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Can anyone Identify this military style LSU cap?

Posted on 1/18/24 at 4:35 pm
Posted by lsubkd
Madisonville
Member since Aug 2005
1362 posts
Posted on 1/18/24 at 4:35 pm
I've had this military style cap for several years. It appears to be late 40's - 50's. It has officer ROTC/Army insignia but the cap was made by Ostwald, Inc who made band uniforms. I reached out to the Ms. Faye Phillips who authored the book on the history of the band but she is stumped as well. I know the band was ROTC until the end of WWII but I can't find any info on uniforms. I reached out to the military museum and they are looking as well. Thought maybe someone here could ID. Appreciate it.


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This post was edited on 1/19/24 at 12:33 am
Posted by Ash Williams
South of i-10
Member since May 2009
18178 posts
Posted on 1/18/24 at 4:37 pm to
No, but its still a better LSU hat than this one

Posted by siberian tiger
the Hammer
Member since Jan 2004
380 posts
Posted on 1/18/24 at 4:41 pm to
Military Board
Posted by SouthernInsanity
Shadows of Death Valley
Member since Nov 2012
18838 posts
Posted on 1/18/24 at 4:44 pm to
Which military museum did you reach out to?
Posted by The First Cut
Member since Apr 2012
14019 posts
Posted on 1/18/24 at 4:44 pm to
aTm board
Posted by OlDirtyTiger7
Member since Sep 2017
191 posts
Posted on 1/18/24 at 4:48 pm to
I believe it was worn by General William Wade in the first battle for Maravich Courthouse
Posted by chimesstreet
Bucks County, PA
Member since Jan 2008
1342 posts
Posted on 1/18/24 at 4:49 pm to
Ask a military sub on reddit. People on there are very resourceful.
Posted by Ace Midnight
Between sanity and madness
Member since Dec 2006
89781 posts
Posted on 1/18/24 at 5:12 pm to
quote:

It has officer ROTC/Army insignia but the cap was made by Ostwalt, Inc who made band uniforms.


I know Ostwalt focused on band uniforms, but there is little doubt in my mind that they could have taken some contracts in the 1940s when demand was literally off the charts. I just glanced through the 1950 Gumbo and, certainly it was in black and white and I can't see the color of the cross strap, but that cap logo is very consistent with some of the cadet officers of that era. Most of the cadets wore the regular garrison cap with the plain ROTC log in a wreath, but the officers appear to be wearing that open eagle with that LSU insignia. Certainly, your era looks right, so my best guess it is a ROTC cadet officer's cap, circa 1950.

(ETA: It does not appear consistent with band uniform hats, IMHO.)
This post was edited on 1/18/24 at 5:13 pm
Posted by TorchtheFlyingTiger
1st coast
Member since Jan 2008
2178 posts
Posted on 1/18/24 at 6:41 pm to
Perhaps a non standard cadet uniform for honor guard, Pershing Rifles, Scabbard and Blade etc..
Posted by DownSouthCrawfish
Simcoe Strip - He/Him/Helicopter
Member since Oct 2011
36774 posts
Posted on 1/18/24 at 7:01 pm to
Can’t help you but that’s a cool piece of history.
Posted by FlyingTiger06
Bossier City, LA
Member since Nov 2004
1897 posts
Posted on 1/18/24 at 9:23 pm to
Have you reached out to the Cadets of the Ole War Skule organization?
Posted by Wolfhound45
Hanging with Chicken in Lurkistan
Member since Nov 2009
120000 posts
Posted on 1/18/24 at 10:26 pm to
quote:

Can anyone Identify this military style LSU cap?
By construction, it appears to be an interwar period (1919-1939) dress hat for an Army officer. Surplus items would have been used by ROTC programs. A commissioned officer example from that same time period (very similar in structure to the one in your picture) can be found at this eBay auction that has concluded.
Posted by Rebel
Graceland
Member since Jan 2005
131569 posts
Posted on 1/19/24 at 12:23 am to
I bet Butch knows the answer to this.
Posted by TheDude321
Member since Sep 2005
3170 posts
Posted on 1/19/24 at 1:31 am to
quote:

It appears to be late 40's - 50's.


*ignores tag inside hat that reads: "1 Apr 13"*
Posted by Swamp Angel
Georgia
Member since Jul 2004
7351 posts
Posted on 1/19/24 at 10:02 am to
That's the insignia device worn on the cover (cap/hat) of students in the ROTC program in the 1940s and 50s. I still have Dad's cap device somewhere around the house with a bunch of his old game tickets, a few textbooks and notebooks, and photos from his days at LSU. He graduated in 1954 and was Sr Cadet Colonel/Corps Commander his senior year. (Four diamonds on the shoulders as opposed to three due to the size of LSU's ROTC contingency in those days. Someone wanted to call the rank "Cadet General" but Dad said that sounded stupid. No cadet should even remotely be considered to hold a rank with "general" in it, so it was settled upon as "Senior Cadet Colonel.)

Okay - sorry for the tangent. It's a part of the uniform worn by ROTC cadets from 1947 through about 1964 at LSU. After 1964, ROTC was no longer a required course for all male freshman and sophomore students and the device made for LSU's program was discontinued and replaced with a generic device more similar to the regular Army cover device.

As for the corded band, I have no idea. The cover worn by cadets had a leather band.
This post was edited on 1/19/24 at 10:06 am
Posted by Sidicous
Middle of Nowhere
Member since Aug 2015
17510 posts
Posted on 1/19/24 at 2:27 pm to
Any Bowl games back in that time period? Any other really special event?

Thinking it may have been a one-off for a special occasion perhaps?
Posted by LSUAlum2001
Stavro Mueller Beta
Member since Aug 2003
47192 posts
Posted on 1/19/24 at 2:37 pm to
Probably from a Cadet when LSU was still requiring freshman and sophomores (men) to be a part of the ROTC Corp of the Ole War Skule when it was compulsory prior to 1969.

It was 3,000 strong before it became a volunteer organization.
This post was edited on 1/19/24 at 2:44 pm
Posted by Wolfhound45
Hanging with Chicken in Lurkistan
Member since Nov 2009
120000 posts
Posted on 1/19/24 at 7:52 pm to
General Pershing wearing a similar structured hat during the latter part of World War I. It was a very distinct look.

Posted by WhiteRussianDude
Member since Feb 2023
221 posts
Posted on 1/19/24 at 7:53 pm to
quote:

During World War II, LSU was one of the top four schools producing officers for the U.S. Armed Forces. (The other schools were Texas A&M, West Point, and Annapolis). LSU had more than 5,000 former students serving as officers, including 16 who achieved the rank of Brigadier General or higher.


I wonder if it was from the Officer Training program? I just learned about this yesterday
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