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From The Cabin Coffee Table — An occasional look back at what the old Codgers saw and smoked (with a little detour and frolic, here and there):
The Codger Cabin
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- #1,562
From The Cabin Coffee Table — An occasional look back at what the old Codgers saw and smoked (with a little detour and frolic, here and there):
- Thread starter
- #1,563
From The Cabin Coffee Table — An occasional look back at what the old Codgers saw and smoked (with a little detour and frolic, here and there):
- Thread starter
- #1,564
From The Cabin Coffee Table — An occasional look back at what the old Codgers saw and smoked (with a little detour and frolic, here and there):
Glider troops did not receive the extra pay awarded to paratroopers until after the 1944 Normandy invasion. Many occasions of Glider troops doing parachute jumps but no instance of Paratroopers volunteering for Glider Infantry. This occurred because the casualty rates were as high as Paratroopers, in some cases higher.
The Soldier displayed here is definitely prior to June 6th, 1944 due to not having Jump Boots, after Normandy the Glider Infantry were also allowed to wear the highly prized Jump Boots with their uniforms. Panel to right of 86 degrees cooler shows regular issue shoes. Jump Boots are worn with the pants being 'bloused' in the top of the boots on dress or field uniform.
Jump Boots were prized because the entire boot upper shaft extended to mid calf, also the toe was double capped for durability. The heel was raised as well, it added height and swagger to the Paratrooper of that time period. The typical boot issue for soldiers during WW 2 was a lower upper extending only above the ankle, then they were paired with the M1938 leggings to give the appearance of mid calf length boots. As leather was a item that was used for civilian and military the prestige of 'Jump Boots' was a huge draw. If you were wearing Jump Boots and not a Paratrooper, this was grounds for a severe beating during this time period.
Even today Paratroopers still wear the 'Corcoran' Jump Boots, bloused on their dress uniforms and it is 'sharp', sets them apart from regular soldiers. Used to be even more unique till the Army started allowing all soldiers to wear the Beret, what a let down as I worked my butt off to get that Maroon Beret... The Ranger units were extremely disappointed as well due to their Berets being black, after I earned my tab I felt the same and only my Maroon Beret separated me from the 'Legs'.
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- #1,566
Great commentary. I learned something.
Still have my old Corcorans, somewhere, and a moth eaten maroon beret. We always resoled our jump boots with thicker soles and cut the lining out of the beret so that it conformed to your head better.
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- #1,568
From The Cabin Coffee Table — An occasional look back at what the old Codgers saw and smoked (with a little detour and frolic, here and there):
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- #1,569
From The Cabin Coffee Table — An occasional look back at what the old Codgers saw and smoked (with a little detour and frolic, here and there):
Just felt the need to report that, after trying a couple more pipefuls of English tobaccos this week and liking them reasonably well, I returned to the codger world: Sir Walter Raleigh this morning and Granger (with a pinch of Match Prince Albert) this afternoon. I really do prefer these tobaccos; they seem to pack better, stay lit more easily with less drying time, and give me a more appealing aroma and taste, than the English blends I've tried.
Perhaps I'll fire up some Half & Half for my Sunday pipe to complete the trifecta!
Perhaps I'll fire up some Half & Half for my Sunday pipe to complete the trifecta!
I've been enjoying some codger American English blends this week - Barking Dog (my favorite, it's the most Lat-forward), Country Doctor, and Revelation. They are all Sutliff match blends of bygone mixtures. I have some Milan Tobacconists' Walnut match to try also. I'm thinking of cellering a pound or so of Barking Dog while it's cheap.
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From The Cabin Coffee Table — An occasional look back at what the old Codgers saw and smoked (with a little detour and frolic, here and there):
America is now fully at war. And in early 1942, it looked grim. Terrible losses in the Philippines. The Germans were sinking ships just off New Jersey. Many homes had blue stars in the windows. Some sadly had gold ones. Cars, radios, and appliances had to last the duration. Rationing. War-essential travel and telephone only. Victory Gardens in places you wouldn’t believe. And there were endless material and war bond drives. People made do with as little as possible. And anyone who was able to, worked. America was one gigantic industrial beehive. All-out war production, everywhere.
While tobacco still remained available at home for morale, enormous production is going overseas for the effort. Including for the boys’ smoking needs. Pipes, too, are now harder to get. And more importantly, no new imported briar is coming in ... all that’s left are what manufacturers were able to stockpile pre-war. While briar and cob pipes could still be purchased, supplies were tighter, and some alternatives arose to cover shortages.
Enter Breezewood. Made of domestic Mountain Laurel, the Breezewood was reportedly a good smoker. But some wartime pipe makers turning to Mountain Laurel resorted to accelerated curing methods to meet demand. And the resulting inferior smoking performance (and some possible safety concerns) quickly soured this wood’s reputation with pipe smokers. Once traditional pipe materials became available again, Mountain Laurel quickly disappeared from the industry. It is today only a historical footnote, with few examples remaining. Several different Breezewood models will cross the coffee table before that exit.
During this same time, Kaywoodie and several other makers also began developing domestically-grown “Mission Briar” sources in California to supplement their depleting Mediterranean reserves. While Kaywoodie abandoned its foray into Mission Briar, others did not. We will eventually see some of them cross the coffee table, too.
Most of these substitute wood materials faded away after the War, as their smoking qualities and durability were no match for good quality Mediterranean briar.
Nevertheless, in 1942, a Breezewood or other substitute material pipe was a very trivial sacrifice under the circumstances.
We’ll now see the wartime effort dominate these coffee table years, as it should have.
America is now fully at war. And in early 1942, it looked grim. Terrible losses in the Philippines. The Germans were sinking ships just off New Jersey. Many homes had blue stars in the windows. Some sadly had gold ones. Cars, radios, and appliances had to last the duration. Rationing. War-essential travel and telephone only. Victory Gardens in places you wouldn’t believe. And there were endless material and war bond drives. People made do with as little as possible. And anyone who was able to, worked. America was one gigantic industrial beehive. All-out war production, everywhere.
While tobacco still remained available at home for morale, enormous production is going overseas for the effort. Including for the boys’ smoking needs. Pipes, too, are now harder to get. And more importantly, no new imported briar is coming in ... all that’s left are what manufacturers were able to stockpile pre-war. While briar and cob pipes could still be purchased, supplies were tighter, and some alternatives arose to cover shortages.
Enter Breezewood. Made of domestic Mountain Laurel, the Breezewood was reportedly a good smoker. But some wartime pipe makers turning to Mountain Laurel resorted to accelerated curing methods to meet demand. And the resulting inferior smoking performance (and some possible safety concerns) quickly soured this wood’s reputation with pipe smokers. Once traditional pipe materials became available again, Mountain Laurel quickly disappeared from the industry. It is today only a historical footnote, with few examples remaining. Several different Breezewood models will cross the coffee table before that exit.
During this same time, Kaywoodie and several other makers also began developing domestically-grown “Mission Briar” sources in California to supplement their depleting Mediterranean reserves. While Kaywoodie abandoned its foray into Mission Briar, others did not. We will eventually see some of them cross the coffee table, too.
Most of these substitute wood materials faded away after the War, as their smoking qualities and durability were no match for good quality Mediterranean briar.
Nevertheless, in 1942, a Breezewood or other substitute material pipe was a very trivial sacrifice under the circumstances.
We’ll now see the wartime effort dominate these coffee table years, as it should have.
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- #1,573
From The Cabin Coffee Table — An occasional look back at what the old Codgers saw and smoked (with a little detour and frolic, here and there):
- Thread starter
- #1,574
From The Cabin Coffee Table — An occasional look back at what the old Codgers saw and smoked (with a little detour and frolic, here and there):
- Thread starter
- #1,575
From The Cabin Coffee Table — An occasional look back at what the old Codgers saw and smoked (with a little detour and frolic, here and there):
- Thread starter
- #1,576
From The Cabin Coffee Table — An occasional look back at what the old Codgers saw and smoked (with a little detour and frolic, here and there):
- Thread starter
- #1,577
From The Cabin Coffee Table — An occasional look back at what the old Codgers saw and smoked (with a little detour and frolic, here and there):
- Thread starter
- #1,578
From The Cabin Coffee Table — An occasional look back at what the old Codgers saw and smoked (with a little detour and frolic, here and there):
- Thread starter
- #1,579
From The Cabin Coffee Table — An occasional look back at what the old Codgers saw and smoked (with a little detour and frolic, here and there):
Chubbins goes through a ‘Marilyn Monroe’ phase for a few episodes …
Chubbins goes through a ‘Marilyn Monroe’ phase for a few episodes …
I’m convinced.
