Cap, Garrison
Object number2019.131.3
Date1968
MediumFabric; Satin; Plastic
Credit LineGift of Roberta Riethmiller Egelston
DescriptionDark green garrison cap. Cap is regular style with a rectangular body and rounded top; sides are folded over and create a pocket all the way around the cap. Yellow trimming around tops of sides with a diagonal piece from top to bottom on the front right side. Right side of cap has an embroidered Veterans of Foreign Wars logo in the center, which features the Great Seal of the United States with white text around the outside and red, white, and yellow decorations around the edge. To the right of the logo is a red patch with yellow lettering, and front right of the side has yellow embroidered text. Left side of the cap has yellow embroidered text across the middle. Inside of the cap has a yellow-green satin lining with a brown, faux leather band around the bottom. Band has a white tag with manufacturing information sewn onto it, and other side of band has a stamped date.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth (flat): 5 x 11 x 0.75 in. (12.7 x 27.9 x 1.9 cm)InscriptionsEmbroidered text on Veterans of Foreign Wars logo: "VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS".
Yellow text on red patch: "LIFE MEMBER".
Yellow embroidered text on front right side of cap: "V.F.W. / 709".
Yellow embroidered text on left side of cap: "PENNSYLVANIA".
MarksWhite tag with manufacturing information: "[illegible] 6 / ES / 323363 / [illegible logo] / 7".
Date stamped on other side of leather band in black ink: "DEC 1968".
Historical NotesA Veterans of Foreign Wars 709 garrison cap worn by William Riethmiller. William Riethmiller was born to Robert and Doris Bauer Riethmiller. He was a veteran of the Vietnam War, enlisting just after his high school graduation in 1962. He served as a radar operator on the USS Hancock, an aircraft carrier. Upon returning from the war, William joined the Guyasuta Post 709 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, where his father was a commander. His sister, Roberta "Bobby" Egelson, attributes William’s joining to pressure from their father, Robert. William joined in along with a friend, Thomas Lawrence, in the mid-1970s. William volunteered for major events such as Memorial Day but was otherwise much less active than his father (a fact which is corroborated by the like-new condition of his VFW cap, which his sister says he rarely wore.)
Related person
Robert Riethmiller
(1915 - 2013)
Previous owner
William Riethmiller
(died 2014)
Related institution
Roberta J. Egelston
Related institution
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 709
Related institution
Veterans of Foreign Wars
Related person
Doris Bauer Riethmiller
Related person
Thomas Lawrence
Related institution
United States Navy
On View
Not on view
1968
Keystone Uniform Cap
1996-2003
American Legion
