US Army Binoculars with a bonus

[Bob Womack]

You may remember that I was sniffing around, asking for information about US Army binoculars a while back. I was wanting to pick up a pair for myself. As I grew up, my dad, a WWII Navy sailor, had a pair of US Army Mark 17 binoculars that he had bought from surplus. Whenever we packed for a vacation or a trip where we might encounter ships, aircraft, or birds, those binoculars were sure to show up in the trunk, packed for quick access on the spur of the moment. I remember hiking with the case over my shoulder. Those were the finest glasses I had ever seen. Back in the 1980s after I married, moved out of the house, and to my current residence in a region with the nation's largest Navy port, my dad came to visit. I took him to the Navy base to tour the ships and we used his binoculars to look at adjacent ships and ships in the harbor. While we were doing this, I noticed some fogging in the optics. My dad said that they appeared to have just begun fogging from moisture. I had just recently visited a military contractor who ran an optical bench that served the needs of the Navy in the area. I took the glasses down to the dealer and had them rebuilt and collimated for him. They came back as good as new.

Recently I decided that I wanted a pair of good binoculars for myself so I began sniffing around the forums and asking questions, hoping to find something as good as my dad's. For some reason I remembered the model number his glasses so I began tracking offers on eBay and other sites. In the middle of the process, I traveled to my home to visit my parents. I asked to take a look at the binoculars and told him of my project to find something similar. After seeing my enthusiasm and hearing what I'd discovered, he said simply, "Would you like these?" I was flabbergasted and didn't want to take them, but he said he didn't use them much anymore and would like me to have them. I was completely bowled over.

So, I've come to own the very type, in fact the very glasses that I had always loved. While they might not be immaculate museum examples, they are in excellent condition and the bonus is that they come with lots of memories and a double connection because I oversaw their rebuild. You can take a peek at pictures of these glasses in the Military Surplus Collector's Forum Photo Gallery, HERE.

Bob

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[Malygris]

That's awesome Bob. Many times we get these items and we have no connection to them other than we like them, and they end up on a shelf or in a box. It's great that you got something that serves both to augment your collection with a nice example, and to also have a personal connection to them, and to also not be afraid to use them for what they were intended for.

I'd love to have a set of US and German binoculars.

[AZPhil]

Great Deal!!!
You get your childhood memories back and dad gets to pass something on!!!

I have a pair of navy bino's and they could use some work.
If you wouldn't mind could you share your Source for getting them fixed?

Semper Fi
Phil

[Bob Womack]

Hi, Phil!

The outfit where I had them rebuilt closed up their optical bench a few years ago. There are several on the web that look promising: Baker Marine Binocular Repair and Suddarth are a couple I've looked up but not dealt with.

Bob