Possible SVN War made USMC Force Recon insignia

[Tonomachi]

I picked up this small grouping on eBay and was surprised that there was only one other bidder so it went cheap at $10.50. These pieces appear to have once belonged to a Dr. Franklin Mark Osanka PH.D (21 Aug 1936 - 7 Oct 2016) who passed away in Wisconsin and the insignia came out of Wisconsin. According to his obituary Dr. Osanka joined the Marine Corps at the age of 17 which would have been in 1953 and attained the rank of sergeant. There is a picture of him (attached) in what looks like USMC camouflage (early USMC recon?) with a US Army paratrooper wing worn on his cap and another above the left pocket. The obituary does not go into detail regarding his military service so it is unknown if he served with recon during the South Vietnamese War.

 

Obituary: https://www.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/dr-franklin-m-osanka-ph-d.113962

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tonomachi]

What caught my eye with this grouping was what looked like a SVN hand embroidered subdued piece. It has the USMC EGA on one side of a paratrooper wing but a US Army Special Forces crest on the opposite side. The only connection I could find on the Internet was a number of members of USMC Force Recon attending the US Army Recondo School run by the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Vietnam. Someone has used a black marker to color in the white detail of the Army Special Forces crest. Has anyone seen anything like this before?

 

 

[Tonomachi]

Close up of rear stitching which to me looks period SVN hand embroidery but I could be wrong.

 

 

[River Patrol]

It is VN hand embroidery and yes, they used marked to subdue the bright white threads. Very nice! US EGAs are rarely seen as hand embroidery patches.

[firefighter]

That is a very cool patch. Wasn’t MACV-SOG an inter service organization, maybe something with them?

[Patchcollector]

Interesting patch.It does look like an advisor or instructor type piece.

[beef]

A very interesting grouping. JFKSWC always had Marine liaison staff. That doesn't explain the VN embroidery, though. Also, Force Recon Marines served in SOG, mostly in the martime part. I'll make some inquiries with our FRA secretary about the owner as to his history. His blazer patch is the current one that we use in FRA. If he passed in 2016, someone will know him. He'll also have a bio on file as far as units served.

[beef]

Also looks like he is wearing a wet Thai Friendship Jump t-shirt in his obit. Almost all of those are water jumps to go easy on arthritic knees and are hosted by SFA III or 46th SFCA Assn. So could the hand embroidery be Thai and say 10-20 years old? I am no expert on that so Someone else will have to weigh in.

[beef]

I just heard from FRA and the only Recon unit he served in was Amphibious Reconnaissance Company in 1954-55, which fits time frame that you have. No SF connection listed. In more recent years, there have always been USMC liaison slots to SWC. IDK if that was the case in the 1950s. Especially for a buck SGT. with only 2 years in Recon. This's always go to GYSGTs-above and officers. My best guess is most likely your combined insignia is Thai made, picked up on a friendship jump with SFA 3 or 46th SFCA Assn.

[Tonomachi]

I just heard from FRA and the only Recon unit he served in was Amphibious Reconnaissance Company in 1954-55, which fits time frame that you have. No SF connection listed. In more recent years, there have always been USMC liaison slots to SWC. IDK if that was the case in the 1950s. Especially for a buck SGT. with only 2 years in Recon. This's always go to GYSGTs-above and officers. My best guess is most likely your combined insignia is Thai made, picked up on a friendship jump with SFA 3 or 46th SFCA Assn.

Many thanks for this follow up information.