Ed Lansford's Army cap and uniform, ca. 1940s

Ed Lansford's Army campaign hat and uniform. The cap is tan with a leather bill, and depicts a gold eagle crest on the front. The uniform is olive green in color, with gold buttons embossed with eagles. A photograph of Ed wearing this uniform can be see here.

Ed Lansford, along with fellow classmates from Rice University, joined a college reserve in the Army Air Forces. The reserve was called to active duty in February 1943, and they were sent by the Army Air Forces through meteorology school at UCLA, becoming second lieutenant weather officers in December 1943. Ed was active as a weather forecaster at several airfields in the United States during the war. In 1945, Ed was moved into a group that was headed for the invasion of Japan, but they had not yet left the United States when the war ended when the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan. Ed was released from the Army Air Forces in March 1946, as a civilian and re-entered Rice University, receiving a bachelor's degree at Rice in June 1948 -- four years late.

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