Veterans Day-Fixing Up Daddy's Foot Locker

My dad served during WWII and was in the American forces who were sent to Japan after the end of the war. He still tells stories of when he was in the US Army. Although some of the facts get mixed up in his 87 year old mind, he still remembers some things vividly and talks a little in Japanese if you ask him.

His foot locker was in very bad shape. It is made of pressed board and when I got it home, I noticed that the bottom of it was falling apart.  I now understand why he had placed a piece of plywood inside it. It was also very dusty, dirty and stained inside and out.
There were no stenciled names on it, so I cleaned it off as best as I could and painted it. I also duck taped the bottom of it on the inside and outside with green duck tape. It matched the original paint almost perfectly. It had no collector value the shape it was in, only sentimental value, so I felt it was okay to do this. It was unusable the way it was, I wish I had taken a 'before' picture of it, but I forgot.

I placed his army blankets and jacket in it.

 

I added the letters Mom and Dad wrote to each other (as sweethearts),and the pictures and cards that he had saved.

The picture on the far left is of the tent city they lived in while there.

 

 I added more of his souvenirs. His dog tag, Japanese money, scrapbook, sun glass case and books.

Then I made it all nice and neat before  I closed it  up.

 

The Japanese sword would not fit inside, so I laid it on top.

 

 I almost regretted bringing it out to work on, but I am glad I finished the job. It was a labor of love and it is now clean and usable. It is the perfect place to store his Army keepsakes.

You can go here and see my Veterans Day posts of previous years.