...this hat:


Any help / info would be appreciated, especially age, the outfit that would have worn it and under what circumstances, etc.. A buddy of mine found this in the attic of an old house he bought, and wants to give it to his daughter when she graduates from A&M (I believe she's a Junior or so now) with as much of the story behind it as possible. Thanks in advance.

That's been a Corps wide cover for decades. Taking the inner ring out so it can be "crushed" is realitively uncommon but by no means rare. It was not limited to a specific outfit or time period. Good luck.

That style of hat was worn with the Class A winter uniform starting in the early 30s and continuing to the present. It could be worn with the "midnight" green shirt (juniors and seniors only) or with the Class A winter blouse. The uniform would be completed by "pink" pants (including "pink" boot pants if you were a senior). Hat, blouse, and pants would be the same uniform that the Corps wore to the Missouri game last fall.

The brass insignia is different from the AMC insignia that was worn during the 30s and 40s. The insignia on the hat is exactly the same as the one in current usage. I'm not sure when it started to be used; my guess would be some time after 1950, but definitely by 1964.

The hat would have been issued with the brown "suck strap"--the leather strap that goes from one side to the other across the bill--but would have been replaced with a gold strap by the owner to be worn during his senior year. Usually at the end of that senior year, the cadet would sell the gold strap to a rising senior and then put the original strap back in place.

The "crushed" look was used most often by senior cadets in Air Force ROTC when I was there, 1967-1971, but it was a senior privilege in general, and people other than AF used that look.

The hat looks to be in about the same shape as the one I have downstairs which I wore, so I would guess it is from the 70s or 80s.

Can you get a pic of the inside of the cover? Anything stashed inside the leather sweatband or any ink stamps? I think OA71 is right, but this might help narrow it down a bit further.

Thanks so much, gents. I really appreciate it. If my buddy still has the cover with him at work, I'll get a picture of the inside and post it this afternoon.

Inside of the cover:


My buddy said there was not anything tucked into the band or any other identifying marks he could find.

Thanks again, so much, for all of your comments.

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Thanks so much, gents. I really appreciate it. If my buddy still has the cover with him at work, I'll get a picture of the inside and post it this afternoon.

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Careful. Some people thought it funny to put the most obscene photo they could find inside there.

Turn down the inner liner, some put their names there.

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Careful. Some people thought it funny to put the most obscene photo they could find inside there.

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And a certain Gunnery Sgt in 1/1 did not find that funny at all when he held an impromptu inspection. Good bull at A&M did not translate well...

I know your buddy would like to give it to his future Aggie daughter but did he ever think that you could run a title search at the Brazos County Appraisal District to determine who previously owned the house?

It would be unfortunate that the family of he person that was issued the hat would not have "first dibs" on the hat.

I would be honored if some one found a relic of a departed family member.

I understand your buddy owns the house including every thing in it. Perhaps the family does not want the hat but it would be honorable to ask.

Just sayin

Some observations.
1. Being that there is only the brown strap, shown loose on the bill, you can deduce that the wearer was an underclassman, either fish or soph. Juniors had 2 brown straps and Seniors had a gold one with a brown strap.
2. Similar to the above, you can see that the 'stack' does not have any black 'Heal & Sole' added into the 'Texas' or around the star. Quite common for non-fish to add such to their Class A Hat stack.
3. The stack shown was adopted around 1950 but is still used today, unchanged.
4. As previously stated, it was a white belt (Junior/Senior) privilege to 'roll' the top of the hat. There was a plastic ringed hoop inside the top of the hat and if you twisted it correctly you got the 'roll' look similar to a WWII AAF 'crushed' bomber pilot look. This was done in my era by many white belts albeit not universally.
5. Brown bill of hat was highly polished by all wearers, similar to spit shined black shoes.
6. I still have my hat - they were kept by the owners back in the day. There is a clear plastic liner on the top which has a logo that says 'Art Caps - New York', a/the vendor back in the early 1970's - I got this hat in the fall of 1970. The hat in question is probably older than mine.

All things considered, I suspect that this hat was a typical fish Jones deal. Did the alleged owner spend all 4 years in the Cadet Corps?

One thing different is the band sewed in just behind the bill. That one is green. Mine is brown. I was issued mine in Fall 1979. Anyone here have the band that is green like the one pictured? If so, what year was it issued to you.?