The droops disembarking in Belfast on this day looked much like the one in this illustration, with this in fact being their uniform, although they were wearing great coats over their service dress.
January 26, 1942: First US Army troops arrive in Britain: Convoy AT-10 carrying the 34th Infantry Division arrives in Belfast to relieve British troops. US and Filipino forces withdraw to final defense line on Bataan Peninsula, behind Pilar-Bagac road.
From Sarah Sundin's blog.
Those troops, as photos showed, looked more like American soldiers from World War One than World War Two, wearing heavy full length wool great coats and M1917 helmets. Many, probably most of them, were also carrying M1903 Springfields, although photos show a few with M1 Garands.
Not that any of their dress or equipment was obsolete, as so often suggested. While the early war equipment dated back to the Great War, much of the infantry equipment of the Great War in most armies did, if not considerably before that.
Their crossing had been kept secret and was made without incident, making their arrival in Belfast a surprise.
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