It would continue to be issued post-war until early Vietnam, when it was eventually replaced by the tricot sleep shirt, with the color of OD periodically changing and the last contracts being from 1967. This shift from a mountain item to a jungle was exemplified in its common name in the GI vernacular: 'Jungle Sweater.”ĭuring the war, they would be used from the mountains of Burma on the backs of Merrills Marauders to soldiers fighting in the steamy jungles of Bougainville and everywhere in between. It was to replace the blankets a soldier was issued to help soldiers keep warm at night when sleeping.
In August 1942, during the initial production of jungle items for SWPA, it was added to the Jungle Clothing list along with several other items. The shirt was initially designed for Mountain Troops to be used as a replacement for the wool undershirt. The archetypal screen tough guy with weatherbeaten features-one film critic described his rugged looks as 'a Clark Gable who had been left out in the sun too long'-Charles Bronson was born Charles Buchinsky, one of 15 children of struggling parents in Pennsylvania. The sizing is accurate for the WWII sweaters based on the size table provided in P.Q.D.
These reproductions are made from 100% wool, just like the originals, while still lightweight and soft to the touch.
