104th BN Raider style

[easterneagle87]

What type of USMC Raider patch is this supposed to represent? Pretty sure it's a repo

[tarbridge]

A "novelty" type patche...currently manufactured.

[easterneagle87]

That was my guess too. Thanks for the confirmation

[tredhed2]

There was no "104th" or "704th Marine Raider Bn". That has been verified with The Marine Corps Museum, and the Marine Raider Assoc. The design for these patches has been around for decades, and no one seems to know how the ID came about. It does not help that many authors have compounded the problem by republishing the incorrect ID in their works.

 

WW II era patches exist, but the unit ID remains a mystery.

[Tonomachi]

I thought someone did identify this patch awhile back as an ETO WW2 US Army 704th Engineer Petroleum Distribution Company. I always wondered why the identification said company when the patch says battalion. Is this a misidentification as well?

[tredhed2]

Yes, it's also a misidentification.

[Sgt. BARney]

Wow - finally! I have wondered about this patch for decades but was never able to find any info.

 

Thank you guys for this info!

[Teamski]

Yes, it's also a misidentification.

 

 

Now that I didn't know! I know there was rumblings that it could have been Filipino....

 

-Ski

[tredhed2]

I have researched this patch for a number of years. I am sure that I can ID it, but can't prove it. I can prove what it's NOT - not USMC, not the engineer company (that was 100% bull hooey), not a Philippine Army unit. I have seen two that are definitely WW II era, emb on wool, and match the characteristics of many other period patches I have seen in 60+ years worth of collecting. There are literally only a handful of vets (I have a roster) left from the unit, but their memories are sketchy at best. There are no photos, docs, drawings, post-war unit newspapers, no memories. I thought there was a good chance several years ago when a steel pot with the insignia turned up in a now defunct museum, but they ignored my mutliple requests for assistance. and their artifacts are lost to the winds.

 

This may be one that never gets IDd, but that's the breaks. Because I can't prove it, my ID is only tentative and not available for "sharing". It would not be right nor fair. That's how rumors get started. Because the ID is only tentative, there is the possibility I could still be wrong, too, and since I don't know it all, it's too big a chance to take.

 

Have no idea how the original ID as a USMC unit came about, but it was not a bad guess. As mentioned earlier, it has been compounded by a number of authors who just copied the ID from previous works, incorporated it in their books, which has continued. I don't blame the succession of authors, because it's not possible to know about every single insignia ever produced, but it's also a shortfall in the powers of assumption. But it's difficult to fight decades of misID when you can only go half way.

[Patchcollector]

I've seen many newer copies of this patch and a few older pieces.Mine is one of the older ones',and I picked it up around ten or so years ago.It was in a frame,by itself.I removed it from the frame,and IIRC,threw the frame away.You could tell that it had been in the frame for a long time.The patch shows genuine age,and after examining it,I guessed it to be from the 40's or 50's.I haven't seen it for awhile,but will try to find it and post it.