Bayonet Badge or Order of the Bayonet - 7th Div Discussion

[100thOVI]

[100thOVI]

[100thOVI]

[100thOVI]

[100thOVI]

[100thOVI]

Just located his form 214 tucked in back of the medal group case. Cpl. Weber, wounded rt thigh at Kumwha N. Korea. Residence Chicago, Ill. Foreign Service 1 yr, 3 months & 15 days.

[Captainofthe7th]

Thanks for adding! This is a really nice group and the 32nd DUI as a bayonet badge is interesting. You are not late...the topic will never die as long as we keep adding things! I am glad you were able to provide details like the date he was WIA, it adds some to when the badge was worn during the war...

 

Thanks,

Rob

[Garandomatic]

Very interesting topic. Best friend's grandpa was in D Co., 31st Infantry during Korea. Not sure of the timeframe... He mentioned Pork Chop Hill (firing recoilless rifle in support while K Co. I think it was got chewed up) and Triangle Hill... Anyways, he had one that I think was a replacement that he got as a veteran, the other I remember as the post in #26 above. I have his uniform, but not the Order of the Bayonet.

[rd12]

Sorry to be so late but adding a Seventh Division, 32nd Inf grouping I just acquired. Cpl Alfred Weber. Purple Heart Certificate dated October 1, 1952. I have very little information on Cpl. Weber so if anyone can contribute to the history it would be much appreciated.

 

 

Beautiful grouping, the Order of the Bayonet Badge with 32nd crest is the first I've seen.

[tredhed2]

 

bayonet_scroll.jpg

 

There you go!

 

 

Rob

3rd Bn 36th Inf 3rd AD c. 1965 wore this scroll

 

Source: AJ 2010 Trading Post

[warroom1]

thanks much for up date on my bayonet scroll

[seanmc1114]

These aren't pictures of the badge itself, but they clearly show how prominent the bayonet image was in 7th Infantry Division nomenclature.

[seanmc1114]

More signs

[seanmc1114]

Here's some soldiers wearing the metal badge

[Jumpin Jack]

Anyone notice that the bayonet (bottom photo #37) has the cross guard mounted upside down?

[seanmc1114]

7th Infantry Division Certificate of Achievement from 1959

[rd12]

Here's another certificate, this one dated 1968. This is appointing a person as an honorary member of the 7th Infantry Division.

This is from an eBay auction and included the certificate and a bayonet badge.

 

 

 

 

[rd12]

Here is a letter dated 1954. It is awarding the Order of the Bayonet to a SGT Callahan upon his departure from Korea. It reads in part "You have earned your relief from Korea and for your exemplary service I award you The Order of the Bayonet". The letter is signed by MG Lionel McGarr, Commander of the 7th ID. In this instance, it seems the OOB Badge was used as a PCS award. This picture is pulled from an eBay listing. It is interesting that the badge depicted on the card has the bayonet pointing the opposite direction of the actual badge.

 

[Captainofthe7th]

Now that I have more information on this soldier, I want to add this to the topic.

 

Clarence Heffendrager served with A Company, 13th Enginer battalion in Korea during 1952. I have him on the 31 Jul 1952 roster (he's not on as of 31 Jan 52 and I do not have Jan 53 yet.) His MOS is 3729, which is a variety of descriptions from combat construction, demolition, anti-tank minefield plotter, and pioneer. He returned late May or early June 1953, so I am guessing that his Korean tour was May 52 to May 53 or something in that window. He enlisted August 1951 and was discharged in June 1953. Or, released to the reserve corps.

 

The Order of the Bayonet Badge is the typical Japanese? made period type. I just wanted to share the uniform. Unfortunately, I do not have photos of Clarence (yet).

 

 

Rob

[Ed Rooney]

When I was in basic training in 1987, prior to running the bayonet assault course, the Drill Sergeant said that anyone who scores above a certain number would be awarded the “Expert Bayonet Badge”, ie, a bayonet tab dangling from the expert badge. I was one of 5 or 6 from my platoon, but, alas, no piece of paper, bayonet tab or notation in my 2-1 was ever made, so I’m not sure if it was a real thing or Drill Sgt B.S.

[seanmc1114]

I just ran across this picture from 2019 on Facebook. The 7th Infantry Division was reactivated in 2012 as a headquarters type unit. This is the description from Wikipedia: "On 26 April 2012, Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh announced the 7th Infantry Division headquarters would be reactivated at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in October 2012. The headquarters element of about 250 would not activate any subordinate brigades. Instead, it filled an administrative role as a non-deployable unit. In the announcement, McHugh noted the base is home to I Corps, which until then had directly overseen 10 subordinate brigades on the base, while other bases with similar corps headquarters had active division commands for intermediate oversight. The unit oversees the 2nd and 3rd Brigade Combat Teams of the 2nd Infantry Division, as well as the 17th Field Artillery Brigade, 201st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, and 555th Engineer Brigade, about 21,000 personnel. The mission of the headquarters primarily focuses on making sure soldiers are properly trained and equipped, and that order and discipline is maintained in its subordinate brigades."

 

https://www.facebook.com/7thInfantryDivision/photos/bc.Abr5hfhJQjtjChLWV9uyizKz1EdDaZcEP5uqPOklpqf6-C5Y7tg-Z_cRJH4CUDdYrH7jSxwlGKAw6ZHmh2OGhoQj4SwxX8RroZ8KZAnCai7jSoTaTHmKd_QFStuhUBysSuPHbQ_dVSClP59qsTJvvATv/1650162128449900/?opaqueCursor=Abp2bq8zGeOIMJN9jE0NSlSF3Owj_pqLpEhDtlDjzofMdnD1p2d-7Yg4VKcksuT0KR0nZEl81HbtV7zgC5gjilbf5NchxFzO4Q45bBWcmpww1dkxD0GTU9Jl0-N19P0641c1_yT2jeMs9DU6Yn3uAV3ueCCS6j4pM6Wsyblrku4IvyhvYX3LaR0E07fbjAsHjYbWUH1Op28j-HpWjge4BXZK8qY-FCDvijR1oqc4xhilhGOMS5TMK0HMcba9VmPTfqc4sdaF2sEC5gD13O1VdNx0oPox_m8j3Xz2Z5jgMV0w7JQUM1v2RHgY9VIl8a2-T6hK0rYPqK4uEQ-ADsPT9NF8Q044UFDzxILN-pbIhnQw8tTk7pWsg5zjfG4dhdeGmu31D9N8fpW5dRteST8ogwp0b3x4xYM31119_HGm9OVFkar8uw8wKVf7ss0dBNG9K9JALzM_bayDUCJjnBhzlLZqNm-Ii0rEi6HR9s2Nlrq-B8mS9igSDmaVg58oxjyr6VzWTeJlERB76ECyJBhkHhn51RtqKrULbbgA6UkWd6FTsX7QtkLAOTP6c9tiS7JAiULGOvtyGZMvctm870wBYY25ZhqUPqteX_vvX3BQ2N4E-3soEZ1BPVL2bVbjfgkn_06-Z1znVg8u0-NqRxDZpyizilXZWvabURD1ZsDySu9h5saLiGVGM9di5iZt5pwUa1I4llEWJT_byQEiFvQ5NZAa

 

 

[rd12]

It would be neat to learn the story behind the picture above. Is it back as a unit-level award? Something they just wear at ceremonies?

[rd12]

This article is from an old issue of OMSA, I don’t know the date. 

 

[rd12]

[GAZOO]

Dec 1980 My ETS Plaque