Very Old Aggie Memorabilia

2,518 Views | 23 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by whoop1995
legacy_nephew
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Just posted this in "General" before I saw this forum.

My very first post!
Came here to ask you guy, what do I have?
My uncle was here around the 1939-1941 time frame, ROTC. War broke out he died very early on.
Found a trunk of his from his A&M days in my dad's attic, Here's what I found.
https://i.ibb.co/bghqyM6/Aggie-1.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/C5CZF6d/Aggie-2.jpg
Thanks,
(Please let me know if this is the wrong forum, and where to re-post this)
ABATTBQ87
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AG
Those shoulder patches and brass is awesome!!!
whoop1995
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Those a nice items to uncover! You have lots of shoulder patches some brass, a pair of spurs and some pamphlets. Is the first pic a yell leaders outfit? Someone on here will know.
CanyonAg77
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AG
The white with the big seal on the back is what we called "class d" in my day, what you would wear for dirty work or labs like chemistry. It's a pair of coveralls. Often you can find pics of when they used to polish Sully, and all the fish are wearing these

Our "sleazy Ds" looked like a flight suit. I think cadets wear BDUs for labs these days

The AMC eagle is the hat brass. The crossed cannon meant he was in a field artillery company. The brochures make me think he tried to be a pilot when war broke out.

Very nice collection
CanyonAg77
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Don't know what the single blue star is. The ROTC patches, I seem to recall that underclassmen had to sew these on with plain stitching. But upperclassmen were allowed to use large x stitching around the perimeter of the patch. I think the red thread is a remnant of that stitching. I think it is red because red is the field artillery color
CanyonAg77
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This forum, or history forum are good. General is a waste of electrons. Do you have a name you would share? Are you aware that old "Longhorn" yearbooks are available online, and you could probably find him there?
whoop1995
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CanyonAg77 said:

Don't know what the single blue star is. The ROTC patches, I seem to recall that underclassmen had to sew these on with plain stitching. But upperclassmen were allowed to use large x stitching around the perimeter of the patch. I think the red thread is a remnant of that stitching. I think it is red because red is the field artillery color
Sorry not in corps but I was ex military infantry and we only had three classes of uniform - are they the same as the cadets in the corps? Where an a= Full dress blues or service - b= a's without jacket and c=fatigues - I think we had a dressed down c = with out fatigue top and dirty brown shirt showing only

CanyonAg77
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Whew...been a long time, and I suspect the uniform designations have shifted in the last 40+ years.

class A summer - khaki shirt with tie or ascot
class A winter - pink pants, IKE type coat, don't know how else to describe it
class B summer - khaki shirt, open collar
class B winter - substitute pink pants and green bider
Class C - 1950s/1960s style fatigues
Class D - flight suit look alike
legacy_nephew
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I think he was the flight engineer on a B-17 that crashed near Lille France in Jan. 1943.
army79
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The white class D coveralls were also worn to Midnight Yell practice in the '40's. They are prominent in the Yell Practice scene in "We've Never Been Licked". I have my Dad's from '43. You have some great stuff with a lot of history.
ABATTBQ87
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legacy_nephew said:

I think he was the flight engineer on a B-17 that crashed near Lille France in Jan. 1943.


Post his name and I'll research him in the yearbooks
legacy_nephew
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Thomas Henry Gilliland

Guessing about 1939-1941?
CanyonAg77
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From the 1940 Longhorn. Did not find him in the 1941. Makes me wonder if he only finished two years at A&M, as he is a "second year private" here.
CanyonAg77
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https://www.americanairmuseum.com/person/211158



Quote:

Nationality American
Nickname Not yet known
Service numbers 18060194
Highest rank Technical Sergeant
Role/job Engineer/Top Turret Gunner
Awards Not yet known

I had an uncle who flew B-24s. Apparently both planes used the flight engineer as the top turret gunner

Quote:

On 13 January 1943 in B-17F 41-24498 while serving as Engineer/Top Turret Gunner the aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with B-17F 41-24471 "Four of a Kind" 306BG/369BS just north of the intended target at Lille, France. He was killed in the collision. Killed in Action (KIA).
CanyonAg77
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Quote:

B-17 41-24498

Assigned 369BS/306BG [WW- ] Westover 23-Aug-42; Thurleigh 30-Oct42; Missing in Action 13-Jan-43 on a mission to bomb the railroad factories of Atclier D' Hellemmes at Lille, France. Aircraft sustained a mid-air collision with B-17F 41-24471 "Four of a Kind" 306BG/369BS just north of the target. 6KIA 4POW MACR 15634.
https://b17flyingfortress.de/en/b17/41-24498/
CanyonAg77
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https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=531401
Quote:

Thomas Henry Gilliland was born in Cameron, Milam County, Texas, the son of Finley Cameron Gilliland and Rufie Frances Wheeler. He enlisted in the US Air Corps on September 19, 1941 while in his third year at Texas A&M University.

On January 13, 1943 he was on the crew of the B-17F #41-24498 when they took off from Thurleigh, England during a mission to bomb the railway yards at Lille, France. Near the target area they collided with another B-17 from their group (41-24471) "Four of a Kind" and both planes crashed near Lille, France. Incredibly, some men on each of the aircraft survived this ordeal.
CanyonAg77
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Texas Aggies go to War lists him as class of '42. But it also says he was a bombardier, and his plane was shot down in 1942. All three appear to be inaccurate.
bco2003
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The Association directory shows him as '42 as well, as an agriculture major, with no degree received.
whoop1995
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Looked up a the articles were he might have been mentioned in the battalion and came up with an article about him commuting from Navasota and one being beaten in a tennis tournament and one being mentioned in the memorial




whoop1995
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legacy_nephew
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Wow, thank you guys very much!
(I tried to thank you hours ago, but the website limited my postings vs time as a newbie)
legacy_nephew
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There were a couple more items in the trunk that I'm a little confused about?
https://i.ibb.co/5L7Xt2b/Aggie-3.jpg

Each has belt loops like these were worn on the exterior? If not Corp., is there some other Aggie 1940 uniform that would use these?
whoop1995
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legacy_nephew said:

There were a couple more items in the trunk that I'm a little confused about?


Each has belt loops like these were worn on the exterior? If not Corp., is there some other Aggie 1940 uniform that would use these?

Going to play it safe here as I am no expert on fashion or clothing but I am guessing swim trunks possibly but not military issue that I have ever seen




ABATTBQ87
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whoop1995 said:


good grief new army; when posting images from the battalion follow these steps

1) Find article
2) Clip article
3) open image in new tab
4) Click on Upload image link on TexAgs
5) Submit


whoop1995
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ABATTBQ87 said:

whoop1995 said:


good grief new army; when posting images from the battalion follow these steps

1) Find article
2) Clip article
3) open image in new tab
4) Click on Upload image link on TexAgs
5) Submit



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