Original Item: Only One Pair Available. This is a wonderful pair of “Jungle Sneakers”, as worn by US Marines in the Pacific Theater of War. These are very lightweight canvas shoes and are surprisingly quiet when moving through the brush, so why wouldn’t you want to wear them in a combat zone? Another great thing about these shoes is that being made of breathable canvas, the operators wearing them would find themselves in wet environments, but due to the material they dried out quicker than the regular issued boots, prolonging the life of their feet. The size markings have faded away unfortunately.

The use of "jungle" or "hot weather" boots and shoes predates World War II, when small units of U.S. soldiers in Panama were issued rubber-soled, canvas-upper boots for testing. Developed in conjunction with the U.S. Rubber Company, a pair of jungle boots weighed approximately three pounds with the more preferred “sneakers” weighed considerably less. Adopted in 1942, the design of the jungle boot/shoes was based on the idea that no boot could possibly keep out water and still provide sufficient ventilation to the feet in a jungle or swamp environment. Instead, the jungle boot was designed to permit water and perspiration to drain, drying the feet while preventing the entry of insects, mud, or sand.

A lovely pair ready for further research and display.