Woody, you got it right.
1956 USAF Basic, Part II.
We were issued two pair of work shoes or boots. One pair was the smooth black leather brogans which we were required to spit shine. The other was a pair of army combat boots, rough raw brown leather with a two buckle flap on top, which we were also ordered to dye black and spit shine, after cutting off the flap with a razor blade!
Imagine if you can how many cans of Kiwi it took to put a shine on raw suede leather, but we did it. There was one flight that was also required to scrape and spit shine the soles. We heard that they wore out fairly quickly after basic training.
Actually the army boots were good, functional footwear. Very comfortable and wore a long time.
The odd uniforms didn't stop there. For fatigues we were issued mechanic's coveralls, but they were starched in an attempt to give them a semblance of military appearance. The instructors has theirs tailored.
The trainees' coveralls and brogans were topped with a jungle helmet. Probably functional protection from the Texas summer sun, but a goofier, unmilitary look for basic trainees is hard to imagine.
Paul
