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I wasn't in the service, so I don't know the answer.
Do enlisted military wear aviator ballcaps? Is that why it's not appropriate?
I can understand not wearing medals as they weren't earned, but if I wear a Phillie's shirt or cap, no one thinks I was on the team or that I'm pretending to be.
My son was a West Pointer 40 years ago, and a few years ago he sent me a really nice "ARMY" baseball cap. Wore it twice on my morning walk, and both times had folks thank me for my service. I never served, and I never wore the cap again.
There isn't anything particularly "wrong" with it. I personally wouldn't give it a second notice and would definitely never have a problem with it or feel the need to bring it up if I saw it. But then again I don't have any real problem with Stolen Valor (which this is not a case of) if there is no fraud occurring; like, lying about stuff like that is trash behavior but there are a lot of trash people out there, and I'm not gonna waste time getting mad at all of them.
But yeah, if anyone asks about it or thanks you for your service, you already know what to say: "Oh, my father was an F-4 pilot; I wear this hat in his memory." The vast majority of people are going to say/think "Oh, cool. That's nice," and that'll be the end of it. The small minority of people who would have something negative to say aren't worth interacting with. I do think you are overthinking it but if you are uncomfortable wearing it, then you don't HAVE to. Do what feels right for you.
Back in the day, I was in the 23rd Bomb Squadron. I gave my dad our squadron ball cap, the one we wore in uniform, back in the days when those types of ball caps were authorized.
I also got him one of our squadron t-shirts. It was the one with the bombs dropping into the volcano. Allegedly, those bombs dropped into the Mauna Loa saved the city of Hilo. I say allegedly, because I’ve read conflicting stories where the bombs may not have helped and the city just got lucky as the lava flowed away.
Anyway, my dad loved that hat and shirt and wore it all the time. He was a veteran himself, US Army, so it wasn’t like he didn’t do his part.
My older brother spent 20+ years on subs in the USN, and he would also give my dad Navy gear to wear.
So bottom line, if you are related to a service member, or maybe even a close friend, and as long as you don’t lie about it, you absolutely should be able to “fly the colors”.
We have 3 sons who served in the Army. Even though we’ve spent decades of worry about our sons safety, and always felt very invested in the military, my husband still won’t wear anything military, for fear of the “stolen valor” thing. Early on, son #1 gave his dad a cap with a Delta symbol on it. He wore it once in front of son #3 who told him he shouldn’t wear it in public, because of how secretive Delta is. So that was that.
So bottom line, if you are related to a service member, or maybe even a close friend, and as long as you don’t lie about it, you absolutely should be able to “fly the colors”.
My nephew recently joined the Marines & while in training, family was asked to wear red on Fridays, I think it stands for "remember everyone deployed". I never noticed before but have seen older men wearing red tees on Fridays from time to time. A couple of women, too. I did ask a few if it were for red Fridays & they said yes, then as vets, also told me about their service.
I think that's cool. My only red tee has somehow been lost in my several moves, so I'll need to buy another.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gentlearts
We have 3 sons who served in the Army. Even though we’ve spent decades of worry about our sons safety, and always felt very invested in the military, my husband still won’t wear anything military, for fear of the “stolen valor” thing. Early on, son #1 gave his dad a cap with a Delta symbol on it. He wore it once in front of son #3 who told him he shouldn’t wear it in public, because of how secretive Delta is. So that was that.
That's very interesting.
TY for sharing, Everyone. I like the personal stories.
My nephew recently joined the Marines & while in training, family was asked to wear red on Fridays, I think it stands for "remember everyone deployed". I never noticed before but have seen older men wearing red tees on Fridays from time to time. A couple of women, too. I did ask a few if it were for red Fridays & they said yes, then as vets, also told me about their service.
I think that's cool. My only red tee has somehow been lost in my several moves, so I'll need to buy another.
That's very interesting.
TY for sharing, Everyone. I like the personal stories.
Even though I’m retired and no longer wear the uniform, I still work as a contractor in a deployed area of the Middle East. I always wear a red polo type shirt every Friday.
What’s funny is that quite a few active duty members don’t know about “remember everyone deployed RED”
I always let them know about it, though. I start the conversation like, “Hey I’m wearing red in support of you all!”. They usually respond with, “What are you talking about?”
After I explain it, then they say, well, you are deployed too.
But it isn’t the same, I’m no longer active duty. So we all get a good laugh about that.
Anyway, I highly recommend to any civilians to wear red on fridays at work or whatever.
I don't wear any military gear because I prefer not to. I do ask for military discounts though.
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