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Armor Ike Jacket


hink441
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Recently obtained this Ike jacket. I am not familiar with these jackets and was curious about the hash marks on this jacket.

 

Here is the jacket.

 

 

post-10825-0-16016800-1558141980.jpeg

 

The left sleeve has marks.

 

post-10825-0-28588000-1558142005.jpeg

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manayunkman

The single hash looks like a wound chevron from WW1.

 

And the other sleeve has a combination of WW1 and WW2 service stripes

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manayunkman

That's an awesome jacket by the way.

 

Is there a name in it ?

 

Did youcheck the pockets?

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That's an awesome jacket by the way.

 

Is there a name in it ?

 

Did youcheck the pockets?

 

Unfortunately I can find no names anywhere on this jacket. The jacket is dated 13 June 1944.

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manayunkman

Regardless it's a beauty from a 2 war vet who might have been in the presence of Patton.

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dan_the_hun84

I believe that is a WW1 overseas chevron. Means the owner was an AEF veteran who did at least 6mos OS in WW1. When the Purple heart was created in the 30s it supplanted the wound chevron, as it was retroactive Usually the WW1 OS bars though are found above the WW2 straight bars.

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dan_the_hun84

Sorry- was looking at my phone on ths post- didnt see the OS bars on the L sleeve

 

maybe it is a wound chevron- he may have been a "retro" guy

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I wonder if there is a way to find out who owned this jacket. I purchased this jacket in Norfolk and I think it is probably a local man, but I really don't know.

 

Chris

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huntssurplus

Really nice Ike. Wonder if there is a list of Armored Corps Colonels in Patton's Army during WW2, might be able to start your search there. I bet a least a few would have made General making it easier to get info on them and the rest probably have easily obtainable obituaries or find a graves as they probably were laid to rest in Arlington. Worth a shot!

Thanks for sharing,

Hunt

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Believe the first place to do a search would be to find a list of Third Army Staff Officers, we get the feeling this Bird was a Staff Officer in Third Army HQ.

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Sorry- was looking at my phone on ths post- didnt see the OS bars on the L sleeve

 

maybe it is a wound chevron- he may have been a "retro" guy

A wound chevron for sure. Even after the Purple Heart in the '30s, the WW1 wound chevrons were still authorized and remained in the uniform regulations through the 1950s.

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Found two pages on the Third Army Staff, it's a start, will have to do a little more looking around since this officer has a Armored Forces Combat patch on, means post VE Day, the idea being he may have been a Separate Tank Battalion C.O, a Lt Col, before going on staff and becoming a full colonel.

 

http://www.unithistories.com/units_index/default.asp?file=../units/3rd%20us%20army.asp

 

 

https://books.google.com/books?id=QvzkDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA73&lpg=PA73&dq=Colonel+Frederick+S.+Matthews&source=bl&ots=SLnFACgxvI&sig=ACfU3U2mJrUjlrCelrQ0BaX0dDbxGHE6IQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjAjs2jr6biAhUIy1kKHRCPCGEQ6AEwDnoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=Colonel%20Frederick%20S.%20Matthews&f=false

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Found two pages on the Third Army Staff, it's a start, will have to do a little more looking around since this officer has a Armored Forces Combat patch on, means post VE Day, the idea being he may have been a Separate Tank Battalion C.O, a Lt Col, before going on staff and becoming a full colonel.

 

http://www.unithistories.com/units_index/default.asp?file=../units/3rd%20us%20army.asp

 

 

https://books.google.com/books?id=QvzkDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA73&lpg=PA73&dq=Colonel+Frederick+S.+Matthews&source=bl&ots=SLnFACgxvI&sig=ACfU3U2mJrUjlrCelrQ0BaX0dDbxGHE6IQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjAjs2jr6biAhUIy1kKHRCPCGEQ6AEwDnoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=Colonel%20Frederick%20S.%20Matthews&f=false

Thanks for the links Patches.

 

This picture of General Patton and his staff is very interesting. On the first row, second from left is a Colonel who has some very similar hash marks on his left sleeve. I can't see a wound chevron on his right sleeve. This pic was taken in Luxenbourg in January of 1945. The Colonel in question is Col. Oscar W. Koch.

 

post-10825-0-79803900-1558310915_thumb.jpeg

 

post-10825-0-17158600-1558311097_thumb.jpeg

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everforward

I’ll bet he’s in there.....an adjutant of some sort perhaps. The are a few guys in that pic that are certainly old enough.

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I was thinking he may have been a Armored Group Commander before hand and as a full bird, groups were commanded by full colonels, perhaps the 8th or the 17th Armored Groups, these two had Third Army associations, the 8th being XX Corps' Armored Section, the 17th, XII Corps' Armored Section, Ach who knows :lol: .

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Yes I don't believe we will ever be able to conclusively prove who wore this jacket. Just too many Colonels with WW1 service... Oh well

 

Chris

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The only clues that could possibly help are the WW1 service and wound chevron, and the jacket was purchased in Norfolk Va.

 

Chris

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Thanks for the links Patches.

 

This picture of General Patton and his staff is very interesting. On the first row, second from left is a Colonel who has some very similar hash marks on his left sleeve. I can't see a wound chevron on his right sleeve. This pic was taken in Luxenbourg in January of 1945. The Colonel in question is Col. Oscar W. Koch.

 

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Koch though was on Staff with Patton for a long time, I Armored Corps, then II Corps, Seventh Army and to England with him now in Third Army.

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The only clues that could possibly help are the WW1 service and wound chevron, and the jacket was purchased in Norfolk Va.

 

Chris

And pinning down all those Full Colonels on Staff there were a lot of them :o.

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Did you check in the inside pocket to see if thee's anything there written, maybe initials ?

Yes, Unfortunately I have checked and double-checked and I can find nothing in the pockets or anywhere else on the jacket.

 

I can see where the ribbons were sewn on and have been removed.

 

Chris

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Where did you buy it? Yard sale, junk shop, antique shop or thrift store? Knowing Norfolk neighborhoods helps, IIRC Koch is a Norfolk name, most likely knew owners of Bobs Gun Shop.

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Where did you buy it? Yard sale, junk shop, antique shop or thrift store? Knowing Norfolk neighborhoods helps, IIRC Koch is a Norfolk name, most likely knew owners of Bobs Gun Shop.

I bought the jacket at a well known Norfolk Surplus store that has been in business since 1946. Store owner said they are pretty sure it is local find.

 

BGEN Koch died in Carbondale Illinois in 1970, and was born in Wisconsin. I don't know of any Norfolk or Tidewater ties to the General. He is buried in Arlington.

 

Chris

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