What piqued your interest about military surplus?

[BEAR]

Being an Army brat, I had a living connection to all things military. My dad would give me all kinds of military gear, pup tents, helmet liners, pistol belts, packs, etc. etc. etc. He was a lifelong soldier (jumped in Normandy with 506th with his 2 brothers). My mother's family was British and my three uncles served in the Royal Navy, 11th Hussars and Army Transportation during the war. My Grandad served in the East Yorks during the Great War and "Dads Army" during the next war. So I grew up with war stories from family and my dad's friends. I lived in Europe most of my young life and didn't return to the states until I was 16. I visited many battlefields (including Normandy), castles and the Imperial War Museum, so I was pretty much hooked at a young age. My first visit to an Army surplus store was when I back in the States and I was like a kid in a candy store, or drugs to an addict. I already owned several German helmets (from family) and a Canadian MkII.
After joining the Army I continued my collecting, mostly new gear, so by the time I retired 21 years later I had several sets of gear( and still have). While I had several M1 helmets from my time in the service I didn't find out the all M1s were NOT the same until I was retired. Then my collecting began in earnest. Now I am into gear, guns, bayonets, uniforms, helmets, insignia and whatever else strikes my fancy.

BEAR
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