by Luanna Crow
Photos by Dudley Harris, MD
He found his first gas mask in the garbage dump of a small town in Germany, where his father was stationed with the U.S. Air Force. He was 14.
“My buddies and I routinely searched the dump for interesting stuff people threw away,” says Jeff Meffert, MD. “One day I found three ‘new in the box’ civilian gas masks from 1943.”
In the years that followed, he acquired other masks but didn’t begin collecting in earnest until about 10 years ago during his own Air Force training in chemical/bio-warfare. Now – when it comes to “respirators,” as they are more accurately identified – he’s a man on a mission.
“I don’t know exactly how many I have,” Dr. Meffert admits. “At least 120 from 1917 through modern times.”
Finding his treasures through military surplus stores, hunting supply catalogs, and Ebay, he also buys, sells, or trades masks with several major collectors in Europe. Additionally, he’s obtained large numbers of Soviet surplus masks and chemical gear from Latvian, Bela-rusian, and Ukrainian dealers for resale in the U.S.
Included in Dr. Meffert’s collection are examples of the first German gas masks of World War I that were made of rubberized cloth and, even more interesting, the “ledermasken,” made of leather, cellophane, and metal, that followed. He also prizes the “baby gas masks” from England and Germany in WWII and Russia in the 1970s, the red and blue “Mickey Mouse” mask for a blitzkrieg-era English child, and a gas mask for horses that also came from Deutschland.
Given his interest in masks, what does Dr. Meffert recommend for family protection?
“I don’t,” he says. “To properly maintain and use a mask requires training and spending the time and money to keep your gear ‘good to go.’ If there is a chemical or biologic event in San Antonio, I plan to put my family in a car and get them out of the city.”
There’s an overlap between Dr. Meffert’s hobby and his work as a dermatologist. “I’ve spoken to numerous specialty and general practice groups on bioterrorism topics, especially as they relate to dermatology. And I’ve been on the American Academy of Dermatology’s Bioterrorism and Natural Disaster Task Force for five years – and chairman for the last three.” He’s also published several articles on bioterrorism.
Throughout his endeavors, he continues pursuit of the next “holy grail” of acquisitions – like a WWII mask made by the U.S. specifically for guard dogs or a child’s mask made to look like the actual face and head of Mickey Mouse.
For those who may be interested in pursuing a collection like this, Dr. Meffert warns: “A large collection can be impressive to visitors but your family really does not want to hear about the subtle differences you’ve discovered between two French masks from the ’30’s. And they certainly don’t understand why you would pay postage from Australia to get such a thing into your collection.”
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