Original U.S. WWI Navy Lt. Commander Charles A. Burke Officer’s Uniform & Visor Cap - Commander of Depot Collier “Lake Dymer”
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Original Items. One-of-a-Kind Group. This is an exceptional named U.S. Navy WWI officer’s uniform grouping associated with Lieutenant Commander Charles A. Burke, commanding officer of USS Lake Dymer. The group consists of Burke’s dark blue officer’s uniform jacket and naval officer’s visor cap. The jacket retains its bullion collar insignia, lieutenant commander sleeve rank, service chevrons, two-place ribbon bar, and original tailor’s label naming Burke and dating the garment to December 11th, 1917.
In a period newspaper article, we found that the very first pair of marine binoculars lent to the Navy during World War I was issued to the Lake Dymer, and in Burke’s own words:
“These glasses, No. 2841, were used on board the U.S.S. Lake Dymer from September 16th, 1918 to January 5th, 1919, on voyages through submarine infested waters from Canada to France and thence on voyages between France and England and they were found very reliable.”
A letter of acknowledgment from the navy department says that the glasses were the first to have been sent after the call was issued. They were returned to a Mr. A.M. Strode, who donated them for Navy use when the call for glasses was issued in 1917.
The uniform jacket bears lovely bullion collar insignia, anchors and oak leaves. Each cuff bears a bullion star over two wide gold stripes and one thin gold stripe in the center, denoting the rank of Lieutenant Commander. On the left cuff over this are two service chevrons.
On the left breast of the jacket is a two-place ribbon bar with the French Legion of Honor and the WWI Victory Medal with one campaign star.
The uniform was tailored by Ed H. Hutchins of Norfolk, Virginia, and was purchased by Burke on December 11th, 1917. The interior lining has some tearing as shown but it has held up well for being worn overseas.
The officer’s visor cap is constructed of dark blue wool with a gorgeous bullion officer’s cap badge to the front with gold-colored anchor. There is a gold tape chinstrap held in by two gilt navy buttons. There is no maker or name mark to the interior, but the leather sweatband is retained without much stitch loss. There is a very worn size sticker at the rear, which looks to have read 7.
The named tailor’s label, lieutenant commander sleeve rank, bullion collar insignia, service chevrons, ribbon bar, and documented association with USS Lake Dymer give this jacket considerable historical significance. The accompanying officer’s cap completes the appearance of Burke’s formal naval uniform, while the ship’s surviving log and binocular correspondence provide valuable opportunities for further archival research.
Approximate Measurements
Collar to shoulder: 9.5"
Shoulder to sleeve: 25.5"
Shoulder to shoulder: 17"
Chest width: 19"
Waist: 19"
Hip: 20"
Front length: 32"
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