The other evening, I was watching Wheel of Fortune when I saw one of the guess wearing an army uniform. I had to do a double-take because it was class A uniform that was worn during the Second World War. Was this hoax or some sick joke this guy was playing on Pat and Vanna? Was he trying to pull one over on America?
I had to find out for sure. When I joined the Army National Guard we were issued dress uniform that fell into two types depending on the weather and job or function. A Class B uniform was assigned mostly to those people whose jobs involved working behind a desk. A Class A had a more formal function worn in a more ceremonial occasion. There was also the Blues which were for mostly officers and upper echelon NCOs that they had to purchase special order just as the Marine Blues.
Our Class A uniform we jokingly referred to as our pickle suits. If you had them tailor made, they looked sharp. They were an evergreen color with pale green shirt, black tie and brass belt buckle, which wasn’t seen when the jacket was buttoned, and a pair of highly glossed dress shoes we called low quarters. If you were an officer there was a black stripe running down the length of your creased and pressed pants.
Enlisted and NCOs had their ranks sewn on their jackets, while the officers had their rank designation as pins worn on the shoulder boards. Any service ribbons were worn on boards on the upper left. Stripes that designated years of service in three-year increments were worn along the left sleeve of the jacket any overseas service had stripes on their right sleeves.
So, I did just that looking online and finding the Army website and seeing to my surprise that it was true. In their promoting words, “The Army wore the iconic Greens uniform when America was in the throes of World War II. We are still that Army, and we’re reinstituting the uniform worn by the “Greatest Generation” to give our Soldiers a uniform for professional environments that honors our heritage.”
I just wish we were chosen to wear that uniform. It looks so much sharper and professional than what I wore for 23 years.
Jerry Schellhammer 