In all the pictures I have seen of Marines in the AEF (and Nicaragua), there is that same odd mixture of dark and light colored utilities, with some appearing to be everything from dead white to dark green. I have always assumed it was due to fading from age, since what one Marine wears, they all wear, and you wear it until it wears out or becomes unserviceable.

In the Marines, you have to pay for your uniforms, which was a real shock to me when I was in boot camp. You go all the way through boot camp and wind up with almost zip dollars. You lose something they issue you, you will pay for it. I had to pay for an M-16 in RVN because my M-16 serial number didn't match my issue rifle (because it wasn't my issued rifle) when I turned it in. That is why I look at the Sgt. York rifle argument with a jaundiced eye.

In WWI, the Muster Rolls show Court Martials for dirty rifles, and people don't think they would be a little upset if you had the wrong rifle? Maybe not in the heat of combat with a pick-up rifle, but during general inspections you would stand out like a bald cat in a dog show.

I have that same high resolution photo from Keystone. I tracked it down when I discovered it existed. That was how I was able to see the knobs on the scope, which to me has eliminated all doubt that Niedner type USMC sniper rifles were used in Franceicon. I have one other photo taken during Belleau Woods that shows a Niedner type sniper rifle also. I also know someone that appears to own a 6th Regiment sniper rifle identified to a 6th Regiment sniper, and it is a Niedner rifle (I would prefer a 5th Regiment rifle). Don't believe everything you read in current texts about those sniper rifles and their "limited" use in WWI. The authors are seriously mistaken.

It took me some doing, and two days of trying, to get that stereoscope picture reduced in pixel size enough to post it. I can clearly see the campaign hat to which you refer. I suspect the man on the left is the sniper, as the pictures I have of snipers show that same arrangement of cartridge holders on their belts (I don't know the official name of the contraption), but maybe they all wore the same arrangement.

By the way, you can see both Brodie Type A and Type B helmets in that picture. The smiling Marine is wearing a Type A and the Marine to his left is wearing a Type B. Ditto for Marines in the background.

Jim