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Vietnam Helicopter pilot & Air Cav wings??


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curio bill

What type of wings/insignia did helicopter pilots & air cavalry troops wear in vietnam?? Was the air assault badge issued then? Thanks, Bill

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What type of wings/insignia did helicopter pilots & air cavalry troops wear in vietnam?? Was the air assault badge issued then? Thanks, Bill

 

Bill,

Helicopter pilots wore the Army Aviator Wing which was adopted in 1947 I believe. The crew chiefs and flight surgeons also had an authorized wing similar to the aviator wing with the exception of the design on the shield. As for the air assault badge it wasn't approved for the Army until 1978 by the Chief of Staff. The 101st wore the air assault badge as early as 1974 but only in the 101st not army wide. There was a different Air Assault badge that the 11th Air Assault Division designed and wore in 1964 but it was never an authorized badge. It consisted of a winged shield with crossed lightening bolts. The members of the 11th that earned it however continued to wear it even tho it was unauthorized.

Terry

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US Army Senior Aviator Wings were authorized in July 1950 and the US Army Master Aviator Wings were authorized in February 1957.

 

Mark

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Bill,

Helicopter pilots wore the Army Aviator Wing which was adopted in 1947 I believe. The crew chiefs and flight surgeons also had an authorized wing similar to the aviator wing with the exception of the design on the shield. As for the air assault badge it wasn't approved for the Army until 1978 by the Chief of Staff. The 101st wore the air assault badge as early as 1974 but only in the 101st not army wide. There was a different Air Assault badge that the 11th Air Assault Division designed and wore in 1964 but it was never an authorized badge. It consisted of a winged shield with crossed lightening bolts. The members of the 11th that earned it however continued to wear it even tho it was unauthorized.

Terry

 

The VN period Air Assault badge was worn by the 11th Air Assault Division at Ft. Benning prior to being reflagged as the 1st Cavalry Division and deployed to Vietnam. The badge was a shiled shape (just like the shield of the army pilot wing) with a crossed MUSKET and lightning bolt. These badges were worn centered on the wearer's left chest pocket and while not an official badge, they were sanctioned by the command and worn by the soldiers who earned them. These badges continued to be worn in Vietnam by members of the 1st cav who had earned them back at Ft. Benning. There are original examples of the Vietnamese made in metal and hand embroidered pieces. One other tidbit- the 11th SSI with "Air Assault" tab was widely worn as a pocket patch by 1st Cav aviators when they arrived in Vietnam.

 

I woulkd encourage you to go find the VHPA's virtual museum on line. It is a STUNNER!

 

Allan

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Allan,

 

Not to hijack the thread but I wanted to say thanks for the plug on the VHPA Museum website, http://www.vhpamuseum.org/defaultmenu.shtml, that's the other site I'm the webmaster for. It's John Conway's site but I do the web support for him. It's growth has been amazing over the past ten years. Always glad to hear someone appreciates the hard work.

 

Thanks,

Bob

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