WWII Navy Trunk Revive

A while back a sweet friend of mine asked if I could revive a trunk she has. Of course, I'd love to :) In the beginning I didn't realize the significance of the trunk. I knew it was her grandfathers. I knew she saved it from being thrown away as her mom didn't think anything could be done with it. And, I knew it would be going into her oldest daughters room.







I am thinking neutral colors...grey, beige, antique white, taupe... or maybe even a pop of color. And, so when I picked up the trunk she asked if I could bring it back to like it was (as much as possible), keeping the army green color. I can do that!! She's like me, she loved the rusty patina that was part of the history of the trunk. And, she wanted to try and salvage the tags that were original of the trunk.





I brought the trunk home and started the prep work. Pulling out all of the old contact paper, and cleaning up the trunk. I matched up the paint for the trunk. I also knew that I wanted to use my favorite product Modern Masters Metal Effects Rust Activator to bring out the rust in the metal areas.











I was not able to save the straps. And, because new straps were being used, I would need to make them look old. I did that using Modern Masters Metal Effects.





As I was working on the trunk a very strong sense of history was surrounding me. The sense was overwhelming. It's so hard to describe what my heart was feeling.





I love how the trunk came out.. It made my client & her daughter ( and my friend's mom) so happy & thankful the trunk wasn't thrown out.











While at the school one day, I saw my friend and told her we were nearing the end.
I asked her a little about the trunk. That is when she told me the story that her grandfather was an orphan, and they didn't have many items of his. One being this trunk, his goggles & his flight log from his days as a pilot in the Navy during WWII.... Chills!! Megan's oldest daughter loves the military & so she wanted this trunk for her room...chills! I received this story from my friends mom along with the photos!











"The USS Cabot was an Independence class aircraft carrier. Often called a light carrier, the Cabot carried fighter aircraft and torpedo bombers in the Pacific Theater. It served proudly beside the USS Essex during WWII.
The Cabot was commissioned in 1943 and served until 1947.
The USS Cabot received 9 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation.
My father, Edward Harold Kepponen proudly served on this carrier as a Chief Petty Officer. He crossed the equator and the International Date line simultaneously (see photo of card) and spent long months in the Pacific during the war. He didn't speak of the war often, but when he did, the stories were profound. He buried his best friend at sea after an aircraft exploded on deck. To make the situation all the more dire, his friend had taken his shift because he was sick. He spoke of the bonds of friendship, the pain of loss and the fear of the unknown and of courage. My Dad was very proud of his Navy days and he instilled in both me and my sister a deep love and respect of our country.
If his trunk could talk I am sure the salty tales of men dedicated to protecting their homeland would hold us all in a trance.
The attached pictures are of the a section of the USS Cabot that is at Naval Museum and my father's card stating that he was a member of the Deep Order of the Golden Dragon. And a picture of my Dad in uniform."





You can visit my blog to see more information on this beautiful trunk. I did an entire post with tutorial.
I am so very thankful that I was able to make this transformation for my friend & her daughter. It fills my heart with such great joy!!






Original article and pictures take http://www.hometalk.com/11425093/wwii-navy-trunk-revive site