The MPF gear is supposed to be pristine equipment, ready for war at a moment’s notice. But Berger said that’s the wrong way of looking at those items. Marines need to get their hands on that ...

WW2 Marine’s diary: A brief look at a brief life . Originally published May 27, 2013 at 9:06 am Updated May 28, 2013 at 7:12 am . Before Cpl. Thomas "Cotton" Jones was killed by a Japanese ...

When Austin Wideman purchased a P41 worn by a former World War II Marine, he had no idea he would play a role in reuniting it with the late soldier’s family.

Laura Mae Davis Burlingame had gone to the New Orleans museum on April 24 looking for a display commemorating the young Marine who had been her high-school sweetheart.

When he’s not working his regular day job as an electrician in Pacific, Mo., 26-year-old Austin Wideman collects World War II memorabilia, specifically items connected to the 4th Marine Division.

"I would never have imagined just owning this jacket would've turned into all of this," collector Austin Wideman tells PEOPLE A P41 jacket worn by Marine William Watson Holmes during World War II ...