drmr27 Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 (edited) Inspection strategies. Almost every corps lined up for inspection by section and in an order something like their OTL opening set. If you ever saw the 27th Lancers line up for inspection circa 1969 you saw a seemingly random lineup of a soprano next to a snare drummer next to a flag next to a contra next to a cymbal player, etc. The move from the inspection line to starting line wasn't a company front but instead a crowd, randomly sauntering to form an orderly opening set on the starting line. The inspection lineup was actually very carefully thought out and crafted. The 27th Lancer uniform of the late 60' was pieced together from Army & Navy stores around Boston. Shirts and pants were often different shades of khaki and sometimes slightly different styles. By mixing up sections and uniforms on the inspection line it made it harder for the inspection judge to pick out variations in the uniform. I think Ike Ianessa was the brain behind this strategy. Maybe there is a Moe Knox picture of this somewhere. Edited April 13, 2009 by drmr27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LancerLegend Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 (edited) To piggy back my brother Steve - as DCI was formed - the formal inspection judge was eliminated - but our Ike Ianessa held us to a higher standard even when there was no penalty. When we talk about spit-shined Navy oxfords - they better be spit shined !!! None of the corform crap. Uniform shirts had military crease (3 in back, 2 in front). Some members had the creases sewn into their uniform shirt to accent the crease. The veterans made sure the rookies understood what it meant, and intimidation worked wonders. Edited April 13, 2009 by LancerLegend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blucru Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 How many of you guys remember having to dry-shave in the parking lot just before inspection with an old single blade razor? Or, being dressed by 7:00 A.M. so you would be ready for inspection at 11:00 A.M.?!?!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puppet Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 (edited) I think it was 1972, at the NJ American Legion show in Wildwood, weekend after Labor Day.....We (Sacred Heart Crusaders) were on VERY early that morning..... and it had been raining on and off until just before showtime. I thought I had cleaned all the raindrops off my French horn..... but just as the inspection judge was getting around to checking me, a drop of water fell onto the bell. Yikes!!! A tenth of a point deduction, thanks to Mother Nature.....LOL Fran New York State American Legion Championships - V.F.W. Nationals ... (sigh!) You have to appreciate, as some of us do, that back in the "Nearly Everybody Wore Cadet-Style Uniforms" era there were many different styles of that style. Our jackets for both the men and women were powder blue with gold and black trim in rows down the front matched with an oval branded hash over the black cuffs on the sleeves. Chrome buttons on the high, stiff collar, shoulder straps and on either end of the trim on the front and at the sleeve. White garrison belt sash with chrome buckle, from right to left across the front, red aiguillette strung from the left shoulder, American Legion or VFW patch on the right shoulder, St. Joseph patch on the right, red waist and drop sash, white dress "Mickey Mouse" gloves, Black high waist trousers trimmed on the out-seam in red with gold pipping; high waisted skirts (to just below the knee!) our shakos were Black Mother of Pearl with chrome chain over a patent leather visor with a patent leather chin strap, fronted with a brush chrome "J" emblem and topped a with black vulture plume. Black (not washed out gray!) calf-high socks and white bucks. Over the Calf riding boots for the guard. All in all a lot of stuff to keep shiny, lint and thread free. (and that's not to mention our individual instruments - we all thought of buying shares in either Kiwi or Noxall. We also after many applications of boot wax or white shoe polish covered our shoes and boots in socks on our way to inspections. After inspection before we stepped to the starting line our quartermasters and chaperons would walk down the line saying stuff like: "Shake it off, C'mon, time to get it on, now the fun starts." We never got a tic - not one. Even though this shot is in B&W and without an inspection, you can see the pride in our uniforms and that what it was all about. - Frankie at Madison Square Garden during Evening With The Corps Character building for sure! Puppet Edited April 22, 2009 by Puppet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 (edited) 2 quick stories on " Inspections ": 1) once had the Judges call off the on line Inspections because both the judges and a Corps on the Inspection line began to be eaten alive by a swarm of mosquitos that came into the stadium right by a riverbed once the sun went down and the stadium lights ( near the starting line ) came on. 2) At one inspection we had a marching member in line and his shako was obviously not on the straight. The judge noticed it and was going to take off a tenth of a point in penalty. But as was custom in those days, the DM , going down the inspection line with the inspection judge, was always afforded the opportunity to acknowledge the infraction before the judge gives the penalty on his sheet. The DM replied ....." Sir, this marcher has chronic cerebral himotoepa. The head is misshapened at birth and it prevents the shako from sitting properly on his head ". The judge paused, looked at the marcher, looked back at the DM, then once more the marcher, then finally one more time at the DM...... then said nothing and moved on down the line deciding not to assess the penalty. When the inspection judge finishes his inspection, he salutes the DM and the DM returns the salute, signifying the end of the inspection. On this day, the DM then called the Corps to " parade rest ". When that was done, a few members surrounding the member with the crooked shako began busting out laughing that the DM had hoodwinked the judge and saved the Corps a tenth of a point penalty with a B.S. story. However, the judge turned from a distance and he saw and heard the Corps reaction, and he was not a happy camper. Later in the season, that same judge was doing inspection on my Corps once again. When he started his inspection, he noticed right off the bat one of the girls in the flag section had a thread hanging off her uniform. He said to the DM..... " That is a thread there, Major, and I'm going to have to take a tenth off.... and after the briefest of pauses continued... and if you say one word to me , I swear I just might double the penalty on this thread infraction". I kept my trap shut this time.......... years later, this judge became a friend of mine, and we both laughed at what happened at these 2 occasions " back in the good old days ". Edited April 28, 2009 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fastone Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 New York State American Legion Championships - V.F.W. Nationals ... (sigh!) You have to appreciate, as some of us do, that back in the "Nearly Everybody Wore Cadet-Style Uniforms" era there were many different styles of that style. Our jackets for both the men and women were powder blue with gold and black trim in rows down the front matched with an oval branded hash over the black cuffs on the sleeves. Chrome buttons on the high, stiff collar, shoulder straps and on either end of the trim on the front and at the sleeve. White garrison belt sash with chrome buckle, from right to left across the front, red aiguillette strung from the left shoulder, American Legion or VFW patch on the right shoulder, St. Joseph patch on the right, red waist and drop sash, white dress "Mickey Mouse" gloves, Black high waist trousers trimmed on the out-seam in red with gold pipping; high waisted skirts (to just below the knee!) our shakos were Black Mother of Pearl with chrome chain over a patent leather visor with a patent leather chin strap, fronted with a brush chrome "J" emblem and topped a with black vulture plume. Black (not washed out gray!) calf-high socks and white bucks. Over the Calf riding boots for the guard. All in all a lot of stuff to keep shiny, lint and thread free. (and that's not to mention our individual instruments - we all thought of buying shares in either Kiwi or Noxall. We also after many applications of boot wax or white shoe polish covered our shoes and boots in socks on our way to inspections. After inspection before we stepped to the starting line our quartermasters and chaperons would walk down the line saying stuff like: "Shake it off, C'mon, time to get it on, now the fun starts." We never got a tic - not one. Even though this shot is in B&W and without an inspection, you can see the pride in our uniforms and that what it was all about. - Frankie at Madison Square Garden during Evening With The Corps Character building for sure! Puppet Actually in 1970 we got 2 ticks in Miami one being for a loose string on a flag if I remember correctly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puppet Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Actually in 1970 we got 2 ticks in Miami one being for a loose string on a flag if I remember correctly Sure you're right. St. Rita's though. VFW, right? But I don't think that's why we didn't make the finals. Keeps nagging at my head (such as it is these days!) what really happened down there. I don't know why I blank on that Miami trip. Puppet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Other Mike Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 We wore bags over our bucks on the way to the Orange Bowl for VFW Nats in 1970...kept them from scuffing quite nicely.We also made great use of the 'wear and tear' concep, as a good portion of our unis were close to 10 years old...the one I wore from 70-72 was new in 1962! In 1971 Don Angelica joined our brass staff part way into the season...he travelled with us to Dallas on our two-week tour for VFW Nats. Rehearsed us in Miami where we were staying at a private school prior to our Dolphin/49'er summer exhibition performance...we get to Dallas, and guess who was judging inspection? Don Angelica! Politics ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyTenor Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 (edited) A couple of things re: inspections. 1) In addition to DM interference, a corps could also declare items that would then be exempt from inspection tics. 2) VK, sometime in the 60's. Inspection judge sees a spot on a member's white bucks. Asks the DM what it is. DM kneels down, slowly reaches out, slaps the spot on the shoe, stands up and says, "Got it, sir." Judge moves along. 3) 1972 CA State VFW inspection. We got one tic for a uniform violation. The member was the daughter of the uniform committee chairwoman. 4) My way of keeping focused was to pick put a member of the corps on the field and keep that person in sight. That way I could look through the judge. But, somehow over the course of 4 years I'd change my expression right before the judge got to me, so I looked kind of like this ---> (minus the blink). Got a couple of looks, but never a tic. I would have preferred this look ---> Garry in Vegas Edited May 6, 2009 by CrunchyTenor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Politics ? No idea, but inspection was a pretty safe place to put someone in that position, I guess. I don't know if he was slotted to judge something else and then got switched at the last minute...or whatever...I was just a 17-year-old member. That kind of stuff was far above my "pay grade". We just found it funny when we saw him in Dallas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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