Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This WWII Officer Bedroll is named to Captain K.W. Keltner. It features a WWII USAAF insgina and is in excellent overall condition.

The following is an excerpt from The Officers Guide edition 11 dated 1945.

Bedding Roll or Sleeping Bag.  The bedding roll as provided by the Quartermaster is standard field equipment for officers.  This article is organizational equipment.  Many officers purchase a bedding roll to insure having one under all conditions of service.  Several commercial types are on the market.

A satisfactory bedding roll must be of strong canvas to resist wear and tear, and it must be highly water-repellent.  It should contain large pockets to carry extra clothing and field equipment.  No special mattress is provided.  A thin mattress pad should be procured.

Some officers advise an air mattress, and some use folded blankets as a pad.  The mattress used by enlisted men in barracks is too thick for use in a bedding roll.  It makes the roll too large and heavy.

Blankets taken into the field should be adequate for temperatures to be encountered.  They should be olive drab in color and of high quality to provide warmth with minimum weight.  A waterproof sheet such as the old-issue poncho weighs little, requires little space, and will provide useful to protect bedding from rain or dew.  There are few experiences in life more unpleasant than trying to sleep in damp or wet bedding.

A complete shelter tent with poles, ropes, and pins should be included.  A folding canvas bucket, and folding wash basin, are necessities carried in the bedding roll.

Many officers include a folding canvas cot in their bedding rolls.  In some organizations this is prohibited.  In the usual case the size and weight of the roll are prescribed in orders.  The officer must determine for himself what to include within this limitation.

Many officers purchase the sleeping bag in preference to the conventional bedding roll.

Well-designed sleeping bags have their advantages.  Like all other articles, both good and bad ones are on the market.  The best ones are costly.  The purchaser should consider the ruggedness of construction, remembering that it will be transported in a truck and receive rough usage.  It should be suitable for varying temperatures.  Some types are difficult to clean.

The bedding roll may be used as a cover to protect a sleeping bag, the latter replacing the usual mattress-pad and blankets.

A small rug or mat, even a piece of canvas, should be carried in the bedding roll.  It is a convenience in the field to provide a place free from mud, dirt, sand, or dust while dressing or undressing.