Comments by "Evan" (@MrEvanfriend) on "The Forgotten History of the Australian Slouch Hat" video.

When I was in the Marines, the Australian Army came to train on Abrams tanks at Twentynine Palms, where I was stationed. I got to know a few of those guys pretty well, and like all allied soldiers do, we traded a fair bit of uniform items - a set of my MARPAT cammies for an Aussie "jellybean suit", my eight point "soft cover" for one of their berets (still my drinking hat 14 years later), stuff like that. I wanted the slouch hat - since they were cavalry, they had the emu plume on theirs which made it look even cooler. I offered all kinds of stuff for one of those, but they wouldn't take anything less than my dress blue jacket. That's like a $200+ jacket (I don't remember the exact price), and the best uniform item in the world. Alas, I was unable to complete a trade for the slouch hat. It's a major regret of mine, because those are amazing hats.
39
@goodshipkaraboudjan I wouldn't be interested. Something you buy just isn't the same as something you got from the guy who earned it. Had I been able to swing a trade, it would be a story and a memory as well as just a cool hat. Were I to buy one, it wouldn't. And I'd want something more like that for the story and the memory than anything else. Like the set of Australian cammies I have, I never have and never will wear them. But they're a memory, a cool story about my experience in the Marine Corps, and that's why they're a prized possession.
13
@goodshipkaraboudjan That's why the asking price was the dress blues jacket, which is our most iconic uniform item - and as any Marine will tell you, the top panty dropper of any uniform in the world. The Aussies wanted our dress blues like we wanted the slouch hats, but I don't think either side was willing to make that trade. Oh well, no hard feelings. The Australian Army are still great guys, professional soldiers, and an absolute blast to drink with.
6