The "Sam Browne" Belt
(The following is from the JayPee company in Enfield, Ct.)
http://www.stationhouse.comuniforms/jaypee/sambrowne_belts.htm
"JayPee manufactures a high quality line of uniform and duty belts. Among these are Sam Browne style pistol belts....
(Sam Browne belts are also available without a shoulder strap as a plain pistol belt. We also offer a combination of Garrison belt and shoulder strap with D-Rings (our Sam Browne Jr).....
...Sam Browne belts are a combination of a pistol belt or garrison belt and a shoulder strap (and D-rings). The Sam Browne belt was named after General Sir Samuel J. Browne, 1824-1901, of the British Army in India. The strap was intended to help carry the weight of a heavy pistol..."
(The following information is from US Marine Corps In World War I 1917--1918, Henry/Pavlovic, 1999, Osprey...)
"Though initially not considered a regulation item, the British-style Sam Browne belt was immediately purchased on arrival in France by AEF officers. It was universally recognized by all combatants in Europe as the symbol of officer rank; indeed, a 'Sam Browne' was the AEF nickname for an officer. To this day it is worn by Marine officers on special ocassions...
...Despite Gen. Pershing's embrace of the belt in Europe, the Army refused to recognize the Sam Browne as regulation wear stateside, and MPs even waited on the docks to divest returning officers of the offending item. Marine officers, to the chagrin of their Army fellows, were authorized to retain their belts.
