Palo, I used to learn to iron on my dad handerchiefs also...he always had those big various colored handerchiefs, with the decorations on them...he had the small white ones only for his Sunday best suit...but I used to love to iron his big old hankies...
Do you remember having a sprinkling bottle? We had an old quart pop bottle, that was filled with water, and it had a special cork in it, and attatched to the cork was a metal covering with small holes in it...you sprinkled all the clothes after they had been washed and dried, just enough to get them damp(This must have been before they had steam irons)...then we covered the laundry basket with a towel, and let it set for an hour or so, before commencing with the ironing...Bah...what a chore, glad we dont have to do that anymore...
I never, ever washed or ironed any of my hubbies military stuff...always sent them to the special laundries around base, who knew exactly how to wash and starch and press all the military gear, to pass inspection...