Memories From More Retired Boots

You are seeing the heel of a Corcoran Field Boot. I decided to put these boots on with a pair of tactical police pants last week to see how they went together. I had forgotten how comfortable these boots really were.

An hour later, my partner asked, "what are all those black things on the floor?" I looked, and notice that the heel on my left boot was crumbling apart. Day-yum!

I don't quite know what it is, but this is the second pair of military boots I have owned that have had a rubber heel crumble. The first pair whose heels crumbled were Bates "Floataway" Patatrooper Parade Boots. Now these!

There is a type of rubber product between the heel plate and the bottom of the sole that apparently dried out and as soon as I put weight on it by walking, it just crumbed apart. So once again, I have another non-functionable pair of boots.

I spoke with a friend who is a cobbler, and he is familiar with the boot and this situation. He said that he could not resole the boots due to the way they are made, and advised to throw them away. Are you sure? Yep. Day-yum!

While I wore these Corcoran Field Boots on a number of skydives, these weren't the boots I had on when I achieved my record, so they don't have a particular significance other than being darned comfortable boots. Tell 'ya the truth, much more comfortable than traditional Corcoran II jump boots.

My favorite memory while wearing this particular pair of boots is really a funny story. I was skydiving near Sacramento (California, USA) on a windy day. I was able to control my chute and land on dry land, but my fellow skydiving buddies landed in a rice paddy. I went to look for them and when I found them, they were sunk in muddy, wet goo and holding their arms high in the air. They were being held at gunpoint by a farmer. The farmer was from Vietnam, and must have had flashbacks at seeing guys in Camo landing by parachute on his land. We negotiated our way out of that situation, and laughed about it for years after.

These boots are gone, but not forgotten. I wonder now what other of my military boots are going to fall apart next....

Life is short: wear your boots (as long as the soles aren't crumbling!)