World War Two Japanese Imperial Army Mess Kit - with Soldier's Name Scratched into the Paint

The IJA troops in the right side of this photo carry their mess kits into combat.

Prior to the Second World War the Imperial Japanese Army received training and education from Germany and Prussia.  In 1885 Japan welcomed Prussian Major Klemens Wilhelm Jacob Meckel as an instructor for the IJA.  Not only did Major Meckel embark on an ambitious program of training, but he reorganized the IJA in the Prussian model; making it an expeditionary army designed to conquer foreign territory.  As a result, a change in the styles of field gear carried by IJA soldiers began, one that changed Japanese equipment to resemble Prussian and later German equipment.  The one piece of field gear that exemplifies this change best is the mess kit used by IJA and IJN ground forces during the Second World War.

The IJA mess kit is a three piece kit with a large body (generally made of aluminum alloy), a steel bail for hanging the body/pot over a heat source, an inner tray and a top cover.  The body has a small loop for tying the mess kit to the "Takoashi Kaban" Octopus rucksack.  There are no handles on the inner tray or the top cover, unlike their German counterparts.

The similarity between the two countries' kits is striking, and frankly, confusing for so many modern collectors.  It seems few Japanese mess kits were brought back by GIs from the Pacific Theater and the few that were are often incomplete, heavily decorated with graffiti and/or exorbitantly expensive. 

Here you see IJA troops attaching their mess kits to the outside of their "Takoashi Kaban," Octopus rucksacks in the standard way.

I was lucky enough to pick up an original WW2 issue IJA mess kit from a seller in Japan, and at a fairly reasonable price, so I thought I would share some pictures and info with you.  As stated, this mess kit has the soldier's name scratched into the paint on it.  His name is Kimura. 

The soldier scratched his name into the mess kit, seen here on the left side of the mess kit top, it says, "Kimura".

Here you see Kimura San's name scratched into the inner pan near the manufacturer's markings.

Kimura San's mess kit also has markings indicating the date of manufacture and material it was made from. 

The year of production is "2600" in the Ancient Nippon Calendar, or 1940, which is 660 years in advance the Gregorian Calendar.  The material data says, "made using substitute materials," which was a common practice after 1938 due to materials shortages resulting from sanctions imposed on Japan by the United States due to the invasion of China.  The material may have contained toxic metal alloys and could have been the cause of illness among Japanese soldiers during WW2.

In this interesting photo, all three Japanese soldiers wear their Takoashi Kaban with their mess kits attached.  The two on the bank with the light machine gun have camouflage nets over their gear, the soldier on the left's mess kit is clearly visible. 

Kimura San's mess kit now resides with a historical researcher in Fredericksburg, Texas, the home of the National Museum of the Pacific War.  The researcher, COL Ted Smith, uses it to demonstrate the techniques used by Japanese soldiers to cook their meals during WW2.  Due to the "substitute materials" used in its manufacture, COL Smith dos not allow the food cooked in the mess kit to be eaten for fear of toxic substances that the Japanese Army may not have fully understood, or even cared about, during WW2.

One more Medical Canteen, Sanitäter Feldflasche of Deutsches Rotes Kreuz (DRK) der DDR, the German Red Cross of the German Democratic Republic, or Communist East Germany

I just acquired another red-cupped KVP Medical Canteen and it is in such great condition that I felt I should share it with you.  So, shall we have another?  Of course.  "Fräulein, noch eine, bitte!"

In my previous post I showed you some KVP Sanitäter Feldflaschen.  I mentioned that the red-cupped versions may have been used by the German Red Cross (DRK) based upon a blog post that I ran across.  This single mention sent me down the research rabbit hole to discover the use of Feldflashen by the DRK.  I was successful in my research and I will share that data at the bottom of this post.  Suffice it to say that the DRK in DDR used the same canteens as the KVP and NVA, with and without red cups.  

This feldflasche is an earlier version, from what I can tell, and seems to have been in use between 1949 and the 1960s.  The felt cover is a lighter grey color.  My other canteens of this period have grey/brown and dark feldgrau/green covers.  The cover has four black-painted snaps, like my other canteens, but these snaps appear to be brass and the others appear to be steel.  

 

Here you can see the brass or brass washed snaps as well as the herringbone twill reinforcing material.

The body and cap of the canteen are painted with dark green paint.  The canteen body has no maker marks or dates.  The brown leather straps are riveted to the cover.  The straps have an embossed edge as well, unlike my other Sanitäter Feldflaschen.

The shoulder strap is a khaki canvas material and has a brass buckle with an embossed texture.  This buckle is unlike any of my other DDR canteens.

The cup on this canteen is clearly marked and painted a rich bownish/red color.  As with the other early style cups, the strap loop is riveted to the cup and there are no folding handles like the newer cups. 

As promised, I will include some info about the DRK in DDR's use of KVP & NVA Feldflaschen.  I found this information on a German website about the DRK in DDR (drk-ddr.de)   It is highly detailed and documents much of the history from the 1950s through to the reunification.  It helps to speak/read German, of course.

This display is that of the equipment carried by German Red Cross members in the DDR.  You will see the Feldflasche does not have a red cup or a shoulder strap.  This equipment was carried by non-medical Red Cross employees.  The description of the equipment states that the bread bag, Brotbeutel, is either worn on the belt or carried over the shoulder with its strap.  The mess kit, Essgeschirr, is strapped to the outside, right, of the bread bag with the strap seen between the canteen and mess kit.  The Feldflasche is strapped to the left.  The eating utensils nest together and are carried in the Brotbeutel. The flashlight is designed to hang from a pocket button, just like the WW2 Wehrmacht flashlight.

This is the Sanitäter Feldflasche shown on the DRK-DDR webpage.  It has many similarities to my latest addition, including the embossed edge on the brown leather strap.  The webpage says this canteen was used during the '50s and '60s.

The DRK-DDR website says this model of Sanitäter Feldflasche was used from the 1960s to 1989.  I have seen these canteens for sale before but never knew if they were real or put-together for the surplus market.  Now I guess I have to get one!

By far, the most interesting thing I learned on the that website was the existence of the following canteen, which I have never seen before.  This is the model 1990 medic canteen.  The Hunt Continues!  Tell the Fräulein to keep them coming.

Personalized Western Shark Knife from Task Force 58 raid on Tokyo, February 16, 1945

Western Cutlery Shark Knife personalized by a sailor in TF58 after the raids on Tokyo, 2 - 16 - 45.

Its not every day that a collector/historian has a documented piece of history fall into his lap, but the knife pictured above was offered for sale in an online auction by a seller that didn't know exactly what he had, besides, "Old Knife Stamped Tokyo."  Well, that description is not likely to draw the attention of  knife collectors that want World War Two era knives, or knives made by the Western Cutlery Company, Boulder, Colorado.  I stumbled across it and bought it as soon as I realized what it was.  My knife collecting karma was strong that day.

The Western Cutlery Company, like most sizeable knife companies during World War Two, produced a number of knives for military contracts as well as knives that were popular private-purchase knives carried by many GIs and Sailors around the globe.  The model G-48-6 or Shark knife, as this model became known, had a 6 inch blade with a fuller and a false edge on top, a round, welded pommel (like the L71 "Seabee" knife which the USN accepted as the MK1) and leather washer handle with vulcanized, hard rubber spacers colored black, red, black, like many of their commercial knives.  Western already had a history as one one of the few knife makers in America that was not centered around the New England area, the traditional area for American knife makers.  Western opened shop in Boulder, Colorado, in 1896 and didn't close its doors until February, 2007.  Western also produced the G-48-8, a knife that was very similar but had an 8 inch blade.  The G-48-8 was accepted by the US Navy as a version of the MK2.

This particular knife not only has the stamping shown above, TOKYO - 2-16 - 45, but also has the sailor's name and rate stamped on the other side of the leather handle.  The date was what caught my eye initially.  February 16th, 1945, is only three days before the invasion of Iwo Jima.  This knife was involved in an operation that had two historically significant characteristics.  First was that the carrier based attack on Tokyo, 16 - 17 February, 1945, was the first such attack on Tokyo since the Doolittle Raid in April, 1942.  Second, it was designed to draw Imperial Japanese Naval Air Forces away from Iwo Jima in order to allow the US Navy and Marine Corps to have air superiority over Iwo.  This operation was carried out by Fast Carrier Task Force 58 and was labeled, "Operation Jamboree."

US Navy Pilots aboard the USS Essex (CV9) receive their briefings on February 16th, 1945, prior to attacking Tokyo.  US Navy Photo, NARA.  -U.S. Navy photo in NARA record group 80-G  -U.S. Navy photo in NARA record group 80-G

Two USS LEXINGTON (CV-16) SB2C-3 "Helldiver" bombers fly over Task Force 58, enroute to Tokyo for their first raid on that city, circa 16 February 1945. Ships below include an "Essex" class carrier, a "New Orleans" class cruiser and a destroyer.US Navy photo, NARA.

The air attack on Tokyo consisted of over one thousand aircraft.  Naval aviation attacked Tokyo's industrial center, including aircraft manufacturing plants, Japanese military airfields, and ships in Tokyo harbor.  The Japanese response was tepid and the attacks damaged aircraft and ships with little resistance.

The man that owned this knife is something of an enigma.  His name, according to the stampings on the handle, was V. L. Moretti and his rate was SK 1/C, or Storekeeper 1st Class.  He was an E-6 and worked in stores, or was a supply NCO, in Army parlance.  How did a supply NCO get a knife?  That one is not hard to imagine, he had access to all the stores.  Did he actually fly on a mission over Tokyo?  Perhaps, as stated there were over a thousand aircraft involved in the attack and dive bombers had a crew of two, a pilot and a machine gunner.  Could our intrepid SK 1/C have flow as a gunner on a Helldiver?  I think the chances are better than average.  Now, there is such an sailor as an Aviation Storekeeper, but that rate was known as AS, not SK, like our hero.

Aviation Storekeeper 1st Class, AS 1/C

Storekeeper 1st Class, SK 1/C

 

The handle is marked, V.L.Moretti - SK 1/C

I wish I knew more about this sailor and the story of his trip to Tokyo on 16 February, 1945, but I am content to know that this tiny piece of World War Two history has a safe and appreciative home in my collection.  God Speed, SK 1/C Moretti.  I hope to rally with you on the high ground.

 On 19 February, 1945, three days,after SK 1/C Moretti's adventures over Tokyo, US Marines landed on Iwo Jima. 

US Marines land on Iwo Jima, 19 February, 1945.

Also, check out my YouTube video about this knife for video of the actual attack on Tokyo!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahzJSVLXJnYhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahzJSVLXJnY

Medical Canteen, Sanitäter Feldflasche of Die Kasernierte Volkspolizei (KVP) der DDR, the Garrisoned People's Police of the German Democratic Republic, or Communist East Germany

Welcome back!  Today we are looking at another type of canteen used by the KVP, the forerunner to East Germany's National Volksarmee.  Going back at least as far as World War 1, the German military has had a practice of combat medics, Sanitäter, carrying a second canteen for use with patients on the battlefield, commonly referred to as the Sanitäter Feldflasche, or Sanitäter Trinkflasche. While the Sanitäter carried his own Feldflasche on his breadbag, he carried another on a shoulder strap that he could share with patients.  

A captured German Sanitäter with his Feldflasche slung over his shoulder during WW2.

Our first example of the KVP medic canteen, seen in the photos below, has a field grey felt cover over the unpainted aluminum canteen body.  The drinking cup is painted grey and maker marked on top.  It has brown leather fastening straps and a webbed canvas carrying strap.

The brown leather straps are riveted to the felt cover with a leather inner reinforcement tab.  

 

Here you can see the inner leather reinforcement tabs for the rivets. 

 The snaps are painted black on the outside.  They are attached through grey colored herringbone twill material.  These snaps are marked "O.L.5.5."

Here is the maker mark on the screw-on cap of the canteen body. 

Our second example of a medic canteen is similar but with some interesting differences.  This version has black leather straps as opposed to brown, and the canteen body is painted green.  The cup is painted red, which you see from time to time with old East German canteens.  One source indicated that canteens with the red cups were issued to German Red Cross, the Deutsches Rotes Kreuz (DRK).  These red-cupped canteens also came in a variety styles, another version is at the bottom.

If any readers can confirm or deny the info about red cups being issued to the DRK, please comment below!