Soldiers or Cadets? From what Period?

[McDermut99]

I've had this photo in my collection for some time, but I've never taken a detailed look at I until recently. It appears to be four officers or maybe cadets from a academy, but I'm not sure from what time period. Maybe pre-war? The building in the background almost looks like USMA. Note the patches on the cuff of the soldier on the far left. There is no caption on the back and I am currently at a loss. Any observations would be very helpful.

[Mitter2k1]

Could you get a better close up of the hat device for the guy on the left? That looks like a good place to start as the guy on the right is the only one with the US Army Officer's hat device. Also those same 3 guys look to have some sort of odd insignia on their right side of the uniform, but it may be the light reflecting off of whatever it may be. As far as dating it, I would guess sometime in the 30's by the general style of the uniform, but I'm also far from being an expert on this time frame.

 

Mike

[McDermut99]

Here is a close up for you Mitter2k1. I hope it can help.

[GITom1944]

I don't know enough about uniforms of the period, but here's an enhanced version of your photo. I think all four hat devices are the same and I don't think they are Army officer devices. The fella on the left seems to have an oval insignia on his lower sleeve.

 

I added a close-up of the building in the background. Perhaps the architecture will be familiar to someone. VMI? Citadel?

 

Tom

[VolunteerArmoury]

They're ROTC cadets. Many of the schools had cap devices based on officer devices but with the stars replaced with the school name or another symbol on it. I have two that were University of Tennessee cadet devices with TENNESSEE in the arch. The insignia on the cuff are ROTC insignia with the ROTC shield & perhaps the Honor Unit Star.

[Jumpin Jack]

Not VMI or the Citadel as they wore the West Point style uniform. Maybe Texas A&M during the early 1940's. Jack

[dave grunt]

These could be faculty. The arch looks like Augusta Military Academy, Fort Defiance Va. The officer on the left has the honor star above a round patch below it. They look to be wearing only one branch insignia. They usually had the schools initials above the crossed rifles and cover.

[VolunteerArmoury]

I'm definitely confident they're cadets rather than cadre. The insignia below the Honor Unit Star is the standard US ROTC shield. The initials weren't necessarily "usually" however certainly frequently. The standard hat badge was ROTC in a wreath then also there was a badge like that of an officer's hat badge with the stars replaced with ROTC on an arch. The arch with the institution's name or initials were frequently used such as mentioned AMA's hat badges. These sometimes were a solid arch or cut out like letters. There also were some with a seal replacing the stars of the Federal seal. I have two example of hat badges from the University of Tennessee along with two "yard long" photos showing the regiment all wearing such & a couple of year books all showing such. I've seen many other examples for ROTC Cadets. The following photos aren't from my collection however once I'm home I can provide such but these are taken from this http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/15516-rotc-insignia/ & http://militaryitems.com/store/images/archive/d_43535.jpg

[dave grunt]

When I attended AMA 63-68 the white star stood for the honor system. This meant no lying, cheating, stealing, etc. An infraction of the honor code meant a trip before the honor court (cadet court w/one faculty member, for punishment. The US/ROTC patch meant that we were being trained by actual military personal. The lack of the US/ROTC patch meant the cadets were being trained by non Army (retired or inactive) personal. Interesting fact: the first uniforms at AMA were surplus Union Civil War uniforms.

[McDermut99]

I am going to see if the relatives of the veteran from which I bought it know anything about it. I'll keep you all posted.

[McDermut99]

Almost forgot I had this topic. I spoke to a relative and he said there was no one who attended a college ROTC in the family. So I'm guessing they individuals in the photo were friends of the vet.