Types of World War II Garrison Cap
During World War II the Garrison Cap was widely used by all services in wool OD and in khaki.
Cap, Garrison, OD -- wool serge, no piping.
Garrison Caps were produced in dark OD wool as well as in khaki to go with the khaki cotton summer uniform. There was also the "Cap, Garrison, Wool, Elastique, OD, Dark, Officers". Officers garrison caps were worn with officer's insignia pinned near the front on the left side (except until mid-1942, before which unit insignia could be worn). The USMC had its own garrison cap, similar in style to the Army version but in USMC forset green color
Garrison Cap Piping Colors
The piping on the Garrison Cap was referred to as the "hat cord" or "braid" which were either pure colors or a base color with a second color "piped" into the cord. According to FM 21-100 Soldier's Handbook, dated 11 December 1940, the hat cord colors for the arms and services were:
Cap, Garrison, OD -- wool serge, US Army Air Corps piping.
| Service Branch | Piping Color |
|---|---|
| Air Corps | Ultramarine blue piped with golden orange |
| Cavalry | Yellow |
| Chemical Warfare Service | Cobalt blue piped with golden orange |
| Coast Artillery Corps | Scarlet |
| Corps of Engineers | Scarlet piped with white |
| Field Artillery | Scarlet |
| Finance Department | Silver Grey piped with golden yellow |
| Infantry and Tanks | Blue |
| Medical Department | Maroon piped with white |
| Military Police | Yellow piped with green |
| Ordnance Department | Crimson piped with yellow |
| Quartermaster Corps | Buff |
| Signal Corps | Orange piped with white |
In 1940, with the issuance of the Dark Elastique garrison cap, gold braid was authorized for general officers, gold/black for other officers, and silver/black for warrant officers. Other piping was changed during the war as the Army changed organization. The Armored Force separated from Infantry and adoped green with yellow piping as its colors, and Transportation Corps was established with Crimson and Gold (hard to distinguish from Ordnance).
Find More Information on the Web
There are many fine websites that have additional information on this topic, too many to list here and too many to keep up with as they come and go. Use this Google web search form to get an up to date report of what's out there.
For good results, try entering this: garrison cap. Then click the Search button.
