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Neckerchief part of at-sea wear years before U.S. use

The neckerchief worn around the neck and tied at the front has been a familiar item of sailor attire almost since the Navy’s beginning. Today, sailors in grade E-6 and below wear the neckerchief with blue and white service dress uniforms.

Some believe the black neckerchief began as a symbol of mourning for Britain’s Vice Adm. Horatio Lord Nelson, who died at Trafalgar, shot by a sniper after a brilliant naval career that included defeating the French and Spanish fleets in 1805.

But in “Uniforms of the Sea Services,” Marine Corps Col. Robert H. Rankin wrote that the connection to Nelson is a “widely held myth.”

Rankin wrote that sailors of other nations wore a neckerchief long before Nelson’s death, and that this item of attire began, simply, as a sweatband.

The U.S. Navy introduced the black neckerchief in 1817.

“You made one diagonal fold and then rolled, put it around your neck if you were wearing whites or blues, and tied them in a square knot, with the knot properly just below the V of your jumper,” said retired Master Chief Electronics Technician Allan LeBaron, 82, of Moulton, Ala., who was in the Navy from 1943 to 1964 and wore the neckerchief constantly. “That was the way they were supposed to be worn. And if you got the knot just right, you would leave it tied when you took it off.”

Most sailors say it wasn’t difficult to learn how to tie the device.

“I found it more difficult to tie a regular necktie when I became an officer,” said former Lt. Cal Weiss, 84, of Cleveland, who was in the Navy from 1943 to 1946, beginning as an apprentice seaman.

Rankin wrote that the shape of the knot had no special significance. Of course, the purpose was to assure uniformity in the ranks. A sailor who was sloppy in donning his neckerchief was likely to receive attention from superiors.

Contrary to lore, the neckerchief was black because the color did not readily show dirt.

The neckerchief could be transformed into a weapon in a bar fight. A sailor could sew a roll of quarters or a lead weight into the portion of the neckerchief not visible from the front (the part lying under the cape on the wearer’s back). In a brawl, a sailor could swing his weighted neckerchief and inflict serious damage on an opponent.

The neckerchief was not issued between 1973 to 1978, when sailors wore a different uniform, part of an experiment that did not survive.

Although the neckerchief is called a bandanna in some literature, many sailors find the term inappropriate.

“We weren’t a bunch of bandits,” LeBaron said. “We were Americans in the Navy.”

Robert F. Dorr, an Air Force veteran, lives in Oakton, Va. He is co-author of “Hell Hawks,” a history of an American fighter group. His e-mail address is robert.f.dorr@cox.net. Fred L. Borch retired from the Army after 25 years and is now working as the Regimental historian for the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He is the author of “The Silver Star,” a history of America’s third-highest award for combat heroism. His e-mail address is borchfj@aol.com.