HOME | DD
DavidKrigbaum β 1941-42 Philippine Scout Class C Uniform (WIP)
#bataan #impression #philippines #sergeant #wwii #calugas #reenactment
Published: 2016-07-15 12:59:44 +0000 UTC; Views: 1949; Favourites: 20; Downloads: 0
Redirect to original
Description
My latest project is recreating the uniform of a Philippine Scout sergeant of the 88th Field Artillery (PS) for use as a teaching aid when talking about the Battle of Bataan and the Scouts. It's coming along and any advice is appreciated. I have a few more items on the way, an M1917A1 helmet, Type I boots, dog tags and khaki sergeant chevrons. The trouble I'm running into, is that I'm not sure if a sergeant would have carried a sidearm, such asΒ a .45, or a 1903 Springfield rifle. The Scouts had re-equipped with the M1 Garand before the war started, but according to an interview with a Scout artillery officer, the artillery still used the 1903 Springfield. Any advice on how to proceed with finishing the kit is appreciated. The reason I chose this unit and rank is a tribute to Jose Calugas, the first U.S. Army Soldier to earn the Medal of Honor in World War II.For reference I've looked at as many artillery photos as I can of the Scouts, but almost all were in training and so appeared to wear just a pistol belt with .45, but I am not sure what they carried in combat.
Related content
Comments: 7
I read that a fellow named C. Cosby Kearney had written of his exploits in the Scouts, but I haven't been able to find anything on the Net.
π: 0 β©: 1
Thanks, I've a few books on Scouts themselves but they focus on the 26th Cavalry.
π: 0 β©: 0
Brave men who fought like tigers and died like heroes, brutalized, butchered, and largely forgotten... What a touching tribute to those forgotten heroes. Β Their rifle would most likely have been the M1917 U.S. Enfield.
π: 0 β©: 1
That would be for regular Philippine Army, I'm happy you know that. The Scouts were a regular U.S. Army unit, so received modern equipment just as U.S.-based ones did.
π: 0 β©: 1
Not too many Garands made it to the Philippines, and there was a shortage of Springfields. Β I'd still think the Enfield.
π: 0 β©: 1
The Scout Garands, as far as I know, were the only Garands outside of the continental United States. The infantry and cavalry (including the last horse-mounted cavalry troop) had already been converted over to the M1. The Scouts were not effected by rifle shortages since they were regular Army as they had been since the end of World War I, unlike the Commonwealth troops which the US had to arm and would eventually lose when the Philippines gained its independence as per the Tydings-McDuffie Act.
I also recently found out the Enfield was issued to the Commonwealth well before the war started as well, as there are pictures of Filipino formations in the late 1930s all armed with it. I'd initially thought it was strictly a wartime measure to equip the sudden mobilization of a 100,000 man army.
Β
Its impressive the volume of WWI material used during this campaign overall, as the unit this uniform I'm making represents, used the M1897 75mm gun, the "French 75" of WWI fame.
π: 0 β©: 1
Nothing wrong with the Enfields or those French 75mm, the biggest issue those poor, brave, heroes faced was incompetent leadership at the top. Β You are doing some wonderful work and research.
π: 0 β©: 0