Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Navy Dufflel to Backpack Plan



My grandpa (pictured in the middle) was a radio and radar operator in the Navy. In WWII, the Navy and Marines all had their own air support groups. Grandpa's squadron was flying high photography reconnaissance missions over the pacific in B-24 bombers.

When he and my grandma downsized out of their house last month, he asked my brothers if they would like his duffel bag and parachute bag. And of course they did. When Jon wasn't sure what he would do with a duffel bag, I offered to convert the fabric and straps into a backpack for him. Here's what we decided it should look like:
I'm guessing I will need to borrow someone else's machine for this project since my little vigorous Vigorelli couldn't handle more than two layers of vinyl! Don't worry though, I'll update you with the blow-by-blow soon!

In the meantime, here is a little family history. These are my great-grandparents (my grandpa's parents).

This is a picture of my Grandpa from 1961 with his Navy duffle bag in the background.

The address on the bag was my great-grandma Suderman's address in Phoenix where my grandparents had gotten married.

2 comments:

Jen Gay said...

Keren! I love your projects. You must keep us up to date on them. I was noticing the address on the duffel bag. It is only a few miles from where I grew up. I looked at it on the map and I can't quite remember the area, but I know it is close. Hmmm....I feel old...

love, jen

Unknown said...

Hi Keren, nice to be "found" by you! I have to say, your grandparents are incredibly good-looking! We will definitely have to get together once I move up to there.