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Major
General Merrill Davis Burnside, USAF
Retired
September 30, 1958
Died March 9, 1993
Figure 1: Early design USAF Shade 84
Service Dress Coat uniform
with cap
A beautiful example of the early design USAF Shade 84 service dress coat uniform. Highly documented general officer uniform grouping from General Merrill Davis Burnside, USAF. The grouping includes the general’s service dress coat, matching trousers and cap. The tie and undergarment shirt is of a later USAF uniform and not the proper period shade of blue. Also included in the grouping is a letter from the general in regard to the uniform. Originally obtained by C.R. Johnson, USN (Ret), known affectionately as “Corky” by the general. Obtained for this collection from a collector on the East Coast.
Figure 2: Early USAF Shade 84
Service Dress
uniform coat
The early, first design, USAF Shade 84 service dress uniforms have a distinctive blue color that is different from later Air Force uniforms. The early shade 84 will have a light silver or gray blue effect while later Air Force uniforms will have a deeper blue without the silver or gray effect. The uniform was tailored for the general by Kahn Tailoring of Indianapolis, Indiana, is named to the general on the inside coat breast pocket tailor identification tag and is dated 14 September 1955. The buttons on the uniform are from the Waterbury Button Company of Connecticut. This company was one of the companies that provided regulation buttons for the USAF and their first design uniforms. The two lower large pockets on the uniform would eventually and affectionately be referred to as Captain Kangaroo pockets for obvious reasons for those of us who remember the Captain.
The matching trousers are identified to the general with a tailor tag and dated 14 September 1955. They period trousers, have pleats, rear pocket tabs and wide belt loops according to Air Force regulation. No suspender buttons were added.
Figure 3: Insignia found on General
Burnside’s uniform.
The insignia found on the general’s uniform is a combination of metal clutch back badges, metal pin back badges, silver aluminum thread embroidery and regular embroidery. The major general stars are composed of two matched sets of pin back brigadier general stars. Both sets of brigadier general stars were manufactured by NS Meyer of New York. However, one set is an early WWII sterling SHOLD-R-FORM style while the second set is an early post WWII design set with only one NS Meyer shield and no number.
The early practice of adding a brigadier star to the uniform coat when one was promoted was popular with many general rank officers in lieu of buying a major, lieutenant or general set. It was less expensive, the stars could be evenly spaced across the epaulette and looked better, it was easier for some just to add another star, and it allowed the coat epaulette to remain pliable when one would raise their arm. There was no written regulation covering this custom. In this case, the general’s first stars were probably the SHOLD-R-FORM set which is the earlier design of the two sets.
The officer’s “US” insignia is clutch back design. They have no maker marks or other inscriptions on the rear. This was commonly found to be the case on earlier insignia. They seem to be made of sterling with a nice dark patina. The Command Pilot wings are of silver aluminum thread embroidery. The Command Pilot wings are patch design and have been sewn to the uniform coat. Both the Command Pilot wings and ribbons were probably placed on the uniform when it was tailored.
The ribbons are beautifully embroidered with individual threads onto a rear patch backing and then sewn to the uniform. The general’s ribbons include the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Air Medal, Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with nine stars, World War II Victory Medal, Army of Occupation Medal for Japan, National Defense Medal, Korean Service Medal, Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one star, Philippine Independence Ribbon, and the United Nations Service Medal.
The uniform has medal and aluminum thread embroidered
insignia. The stars and the officer’s “US” insignia are medal while the Command
Pilot wings are aluminum thread embroidered. The custom of mixing medal and
aluminum thread was acceptable according in the early days of the USAF.
Actually, the regulations stated that insignia could be made of either
material. What the regulation did not specify is how they were to be worn which
allowed a lot of the early uniforms to have a mixture of insignia. Eventually,
AFM 35-10 will state that if aluminum threat is used, all insignia should be
aluminum thread. If medal insignia was used then all insignia should be medal.
The regulation was in regard to the insignia and not the ribbons. In time,
aluminum thread insignia would no longer be regulation and is still the case
today.
Figure 4: General Burnside’s Service Dress Cap
General Burnside’s service dress cap was produced by
Berkshire De Luxe and is size 7 1/8. It is identified to the general with an
identification tag in a pocket on the inside upper cap sweat protector. The
identification tag reads “B/G M.D. Burnside HQ. FEAF APO 925.” The cap is not
physically dated but the year 1951 is attained through research. The general’s
temporary and permanent grade rank date of brigadier general was 29 September
1951. He was assigned to HQ FEAF, Headquarters, Far East Air Forces in April of
1952 according to his biography. This is probably the first cap the general
purchased upon attaining the rank of general.
EXAMPLES FROM
GENERAL OFFICERS