War-time Insect Repellent. (WWII Bug Juice)

Two examples of insect repellent from The War.  Two different makers, one is clear-ish, and the other is an amber coloured liquid, both achieve the same results (in theory).

     Of all the artefacts from my collection of items from The War, this might seem to a very mundane things to bring up.  However, as 1945 slides farther and farther away from us in todays world, I think that simple things like this are worthy of mention.  When people who are historians, collectors, etc. of WWII Memorabilia tend to go crazy over the expensive, highly sought after items like weapons, helmets, vehicles, aircraft, etc.  A lot of the little details tend to get left behind.  

     If you are of my age group, odds are your Dad was in the War.  If he did his time in a bug infested region of the World, this item would have been in intimate part of his everyday life.  My Dad was in the USN during the last two years of the War.  Quite a bit of his time was on islands in the Western Pacific Theatre where the invertebrates of the World thrived.  His stories of mosquitoes on Guam were legendary!  The tropical regions of the World grow them large, hungry and aggressive!!!  (A famous staged photo of a US GI from the Vietnam War holding a very large centipede pops into my mind.  Go to Google Photos and type in something like "Vietnam Centipede"...you are welcome!). I recall a story where my Dad wrote a letter to my future Mother from Guam and somehow a very large mosquito got crushed in the letter.  Actually there is a large of cache of letters from The War at a place I have.  I need to go through the lot and see of the mosquito is still with us.  Anyway...needless to say there was a dire need for insect repellent in all the theatres of the War.

     The two bottles in the above photo are small, I'm not sure how much they contain?  Probably an ounce or so?  They are made of a very heavy durable glass.  Yes, these are glass, but with reasonable care they are very strong. This size of bottle was designed to fit in pockets, packs, etc.  There were a couple types of First Aid Kits that were specific to Jungle areas and all of them have pockets made for this very size of bottle.  

     When my Dad was still around I asked him about insect repellent he recalled from The War.  He recalled using a larger spray aresol cans that were painted olive drab.  Sort of the GI Issue form of "OFF". I can almost guarantee that as USN Air Crew, these glass bottles were included in the survival kit and first aid kits they were issued.  

    After V-J Day in 1945, items like this flooded the burgeoning War Surplus markets and shops that sprung up in towns over the World.  These bottles would be with Hunters, Campers, Fishermen, Boy and Girl Scouts, etc.  Even today coming across these throw away pieces everyday life to our parents generation is fairly common.  These were made in the millions and not too difficult to find if you know where to look.  Having said that, throwing these away is no longer a good thing to do.  I grab them every time I stumble across one are an antique shop, etc.  

     

 

Closer photo of the table.  The wording about uniforms , leggings, etc.  give it way that is GI Issue.