The both the pistol belt and cartridge belt could be worn on their own, but with loads attached to them (such as bayonets, shovels, and first aid pouches), there needed to be something to both stabilize the load and to distribute it off the hips. If the haversack wasn't being used, which was especially the case for those riding in vehicles, then the M36 Suspenders would do the trick.
Soldiers in the field wore the haversack or the suspenders in combination with the belt and the rest of the equipment. Being mounted infantry, it's a bit difficult to hop in and out of a half-track with a haversack stuffed with clothes, blankets, rations, and what have you. So, the suspenders couldn't be more ideal for folks like us. It keeps us slim and allows us to fully enjoy the seat of a jeep or a half-track without having to take everything off. Therefore, we highly recommend you get yourself a set of these. It also had D-rings in the shoulder straps in which you can hook in a Musette Bag should you require a litte something on your back.
When shopping for a set of M36 Suspenders, keep in mind that there is a huge difference from the Army suspenders and the Marine suspenders. Marine suspenders have longer shoulder straps ending in a metal ring of which to smaller straps triangulate off of to hook in to the belt. Army suspenders have shoulder straps that split at a metal fixture higher up on the shoulder and triangulate to connect to the belt from there. Later war suspenders have wider and slightly padded shoulder straps and can be more OD #7 (darker green) or a combination of OD #3 and OD #7 materials. The later, 1944 version is okay for use, but will look out of place in early war battles (essentially anything before Operation: OVERLORD) and is not recommended.
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