US WW2 Duffel Bag

LIFE Magazine photo of WW2 Soldier on leave with duffel bag.

While going through all of my "junk" in my old shop stuff, I came across an old US Army duffel bag that needed a good cleaning......... After washing, I gave it a closer look before deciding if it was a keeper or not. It turned out to be a 1944 issue, US Army duffel bag! The "everyday, common" items that were used by the soldiers are some of the toughest things to find these days. They ended up being used for civilian purposes after the war, worn out, and then discarded. With the folks who do WW2 reenactments, these type of bags are highly sought after and they are actually being copied and sold as replicas. This bag is an original.

The bag has had a number of names and numbers stenciled on it through the years, so I'm sure it has an interesting history...... that is if it could talk :) I'll be trying to decipher the names and number to see if there is anything that I can investigate or document further.

Here are the pictorial details: