Sirdar also has copies of 40s patterns (among other eras) in their Heritage section here. Many of which would have been found amongst the civilian and army populations of World War II.
This is another British company, Lister & Co. Ltd, that produced knitting patterns. You can download the book here. It contains the following
The book was issued by the Canadian Red Cross Society in February 1940 and is 16 pages long. It contains at least 17 different patterns for the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
You can download the book here: The Canadian Red Cross Society: Knitting Instructions for War Work
What The Army Needs
What The Navy Needs
What The Air Force Needs
I wanted to provide a brief section on WW1 Era Knitting Garments and instructions.
Vintage Reveries has a few examples, such as socks, helmets, wristlets, and sleeveless sweaters. These all come from the July 1917 Modern Priscilla Needlework magazine. For a cleaner copy of Helmet A, Helmet B, and Helmet C, you can see this HJS Studio WW1 Patterns guide.
Priscilla War Work Book Comforts for Soldiers and Sailors 1917 – Includes patterns for: Mufflers, Sleeveless Sweaters, Knitted Helmets (types 1 and 2), Medium Size Man’s Socks, Thumbless Mittens/Wristlets, Thumbless Mittens, Hospital Bed Socks, and Balaklava Sleeping Caps.
Also includes a neat discussion on the needs for hospital and surgical gowns, hospital bed shirts, pajamas, bed socks, operating leggings, convalescent gown, operating gowns, hot water bag covers, and ice bag covers.
In addition, it shows how to make comfort kits (types 1, 2, and 3) via a pattern.
It also has a few Boy Scout items, but since that’s not really related to WW1, I’m not adding the images.
The US Militaria Forum has 4 pages of discussion around knitted WW1 garments.
The University of Pennsylvania has a list of knitting and crocheting PDF books from the 1940s to the 1940s. These seem primarily based out of the UK and Europe and focus mostly on civilian clothing, but there might be some crossover to the military.
Fleisher’s knitting & crocheting manual / the Fleisher Yarns 1918 – The first 30 or so pages focus on service-related items (search for “service” or “army). They have a neat section on different kinds of blankets to make, as well as sweaters, hats, scarves, socks, and wristlets.
World War One Red Cross Socks and Wristlets: The Red Cross issued a few patterns. Attached is a zip file with instructions. Comes from: Knitting America: A Glorious Heritage From Warm Socks to High Art by Strawn, Susan. Voyager Press, 2007.
Bear Brand Blue Book No. 18 1918 – Descriptions of how to crochet and knit, as well as showing different kinds of stitches. It has a few items for soldiers and sailors in World War I. Hilariously, it includes a dog sweater pattern (page 128).
Below is a listing of WW2 reproduction currency of Russia, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan. The files are all .pdf and may be printed off and used at reenactments.
Some WW2 reproduction currency files below have two files, a front and a back. They are designed to be printed on either a two-sided copier or printed once and then fed back into the printer in the opposite direction so the sides line up.
Others have only a single side. These were also designed to be flipped and fed back into the printer.
