Bonni--

consider posting your query to the Costume Society of America website:
www.costumesocietyamerica.com

Pat Roath
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Bonni Michaels wrote:
>
> We were recently offered two dark red hats resembling the stereotypic fez
> with black tassel on top.  The potential donor informs us that these were
> acquired by her late husband when he was a GI during World War II.  One hat
> is embroidered with a butah (paisley) pattern in very pale green and yellow.
> The second hat is decorated only with an inscription: "1945 M.U. [the man's
> initials] Strakonice Czechoslovakia".  Are these the simple souvenirs they
> appear to be, or have they some greater significance?  Does anyone know why
> a GI might have acquired a fez shaped hat in Czechoslovakia?