USMC on the side means United States Marine Corps.
USMC on the bottom means US Metal Can, as in Can Company.
The spout is the giveaway that these cans are Marine Corps.
US Army cans had QMC or US on the side. 99% of Army and Marine systems were
gasoline in WWII. Diesel and such were reserved almost exclusively for US
Navy use.
After 19 years in the Army I can tell you, at least today, a simple stamp in
the side of a can would NOT keep Joe Snuffy from using whatever can is
closest, regardless contents or stamping. Any GAS cans today and in recent
years had MOGAS stencilled on the side in LARGE (guessing 4 inch) letters.
Following the logic that USMC on the side does not mean US Marine Corps,
what would USMC on the hood of a jeep or 3/4 ton mean? United States Metal
Car? :)
Jim
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Feb 05 2001 - 07:13:45 PST