Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 266:
Description
WWII United States Marine Corps Pattern 1941 Herringbone Twill Utility Jacket, stenciled USMC/Eagle-Globe-Anchor chest pocket, inner collar marked "HT-338," heavily field-worn example Offered here is an original WWII-era USMC P41 HBT utility jacket, the classic three-pocket herringbone twill fatigue coat worn by Marines across the Pacific island campaigns. The chest pocket carries a bold, fully legible block-stenciled USMC over an Eagle, Globe, and Anchor device, while the inner collar bears an inked laundry-style mark reading "HT-338" – a small but evocative trace of the quartermaster system that once tracked garments through unit or depot laundry rotation. That mark has not been linked to any identified Marine; no individual name, unit designation, or separate published history accompanies this jacket, and its story must be read through its construction, markings, and wear rather than documentation. Adopted in 1941 to replace the earlier blue denim work uniform, the P41 HBT jacket quickly became the de facto combat and fatigue garment of the Marine Corps in the Pacific Theater, valued in the field for its lightweight, quick-drying sage-green cotton twill that held up under jungle humidity, coral dust, and constant wear. Marines carried this pattern ashore at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, often as their principal garment through the sweltering, brutal island campaigns of 1943-1945, and the type remained in issue into the Korean War. Genuinely field-worn survivors such as this – bearing honest staining and wear rather than artificial distressing – are increasingly prized by collectors as tactile, wearable connections to that island-hopping war. The jacket is constructed of sage/olive HBT cotton twill in the standard three-patch-pocket configuration: one chest pocket bearing the stenciled USMC/EGA marking, clear and dark against the faded ground, and two larger patch pockets at the waist. All visible buttons are the correct blackened donut-style tack buttons embossed "U.S. MARINE CORPS, " present at collar, placket, and both cuffs, and all appear original, intact, and securely fastened, with no replaced hardware noted. The inner collar retains the handwritten/stamped laundry mark "HT-338"; no maker or contract stamp is otherwise visible in the photographs. An honestly aged, visually striking P41 HBT jacket whose crisp EGA stencil, marked buttons, and salty combat-worn surface make it a tangible relic of the Marine Corps’ hard-fought war across the Pacific.
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